Speaker 1: But what happened for me was that I felt that
Speaker 1: I had just I was caught. I just couldn't progress
Speaker 1: in my career. And a big part of that for
Speaker 1: me was being authentic and real and not being out
Speaker 1: meant that I was hiding something about myself, But that's
Speaker 1: against my nature. Being my true and authentic self is
Speaker 1: who I am. That was Sarah Kate Ellis, and for
Speaker 1: personal experience, she knows how crucial it is to accept
Speaker 1: people for who they are. It's knowledge that has served
Speaker 1: her well in her professional life as president and CEO
Speaker 1: of GLAD, the nonprofit that works to accelerate acceptance of
Speaker 1: the LGBTQ community. I'm a land Revere and this is
Speaker 1: Seneca's on women to hear. We are bringing you one
Speaker 1: hundred of the world's most inspiring and history making women
Speaker 1: you need to hear. A former media executive who previously
Speaker 1: held positions at magazines such as Real, Simple and In Style,
Speaker 1: Sarah Kate Ellis has led GLAD since two thousand and fourteen.
Speaker 1: Under her leadership, the nonprofit has fostered greater inclusion and
Speaker 1: more positive portrayals of LGBTQ people throughout the culture. Listen
Speaker 1: and learn why Sarah Kate Ellis is one of Seneca's
Speaker 1: One Women to hear. I'm speaking today to Sarah Kate Ellis,
Speaker 1: the President and CEO of GLAD. Sarah Kate, it's delightful
Speaker 1: to have you with us. Thanks for having me. We're
Speaker 1: now in Pride Month and this must be such a
Speaker 1: busy time for you and your colleagues. What does this
Speaker 1: month mean to you personally? It is a busy month, um,
Speaker 1: which I think is a good thing. So for me personally,
Speaker 1: it's it's takes on to twofold. Um. One is that
Speaker 1: it is a time for us to have joy and
Speaker 1: celebration and to acknowledge how far we've come. And then secondly,
Speaker 1: it's a time to pause and look at where we
Speaker 1: are and how much work we have ahead of ourselves. Um.
Speaker 1: We've had some real big setbacks this year for the
Speaker 1: l g B t Q community and this is a
Speaker 1: moment where we get to assess that and see how
Speaker 1: to move forward. Well, the celebration part was certainly in
Speaker 1: evidence these past days when the parades were taking place
Speaker 1: and all the celebratory activities were occurring. Tell us briefly,
Speaker 1: what does GLAD do, what what is its mission exactly.
Speaker 1: So GLAD is the l g b t Q advocacy
Speaker 1: organization and we work globally and in the United States.
Speaker 1: Were based in the United States UM, and our job
Speaker 1: is to shift culture UM and hold accountable anyone who
Speaker 1: creates culture. And so culture used to when we started
Speaker 1: out thirty seven years ago, believe it or not, it
Speaker 1: used to be created out of two main places. One
Speaker 1: was Hollywood and the other one was UM News and
Speaker 1: journalism in New York. And we would really were a
Speaker 1: watchdog around the AIDS crisis for news and journalism, and
Speaker 1: then in Hollywood we we acted as lobbyists for lack
Speaker 1: of a better word, where we were lobbying these creatives
Speaker 1: to include us in their storytelling because we knew if
Speaker 1: we were included in the stories that it would humanize
Speaker 1: us as a community and help raise our visibility. So
Speaker 1: you've been a GLAD since two thousand and fourteen, and
Speaker 1: then in two thousand and eighteen you launched the GLAD
Speaker 1: Media Institute to research how LGBTQ people are represented in
Speaker 1: Hollywood and the media, much of what you've just been
Speaker 1: talking about. So here we are two thousand and twenty two.
Speaker 1: How are LGBTQ people portrayed and have we made progress
Speaker 1: from those terrible stereotypes of the past. So the short
Speaker 1: answer is we've made great progress. And I like to
Speaker 1: say that the Glad Media Institute really works a year
Speaker 1: round to consult on representation in Hollywood, and we work
Speaker 1: on scripts and casting, We do on site training, we're
Speaker 1: embedded in productions, and then we help promote great bodies
Speaker 1: of work where we know it's fair and accurate for
Speaker 1: our community. And I'm really really happy to report that
Speaker 1: there are more l g b t Q characters on
Speaker 1: TV than ever before, and they're diverse characters too. So
Speaker 1: this year our annual Where we Are on TV, which
Speaker 1: is our annual report on both television and streaming content,
Speaker 1: we found that nearly twelve of broadcast scripted TV characters
Speaker 1: are l g b t Q. Well, yeah, and for
Speaker 1: the first time in history, in our report history, I
Speaker 1: should say, Lesbians made up the majority of l g
Speaker 1: b t Q characters on broadcast TV. And this is
Speaker 1: great to l g b t Q people of color
Speaker 1: outweighed white l g b t Q people, and this
Speaker 1: has been something that we've been working on for the
Speaker 1: past I would say about five years with Hollywood is
Speaker 1: about the diversity of our community, because what we did
Speaker 1: see early on where a lot of white CIS men,
Speaker 1: and so we've seen Hollywood really change with the times
Speaker 1: and sort of lead the conversation if you will help
Speaker 1: lead it. We do, though, need to see more transgender
Speaker 1: and non binary characters, characters living with HIV, and families.
Speaker 1: Those are the big four what I call hot spots
Speaker 1: that I want to make sure that we're seeing more
Speaker 1: representation in because when you think about l g b
Speaker 1: t Q people in the world today and you think
Speaker 1: about even your life, you know people who are l
Speaker 1: g b t Q at work, in your family, in
Speaker 1: your community, at every intersection of your life. And that's
Speaker 1: how I think stories should be being told out of
Speaker 1: Hollywood is including lgbt Q people in every intersection of life.
Speaker 1: And some of those that you are putting greater emphasis
Speaker 1: on today are clearly being tour in it in not
Speaker 1: good ways. So it could make a difference. Hopefully it
Speaker 1: will make a difference, and we know that because it's
Speaker 1: been proven over time that when when there was inclusion
Speaker 1: of gay and lesbian characters, that that acceptance grew from that.
Speaker 1: And also I have recent studies that we did on
Speaker 1: representation where we found that non l g B t
Speaker 1: Q people actually like having l g B t Q
Speaker 1: inclusion in shows, in media, and in advertising because it
Speaker 1: helps them grow understanding, which leads to acceptance. Sarah, Kay,
Speaker 1: let's talk about you a little bit. What was your
Speaker 1: growing up like. Were you a crusader as a child
Speaker 1: for causes and maybe you gave some thought at some
Speaker 1: point to leading a national advocacy organization or was that
Speaker 1: just out of the question. Um. So, I grew up
Speaker 1: on Staten Island, and UM, I think I was a
Speaker 1: crusader as a child, just to exist as myself in
Speaker 1: the culture that I was living in. UM. I didn't
Speaker 1: realize I was gay until I was in college because
Speaker 1: I had no exposure. I understood that I didn't fit
Speaker 1: in and that something was not I wasn't in the
Speaker 1: model that I saw everybody else falling into, but I
Speaker 1: didn't know what that meant. Um. And then as I
Speaker 1: went to college and I was exposed to l g
Speaker 1: B t Q people, I was, you know, the light
Speaker 1: bulb went off, as they say, my first Uh, it's
Speaker 1: so funny because I just went back to my college,
Speaker 1: which is Russell Stage College, and I um got an
Speaker 1: honorary doctorate, which was really nice, and did the commencement
Speaker 1: speech congratulations, thank you, it was it was really pretty amazing.
Speaker 1: And and the first protest I ever did was at
Speaker 1: my college and it was because they were closing down
Speaker 1: the Women's Center. And um, the funny part about that
Speaker 1: was not that they were closing down the women's center
Speaker 1: at a women's college, but makes sense of that, But
Speaker 1: was that I knew when we were standing there was
Speaker 1: there might have been ten of us in front of
Speaker 1: the Women's Center with our signs. I knew to call
Speaker 1: the press. It was in me. I said this has
Speaker 1: to be a story to get any traction. So I
Speaker 1: understood the play of media in activism at an early age.
Speaker 1: And then my next protest was down in Washington with
Speaker 1: my mother for Roe v. Wade when that was under fire,
Speaker 1: and that was in I want to say that was
Speaker 1: ninety three maybe, but it was a big march on
Speaker 1: Washington or for Roe v. Wade. And look where we
Speaker 1: are today. But I never saw myself leading an advocacy organization.
Speaker 1: But I would never close my mouth either, So I
Speaker 1: should have seen this coming. It all comes together right,
Speaker 1: Seneca's one hundred Women to hear will be back after
Speaker 1: the short break. I understand that the worst advice you
Speaker 1: ever got was about coming out, and that essentially was
Speaker 1: not to come out. Can you tell us about that
Speaker 1: experience and when you did come out, what were the
Speaker 1: circumstances and how did that make you feel? Yeah? I
Speaker 1: think the advice was by someone who's very near and
Speaker 1: dear to me and loves me a lot, and was
Speaker 1: very concerned at what the culture was like and knew
Speaker 1: that I had hoped to have a long and big
Speaker 1: corporate career and saw that me coming out would really
Speaker 1: hinder that. And that's not wrong. You know, at the time, um,
Speaker 1: we are talking about you know, in nineteen nine. Um,
Speaker 1: it was a different world than we You know, anybody
Speaker 1: who's a little older knows that it was a much
Speaker 1: different world. Um. And but what happened for me was
Speaker 1: that I felt that I had just I was caught.
Speaker 1: I just couldn't progress in my career. And a big
Speaker 1: part of that for me was being authentic and real
Speaker 1: and not being out meant that I was hiding something
Speaker 1: about myself. And you know, I hate to use the word,
Speaker 1: but lying and and you know it's it's sort of
Speaker 1: your forced into this position where you have to be
Speaker 1: somewhat untrue, um, because of the situation that you're in.
Speaker 1: But that's against my nature being my true and authentic
Speaker 1: self is who I am. And so I came out,
Speaker 1: Um I was. I was. I worked in magazine and
Speaker 1: magazines and publishing and I was starting a new job
Speaker 1: and I realized I couldn't do it anymore. But it's
Speaker 1: such a small world. That was such a small world,
Speaker 1: the magazine industry. So it was like once you were
Speaker 1: established as who you were, it wasn't really much route
Speaker 1: to change it. So this was going to change. This
Speaker 1: was my third magazine job. I had been at House
Speaker 1: and Garden, New York Magazine in Style and now so
Speaker 1: I guess this was my fourth at Real Simple. And
Speaker 1: so all the people that I was in touch, this
Speaker 1: was going to eventually make it back to them. Um,
Speaker 1: And I did it, and you know what, knowing flinched
Speaker 1: and it wasn't a big deal, and from there I
Speaker 1: was able to unleash. I feel that it just took
Speaker 1: so much of that took such a toll that you
Speaker 1: don't need and realize it's taking on you, um by
Speaker 1: covering who you truly are. That I just soared from
Speaker 1: there in my career, so fascinating and so liberating, right,
Speaker 1: that's the best word. Liberating. That's exactly what it felt like. Well,
Speaker 1: you wrote a memoir with your wife, Kristen Ellis Henderson
Speaker 1: called Times two Two Women in Love and the happy
Speaker 1: family they made, and it tells about how you two
Speaker 1: came together and created a family with a special twist.
Speaker 1: What was that? Yes, I would call it a special twist.
Speaker 1: So my wife and I really wanted to have a family,
Speaker 1: and I had been trying for a while unsuccessfully. So
Speaker 1: we decided, you know what, we have two ovens we
Speaker 1: want to bun. Let's get this going. And she started
Speaker 1: trying UM and on the first month that we both
Speaker 1: started trying at the same time, we both got pregnant.
Speaker 1: Oh my yes, so we um. The babies were born
Speaker 1: in February and they were born three weeks apart. Um.
Speaker 1: Our one child was born on February one, and our
Speaker 1: daughter was born on February. Essentially twins. We call them twins.
Speaker 1: They've grown up as twins. It's when I meet, you know,
Speaker 1: people who have carried twins where I tell them the
Speaker 1: truth because I don't want I don't want anybody to
Speaker 1: think that I'm I'm trying to take credit for doing that,
Speaker 1: because that is that's a big job carring twins, It
Speaker 1: surely is. And now the two of you have a
Speaker 1: new book out, All Moms for Young Readers. Can you
Speaker 1: tell us about that please? Absolutely? So. You know, everything
Speaker 1: changes when you have children, and you just view the
Speaker 1: world so differently. And that was one of the reasons
Speaker 1: where I made the jump for UM being in publishing
Speaker 1: in digital to social justice and working at GLAD was
Speaker 1: because I wanted to make the world a better place
Speaker 1: for my kids. One of the things that christ and
Speaker 1: I noticed early on was that there were no books
Speaker 1: that reflected our family for our kids. And we were
Speaker 1: voracious readers. We loved, you know, to make sure that
Speaker 1: we were always reading to the kids, and they loved it.
Speaker 1: And there was this one book Mommy, Mama and Me
Speaker 1: that we got that did show the family and the
Speaker 1: kids before they could even talk with literally fight over
Speaker 1: this book, pulling it back and forth. So we had
Speaker 1: to get a few of those copies because and they
Speaker 1: couldn't even tell us why, but it was so clear
Speaker 1: that this is a place that they saw themselves, and
Speaker 1: so we wanted to make sure that there were other
Speaker 1: places that that kids could see themselves. And when I
Speaker 1: was since I started Glad, we put together a book
Speaker 1: publishing deal with Little B Books, which is Simon and Schuster,
Speaker 1: and one of the books that we just put out
Speaker 1: my my wife. We've put out twelve books so far
Speaker 1: with Glad and Little By and my wife and I
Speaker 1: just co authored one ourselves called All Moms, which is
Speaker 1: really focused on It's just a love song or a
Speaker 1: love letter, I should say, two moms and the tireless
Speaker 1: effort they put into raising their kids. But even not
Speaker 1: so gendered as moms, but parents. It's about the unconditional
Speaker 1: love that you give to your kids. And it's funny
Speaker 1: because my daughter and her girlfriends were in the car
Speaker 1: and had some copies in there, and one of them
Speaker 1: started reading them, reading the book out loud, and when
Speaker 1: she got to little points in the book that reminded
Speaker 1: her of her mother, she would say, that's just like
Speaker 1: my mom. That's just like my mom. And I thought,
Speaker 1: that's exactly what we wanted. We're kids, I mean, these
Speaker 1: are thirteen year old, but it's still you're still always
Speaker 1: looking to see yourself. Absolutely Well, we've reached that hour
Speaker 1: where we have to terminate our conversation. But before we
Speaker 1: do that, I just want to ask you, given all
Speaker 1: the challenges of today, what makes you optimistic? What gives
Speaker 1: you hope? Well, I think you have to be wired
Speaker 1: for optimism to be um, yeah, yeah, just this. But
Speaker 1: I would say these next generations, Generation Z and Generation
Speaker 1: Alpha are the ones to watch because they see the
Speaker 1: world in a whole different way. And I think that
Speaker 1: you know, these older generations, like myself, we helped pave
Speaker 1: the way, and now when we hand the baton off
Speaker 1: to them, they are just going to break it all
Speaker 1: apart and build it in such a magical, inclusive and
Speaker 1: diverse way that, um, I don't even think we could
Speaker 1: have ever dreamed of. So they give me a tremendous
Speaker 1: amount of hope and optimism. So well said, Well, thank you,
Speaker 1: Sarah Kate Ellis. Thank you for what you're doing to
Speaker 1: advance social justice through GLAD. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1: What a wonderfully positive conversation. Here are three things I
Speaker 1: took from it. First, Sarah Kate Ellis reveals just how
Speaker 1: much progress has been made over the years. The stats
Speaker 1: are eye opening. Glad's annual report found that nearly twelve
Speaker 1: percent of broadcast scripted TV characters are l g b
Speaker 1: t Q, and for the first time, lesbian's made up
Speaker 1: the majority of lgbt Q characters on broadcast TV. In addition,
Speaker 1: LGBTQ people of color outweighed white lgbt cute people. Second,
Speaker 1: Sarah Kate's life is a lesson in the importance of authenticity.
Speaker 1: Before she came out, she felt constricted in her career
Speaker 1: as if she were living a lie. It took a
Speaker 1: tremendous toll on her, But when she stopped covering up
Speaker 1: her true self, she experienced a tremendous feeling of liberation,
Speaker 1: and her declaration barely caused a ripple among her colleagues. Finally,
Speaker 1: Sarah Kate Ellis advises us to put our faith in
Speaker 1: the future in Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Younger people
Speaker 1: see the world in a whole different way. When we
Speaker 1: hand the world to them, she says, they're going to
Speaker 1: break it all apart and rebuild in a magical, inclusive,
Speaker 1: and diverse way that we've never even dreamed of. Tune
Speaker 1: in next week to hear about our next featured Woman
Speaker 1: and discover why she's one of Seneca's one Women to Hear.
Speaker 1: Seneca's one hundred Women to Hear is a collaboration between
Speaker 1: the Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio, with
Speaker 1: support from founding partner PNG Have a Great Day.