As published on LinkedIn Influencers on May 25th, 2017
May 25th, 2017. I’ve only been waiting for this day since I was eleven years old. What day exactly is it you might ask? It’s the day that Wonder Woman finally makes it to the big screen. If you’re thinking, “Jacki, the film opens on June 2nd” you would be right, but the opening night in Los Angeles is on May 25th, today, and I will be there. And yes, I am over the moon about that.
Earlier this week I shared something I wrote many years ago about my obsession with Wonder Woman. About how I quit my job at Goldman Sachs to, in part, write a superhero screenplay. Well that did not happen, but it is kind of spooky how much of the narrative for my made up screenplay has manifested itself in real life. But that is not what this post is about. This post is about the history of the film that I will be seeing TONIGHT. And for those of you who are thinking, “What does this have to do with business?”, let me assure you, this film is big business!
Warner Brothers first began development on a Wonder Woman film back in 2001 at the dawn of the superhero boom in cinemas, and since then we’ve had three Spider Mans, two Batmans, two Supermans, and 14 Marvel movies and counting. Hollywood has also managed to make…
As published on LinkedIn Influencers on May 23rd, 2017.
“The destiny of the world is determined less by battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in” – Harold Goddard.
What follow is the opening letter to a 70 page report I did 4 years ago called “Why No Wonder Woman?” Given that we will indeed have the first feature film for this character on June 2nd, I thought this was the time to repost these words. It shares my love for the character and what she has meant to me.
I believe in the story of Wonder Woman. I always have. Not the literal baby being made from clay story, but the metaphorical one. I believe in a story where a woman is the hero and not the victim. I believe in a story where a woman is strong and not weak. Where a woman can fall in love with a man, but she doesnʼt need a man. Where a woman can stand on her own two feet. And above all else, I believe in a story where a woman has superpowers that she uses to help others, and yes, I believe that a woman can help save the world.
“Wonder Woman was created as a distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to ʻa world torn by the hatred of men.ʼ”
As published on LinkedIn Influencers on May 5th, 2017.
Last week I wrote about my incredible experience at the 2017 Kairos Global Summit, an event that brought together seasoned professionals with emerging entrepreneurs. I was invited to present a problem to these up and coming entrepreneurs that needs a solution, and the problem I chose was the gender gap in the technology industry today. With over 532,000 currently unfilled tech jobs in the United States alone, this is an important issue for many reasons, but I asked this question specifically because I wanted these young entrepreneurs to think about the talent they will require to bring their ideas to fruition, and how this lack of skilled workers could seriously impede their progress and innovation. This isn’t just a “women’s issue”. The lack of skilled technology workers in this country is estimated to rise to nearly two million unfilled jobs by 2020, a scenario that could have dire consequences for the economy, and constitute a huge hit to our potential GDP. Given how grossly underrepresented women are in this industry, an easy solution would be to simply recruit more women, but like most things in life, it’s not that easy.
In looking at the problem of women in tech, there are two main factors behind this phenomenon: 1) the pipeline issue, and 2) the brain drain once women have begun their careers. Today, I want…
As published on LinkedIn Influencers on May 25th, 2017
As 
As