With the Trump Administration targeting DEI programs set up in the wake of #MeToo and Black Lives Matter and Hollywood studios backpedaling from commitments for more representation, it is now up to producers and creatives to take up the work of changing the entertainment industry’s status quo.
Four women behind some of Hollywood’s top projects spoke with Producers Guild of America CEO Susan Sprung at TheWrap’s 2025 Power Women Summit, presented by STARZ #TakeTheLead in a wide-ranging panel about making inclusivity second nature in all of their producing work and surrounding themselves with artists who share that mindset.
Molly Smith, the film producer behind “La La Land” and Lynne Ramsey’s “Die My Love,” says she continues hiring young women and people of color trying to get a foothold in the industry, noting that despite the C-suite backsliding, she’s noticed a more diverse crowd behind the camera than there was 10 years ago.
“It starts with the youth…the trainees who want to maybe learn camera, or maybe they want to learn in the wardrobe department,” she said. “You didn’t always see a lot of female crew members in the camera department. Now you do constantly.”
Simran Baidwan, executive producer of “The Pitt,” noted that while the Emmy-winning medical drama’s showrunner Scott Gemmill, lead producer John Wells, and lead actor Noah Wyle are all white men, they have made it a priority to fill the show’s crew and writers’ room with as many diverse voices as possible.
“Over 40% of our department heads are women. Fifty percent of our writers’ room are women. I’m of Indian descent. We have Cynthia Adarkwa, who is from Ghanaian descent. Valerie Chu is Taiwanese, Chinese descent. We have representation from LGBTQ members, and that all really ripples throughout not just what we see on the camera, but behind the camera, because that’s vital. So when you have allies who really understand what this is, it’s more than just checking a box.”
Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, producer of “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” and the Disney+ adaptation of “Percy Jackson,” talked about the online backlash the latter production faced when Black actress Leah Jeffries was cast as Annabeth Chase, a character who is described in Rick Riordan’s novels as being white and blonde. Goldsmith-Vein praised Riordan for supporting the casting choice in a 2022 blog post.
“I feel super fortunate that I am surrounded by people who are willing to step up and stand behind this in a big way,” she said. “I think we have to, as women, continue to support each other, because I know, as a business owner myself, I’m constantly experiencing headwinds. There’s strength in numbers.”
Beyond the diversity struggle, producing projects that aren’t franchise titles has gotten even more challenging over the past few years. Lynette Howell Taylor’s most recent film, the crime dramedy “Roofman” starring Channing Tatum, had Paramount attached as a distributor and Miramax as a studio partner, but still needed other funding sources despite being one of the more inexpensive films on Paramount’s slate.
"Everything I do as a director, as a producer, comes from feelings," said the legendary Mimi Leder when asked about AI during the #PowerWomenSummit Producers Roundtable. AI, she said, "just doesn't have any feelings." pic.twitter.com/8lyIg4fTON
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) December 3, 2025
“‘Roofman’ was like making an independent movie, but it was masquerading as a studio movie,” she said. “We also relied on a tax credit. We also had a foreign sales agent, and then we also needed additional equity twice during production to meet our budgetary needs. We still had to put it together with a variety of financing sources that really felt like making an independent film again.”
Amidst all the challenges, “The Morning Show” producer Mimi Leder urged younger producers getting started to not be afraid.
“When I was young, I was terrified, but I wasn’t afraid to jump off the cliff. And I think you have to be challenged. You have to be fearless. You have to love what you’re doing in this insane business,” she said. “And you have to jump off the f–king cliff.”
TheWrap’s Power Women Summit presented by STARZ #TakeTheLead is the essential gathering of the most influential women across entertainment and media. The event aims to inspire and empower women across the landscape of their professional careers and personal lives. PWS provides one day of keynotes, panels, workshops and networking. For more information visit: thewrap.com/pws. For all Power Women Summit 2025 coverage, click here.
