At this year’s Advertising Week Future Is Female Awards, one moment stood out with clarity, purpose, and power: the presentation of the Lilly Ledbetter Lifetime Achievement Award to Madeline Di Nonno, President and CEO of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. The award — renamed in honor of equal pay icon Lilly Ledbetter — recognizes women who don’t just participate in the fight for equity, but change the terms of the conversation itself. Di Nonno has spent decades using research, storytelling, and industry partnership to challenge the narratives that define who gets to be seen, heard, and imagined on screen.
Under her leadership, the Geena Davis Institute has become the world’s most influential source of data on representation in media — proving, with measurable evidence, what women and girls have always known: If she can see it, she can be it®. By transforming research into action across film, television, advertising, gaming, and digital media, the Institute has reshaped casting decisions, studio agendas, brand strategies, and audience expectations — shifting stories that reach billions.
This is only the second year the Lilly Ledbetter Lifetime Achievement Award has been presented — and honoring Di Nonno underscores exactly what the Future Is Female Awards are meant to celebrate: women whose vision creates tangible, lasting change. Her acceptance speech was a call to stay vigilant, stay curious, and keep asking the most essential questions: Who is missing? Who is silent? Whose lives deserve to be seen?
Below, you’ll find her full speech — a reminder that while policy can shift systems, storytelling changes culture.
Madeline Di Nonno: Advertising Week Future is Female Lilly Ledbetter Lifetime of Achievement Award Acceptance Speech:
Laws can change systems. But branding, storytelling, media? We change mindsets. We change culture.
When I reflect on the trailblazing women whose courage has cleared the path for so many of us, one of those women is my boss, Geena Davis and of course, another is the indomitable Lilly Ledbetter.
As you may know, Lilly discovered she was being paid less than her male peers and — instead of staying silent, she spoke up. Instead of accepting injustice, she challenged it.
And because of her persistence, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act became law, changing the course of history for working women across the United States. Now, Lilly changed how women are paid and valued in the workplace.
I’ve been dedicated to changing how women are portrayed and valued in our culture in global media and entertainment. At the Geena Davis Institute, we use data the way Lilly used her court filings—as evidence that inequity is not accidental, it is systemic.
We measure who exists in global media and is seen as a hero, a leader, or someone who doesn’t spend half the movie waiting to be rescued. When our early research revealed that only one in three speaking characters in family films were female
—despite women and girls being half the world—we didn’t just publish a report. We knocked on every studio and content creator door and presented them with data they could not unsee.
And guess what? They listened.
Studios and Global brands shifted their campaigns. Content creators started calling us
before launching projects — asking, “Are we getting this right?” And just like that, change started happening. In less than 20 years, we’ve achieved gender parity for female lead characters in television programming made for kids as well for female lead characters in the largest grossing family films. And, we hope to do the same in global advertising next year.
Yet, there’s so much more change that needs to happen for women of color, LGBTQIA, Disabled and women over 50. That’s where all of you come in.
We — in this room — can change the narrative.…You are not just marketeers. You are architects of culture. You decide whose stories are told, whose voices are amplified,
and whose faces appear five stories tall in Times Square.
So here’s your call to action: mission if you decide to accept!
- When you greenlight a campaign — ask who’s missing.
- When you cast a lead — ask who’s always been background.
- When you choose a strategy — make representation the strategy.
- When you write a narrative — write the future you want your daughters to inherit.
If girls do not see possibility…They do not believe in possibility. Let’s ensure every girl — every race, everybody, every background — can see herself reflected in every story and in every ad campaign.
Because, If She Can See It, She Can Be It.
| Announcing The Future is Female Award Winners! Introducing Advertising Week New York’s 2025 Future is Female Award recipients! In partnership with Adform, we are humbled to be able to recognize and honor these extraordinary women who are revolutionizing the industry – and our world – with their innovative spirit and dynamic leadership. A special congratulations to the recipient of our Lilly Ledbetter Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree Madeline Di Nonno,President & CEO, Geena Davis Institute. Meet the Future is Female Award Winners: |
| A big congratulations to these incredible women! |
New York – October 13, 2025 – The Geena Davis Institute (GDI) is proud to announce that its President and CEO, Madeline Di Nonno, has been awarded the 2025 Advertising Week “Future Is Female” Lilly Ledbetter Lifetime Achievement Award.
This prestigious honor celebrates Di Nonno’s decades-long leadership and impact advancing gender equity, inclusion and representation across film, television, advertising, gaming and media industries worldwide. This marks only the second year the Lilly Ledbetter Lifetime Achievement Award has been presented – following its inaugural recognition in 2024, given to its namesake, equal pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter.
As President and CEO of GDI, Di Nonno has guided the organization’s global mission to engage, educate and influence the creation of inclusive media that reflects the diversity of the real world. Under her leadership, the Institute has become the preeminent source of data-driven insights on representation, reshaping how studios, brands and content creators approach storytelling – ensuring that “if they can see it, they can be it®.”
“Madeline’s leadership has translated the Institute’s vision into measurable, industry-wide change in entertainment and media,” said two-time Academy Award-winning actor Geena Davis, Founder and Chair of GDI. “Her commitment to advancing equity through evidence-based action has made an extraordinary difference for women and underrepresented communities everywhere.”
The Future Is Female Lifetime Achievement Award honors women who have dedicated their careers to advancing equality and inspiring the next generation of female leaders. The Lilly Ledbetter category, named after the trailblazing equal pay advocate, recognizes women who have paved the way for lasting, systemic change.
“It’s a great honor to receive the Future Is Female Lilly Ledbetter Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Di Nonno. “Lilly Ledbetter fought to change the laws that define equality, and our mission at the Geena Davis Institute is to change the stories that define culture. Because yes, laws can change systems – but storytelling changes mindsets. I’m profoundly grateful to the partners and creators who have stood with us to advance this mission. Together, if we stay vigilant – asking who’s missing, who’s been background, and whose stories deserve to be told – we can achieve much more representation on screen and off.”
Madeline Di Nonno brings over 30 years of experience in media, marketing and entertainment to her leadership at the Institute. She has held senior executive positions at Universal Studios Home, the Hallmark Channel, and Nielsen Entertainment.
Under her leadership, the Geena Davis Institute earned the prestigious Governors Award Emmy from the Television Academy for its “profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and science of television.”
As Executive Producer, Di Nonno has also brought powerful storytelling to life through the Emmy-nominated, People’s Choice Award-winning and Gracie Award-winning series Mission Unstoppable, as well as the Gracie Award-winning documentary This Changes Everything. Both productions have advanced cultural awareness around representation and equity in entertainment.
Under her leadership, GDI’s research revealed that women achieved parity in lead roles in family films for the first time in history – influencing how studios approach casting and storytelling. Di Nonno has expanded the Institute’s reach globally, forged partnerships with major studios and brands and led initiatives that have reshaped the way content is written, cast and produced.
Madeline Di Nonno’s leadership represents the very best of what the Future Is Female Awards were created to honor,” said Ruth Mortimer, Global President of Advertising Week. “Her tireless work to advance gender equality and inclusion has reshaped not only the entertainment industry, but the cultural narratives that define how we see ourselves and one another. She is a true changemaker whose impact will be felt for generations.”
| Future is Female Judges Are Here—And They’re Absolutely Incredible!
We’re beyond thrilled to reveal this year’s powerhouse panel of Future is Female judges! In partnership with Adform, we’ve assembled an extraordinary group of industry trailblazers, past winners and dedicated Future is Female community champions who are about to tackle the ultimate challenge: narrowing down our record-breaking nominations to just ten winners. This brilliant collective brings together diverse perspectives from across the industry, and honestly? We couldn’t be more excited to see what they uncover. The talent pool this year is unmatched and our judges have their work cut out for them. Meet This Year’s Judges: |
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