SheKnows Media and the Ms. Foundation Launch #TheFWord Video Contest With a Call for Entries That Ignites Conversation About Feminism Today

#TheFWord Short-Form Video Contest to Culminate in a Special
Screening in New York City on Equal Pay Day, April 12, 2016

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SheKnows
Media, a leading women’s media company with 90.1 million unique
visitors per month* and 256 million social media fans and followers,
today announced that it has opened the call for entries for #TheFWord,
a short-form video contest designed to explore the zeitgeist around
feminism.

#TheFWord invites individuals of all genders, ethnicities and
points of view living in the United States and Canada to submit brief,
two- to three-minute videos describing what feminism means to them.
SheKnows Media, in partnership with the Ms.
Foundation for Women, launched the video contest to ignite
conversation on feminism and intersectionality through the lens of
powerful, personal storytelling.

The following prestigious panel of judges will help SheKnows Media
determine the finalists once #TheFWord call for entries closes at
11:59 p.m. on February 19, 2016:

• Laura Benanti, Tony Award-winning Broadway and television
  actress (“Gypsy,” “Nashville,” and “Supergirl”)
• Connie Britton, Emmy-nominated actress, with stand-out
  roles on series such as “Nashville,” “American Horror Story” and
  “Friday Night Lights”
• Kristen Joiner, President of The Representation Project
• Tonya Lewis Lee, producer, entrepreneur and writer
• Alexandra Posen, artist and Co-Founder of Zac Posen
• Franchesca Ramsey, writer, actress and video blogger best known
  for her Chescaleigh Comedy channel and host of “MTV Decoded”
• Michael Skolnik, civil rights activist and former President of
  Russell Simmons’ GlobalGrind.com
• Jamia Wilson, Executive Director at Women, Action and the Media
• Teresa C. Younger, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ms.
  Foundation

At a later phase in the competition, SheKnows Media will invite the
public to vote for their favorite video. The winning video will be
revealed at a special screening event taking place on April 12, 2016, in
New York City, when the U.S. observes Equal Pay Day. #TheFWord
winner will receive a prize package worth $5,000 from SheKnows Media,
including $4,000 in cash. More about #TheFWord, including the
contest submission guidelines, can be found here.

“#TheFWord is a unique project that will provide invaluable
insight into how a diverse cross section of people identify with the
concept of feminism,” said Teresa C. Younger, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Foundation. “The Ms. Foundation for
Women is honored to partner with SheKnows Media on this imperative work.
As the head of an organization dedicated to building the collective
power of women, I am proud to serve on the judges’ panel and look
forward to viewing the entries.”

Franchesca Ramsey, writer, actress and video blogger, added,
“There is a need for more dialogue about the way women of different
backgrounds and ethnicities feel about feminism. #TheFWord,
through the power of video, will help jump-start that conversation.”

In addition to the short-form video contest, SheKnows Media will soon
begin revealing qualitative and quantitative results from a new
proprietary survey it launched to gauge how women of all backgrounds
view the concept of feminism, whether or not they self-identify as a
feminist, and if they perceive feminism to have a tangible impact on
their day-to-day lives, careers, and relationships. More than 1,600
individuals responded to the survey, which closed in early January 2016.
To understand how younger generations associate with feminism, SheKnows
Media will augment the study by surveying teens and tweens.

“Feminism is a highly relevant yet polarizing topic, especially given
hot-button issues like this year’s presidential election, pay equity,
and gender equality in technology and media. Through visual storytelling
and landmark research, our hope is that #TheFWord will shine
light on how women of various ages, demographics and political
affiliation diverge, but also find common ground, in how they relate to
the concept of feminism,” said Samantha Skey, Chief Marketing
Officer, SheKnows Media.

For more information about #TheFWord, click here
or email TheFWord@SheKnows.com.
To learn more about SheKnows Media, visit corporate.sheknows.com.

*comScore, Media Metrix, Multiplatform Key Measures Report, November
2015, U.S.

About SheKnows Media

SheKnows
Media is the number-one women’s lifestyle digital media company with
90.1 million unique visitors per month (comScore, Media Metrix,
Multiplatform Key Measures Report, November 2015, U.S.) and 256 million
social media fans and followers. The company operates a family of
leading media properties that include SheKnows.com,
BlogHer.com,
StyleCaster.com,
DailyMakeover.com
and DrinksMixer.com.
With a mission of women inspiring women, SheKnows Media is
revolutionizing the publishing industry by forging a new kind of model
that seamlessly integrates users, editors and content creators onto a
single platform designed to empower all women to discover, share and
create. Whether it’s parenting or pop culture, fashion or food, DIY or
décor, our award-winning editorial team, Experts, bloggers and social
media influencers produce authentic and on-trend content every day. We
dig deep to learn what makes our audience tick, revealing unexpected
insights on women and digital media. Our robust, end-to-end suite of
premium branded content and influencer marketing solutions generate more
than 2 billion ad impressions per month (sources: DFP and OAS), allowing
brands to distribute authentic content and integrated advertising at
scale.

SheKnows Media is based in New York and Scottsdale, Ariz., with offices
in Los Angeles, Chicago and Redwood City, Calif. We also operate
internationally in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

About the Ms. Foundation for Women

For over 40 years, the Ms.
Foundation for Women has secured women’s rights and freedoms with a
special commitment to building the power of low-income, immigrant and
women of color. The foundation invests funds, time, expertise and
training in organizations nationwide.

The Ms. Foundation works to bring attention to the real challenges
facing women, especially women of color and low-income women who are
living in poverty, working paycheck to paycheck or both. We tirelessly
advocate for national and statewide policy change that will address
these challenges, and we support more than 100 organizations throughout
the country that are working for change on a grassroots level.

Contacts

SheKnows Media
Jenni Ottum, 480-231-4887
Jenni.Ottum@SheKnows.com