BENTONVILLE -- Both men and women must work to create diversity in corporate America to avoid conflict between the genders, Dean General, executive at Kraft Foods Global, said Wednesday morning.
General was one of five men who sat on the panel "Gender Equality: Why Men Matter" at the Bentonville Film Festival. The event was held at Northwest Arkansas Community College.
Festival today
The Bentonville Film Festival’s event today:
• 9:30 a.m.: Women in Advertising. NorthWest Arkansas Community College.
• 11 a.m.: Real vs. Reel Diversity. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
• 5 p.m.: Anna Martemucci: Connecting the Dots. Bentonville Public Library.
Tickets can be bought online at www.bentonvillefilm…
Source: Staff report
"The common goal is the strength of the organization," General said of seeking diversity. "If we all recognize that we're in it for the common goal, which is to strengthen the fabric of our organization, then it's not personal."
General said he embraces conflict as long as it's constructive.
Jason Kelly, chief of Bloomberg's New York bureau, agreed.
"If you're focused on making the business better ... then the conversation becomes a lot easier because everyone's ultimately going to benefit," he said.
The panel members each represented a different business sector and talked about efforts to make each more gender balanced.
General and Kelly were joined by Jim Benton, author; JS Kang, executive vice president from Sterling Sport Management; and Fernando Szew, chief executive officer at MarVista Entertainment.
Kelly spoke about Bloomberg's Global Women's Project. There was a deliberate effort to not create a team of just women, he said. The goal was to have a diversity of voices to reflect the diversity of the world in which readers live.
"Part of what was behind that was the need for all of us to be part of the solution," he said.
General spoke about a couple of Kraft's initiatives to encourage diversity and gender equality, one of which is a program where a senior executive connects with a high-performing woman, and the two are able to share experiences and gain insight, he said.
"We can have an appreciation and infinity to a group, but we really don't have an understanding," General said. "You haven't walked a mile in their shoes."
Szew said dispite discussions on how to find more diverse talent among actors, screenwriters and directors, the operation side of TV and films is still very male-centric.
MarVista has women in executive positions largely because it saw the need to connect with its viewers, who are primarily female, Szew said. Lifetime is one of the company's clients.
The company seeks to tell stories about women, for women, by women, he added. Having women executives allows them to do that in a more authentic way.
Benton, the author of the Dear Dumb Diary series, which follows the narrative of fictional middle-schooler Jamie Kelly, commented on the struggles that came with making it into a movie.
Some networks wouldn't air it because it was "too pink," he said.
Publishing, however, is "quite welcoming" to women, Benton added.
"There are a ton of female writers. There are a ton of female characters, but they don't always make that jump to the movies," he said. "They'll be really popular in books, but they don't always make it to the big screen."
The movie Dear Dumb Diary was shown at the festival Tuesday.
A Section on 05/07/2015