Actress Elisabeth Moss Leads Bold Statements During Fiery Women's Event

Actress Elisabeth Moss Leads Bold Statements During Fiery Women's Event
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Elisabeth Moss

Elisabeth Moss

Photographer E. Brady Robinson

“I think our generation has taken our rights for granted,” actress Elisabeth Moss said. “The idea that they would be taken away didn’t occur to us for a very long time.” She continued, “And I think that for sure there’s a rise in my generation of feminism. The wave is coming back as we’re faced with things being taken away from us that we thought we would always have – reproductive rights and all that. For me I’ve definitely become more aware and more active in the last few years. In fact, I’m 34 and as a millennial I know that our demographic is vocal, active and very present. ”

Such was the tone at a powerful event entitled TheWrap’s DC Power Women Breakfast that was held at the W Hotel just steps away from The White House in Washington, D.C. Moss was joined by author Margaret Atwood at an event that brought together both political and Hollywood powerati to discuss key social issues pertaining to women today. Moss and Atwood led the headlining speaker list and noted distinct similarities between feminist concerns of today and that of those addresses in the new, original series in which Moss stars, “The Handmade’s Tale,” based on Atwood’s massively successful book of the same title. In fact, sales of the dystopian “Handmaid’s Tale” have soared since the election of President Trump.

Elisabeth Moss, left joined by Margaret Atwood, right.

Elisabeth Moss, left joined by Margaret Atwood, right.

Photographer: E Brady Robinson

The event also featured a panel discussion on “Covering Trump: The Women on the Front Line” with Carrie Budoff Brown, the editor of Politico; Cecilia Vega, Senior White House Correspondent for ABC News and Christina Wilkie, White House reporter for The Huffington Post, moderated by Recode Executive Editor Kara Swisher.

Kara Swisher, left joined by Carrie Budoff Brown, right.

Kara Swisher, left joined by Carrie Budoff Brown, right.

Photographer: E Brady Robinson

However, the most heated panel came in the form of the event’s discussion on the arts and government. Entitled “Public Funding for the Arts: The New Priorities,” the panel featured SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris; Robin Bronk, CEO of the Creative Coalition; and Romina Boccia, the Grover M. Hermann Research Fellow for budgetary affairs at the Heritage Foundation. Said Boccia: “Do we really want [the] Trump administration influencing art?” Bronk responded, “We’re talking about the federal government funding arts, not the government making judgments on what is art.” Carteris added that she believes part of the taxes that she pays should be utilized toward areas of her personal interest, and since that includes the arts, then there should be proper allocations toward such areas by the U.S. government.

Romina Boccia, left. Gabrielle Carteris, right.

Romina Boccia, left. Gabrielle Carteris, right.

Photographer: E. Brady Robinson

The event was live-streamed on Facebook and drew more than 20,000 viewers in real time. Among those in the room were Jenny Wall, CMO, Hulu; Stephanie von Friedeburg, Vice President and Chief Information Officer at The World Bank Group; Denise Krepp, former Chief Counsel for U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD); Elisa Munoz, Executive Director, IWMF and Executive Vice President for Global Public Policy at Time Warner.

This is the second year the Power Women Breakfast series has come to the nation’s capital to connect the most influential women across government, media, entertainment and policy. The event was sponsored Hulu, Discovery, SAG-AFTRA and Creative Future. An auction raised money to support the International Women’s Media Foundation.

This event indicates a larger trend in the national narrative on not only women’s rights but also the importance of the inclusion of the female voice in governance, national decision-making and cultural growth. Watch for the energy around such areas to expand and disrupt in bold, new ways that will forever impact our society.

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