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What was the SXSW panel?
The Friday afternoon keynote brought together Markle, Couric, Shields and Wang Yuen to discuss how women are represented and treated in media and entertainment. Haines moderated the conversation. Katie Couric Media’s event recap identifies the panel date, title and participants; Vanity Fair’s contemporaneous coverage also situates the appearance in the broader discussion of women’s experiences in media.
What did the panel discuss?
Online abuse and motherhood
Markle spoke about online bullying she experienced while pregnant and after the births of her children. Couric Media’s recap attributes to her the description, “It’s not catty, it’s cruel,” referring to the abuse she discussed.
Women’s roles and age in Hollywood
Shields addressed the way women’s roles and opportunities can change as they age in Hollywood. Couric Media attributes to her the remark: “Hollywood is predicated on eating its young. That’s what it wants to do. It wants to build you up and then devour you.”
Representation and gender equity
The conversation also covered women’s representation in media and entertainment, motherhood, and gender equity. Mediaweek’s March 11, 2024 coverage reported that women made up 20% of editors at the most popular international online publications. That is a figure reported secondhand in connection with the panel; the available coverage does not identify the statistic’s original publisher, so it should not be treated as independently verified.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was this a new collaboration?
The available event accounts describe the speakers sharing a panel, not forming a partnership or announcing a project together. A later Independent report in 2025 covered Shields’s retrospective recollection of an awkward exchange with Markle at the event. That later account is distinct from contemporaneous coverage of the panel itself.
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