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In our continued series of interviews that ask about what issues women still face in the industry, we spoke with\u00a0Tiffany Frances<\/strong>, Director at Valiant Pictures, about her own experiences. Frances is a Taiwanese American writer and director of narrative film, commercials, and music videos. She loves to create character-driven, dramatic storytelling with lyrical visuals, and explores stories about women, marginalized voices, and finding surreal moments within authentic situations.<\/p>\n What barriers do women still face in our industry and why are they still there?<\/strong><\/p>\n I can only speak from my own experiences, but I feel that women and non-binary folks face several barriers from a systemic and institutional standpoint. I\u2019m glad the discussion is more open now; but generations and generations of women before didn\u2019t necessarily have the safe space to speak out against issues like blatant sexism or harassment or equal pay. Today our issues are more underlying; there\u2019s a lot of performative talk but the actions aren\u2019t matching up. I still think that the simple act of trusting and hiring women in positions of power isn\u2019t as common as it should be.<\/p>\n How should we tackle an issue such as equal opportunity, not solely for women\u2019s equality but across the entire DE&I spectrum?<\/strong><\/p>\n Great question. The true act of listening to those who belong in the DE&I spectrum is a first step. Second, implementing stronger, specified measures for those who haven\u2019t had the same types of entry points is the next. Third is to simply hire women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, persons with disabilities, etc. in positions of power in key decision making and pay them equally. Instead of talking about it for so long or creating whatever extra steps it is for us to get there, just do it. Just HIRE.<\/p>\n