Today we’d like to introduce you to Malika Williams.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started this journey as an actor in the thick of the Hollywood Hustle. I was doing well, booking television and film jobs here and there, but struggled financially. I had at least four different part-time jobs in order to make ends meet and stay flexible for auditions, but every day felt like a harrowing test of stamina and faith. I was on a never-ending quest for the perfect combination of jobs that would make me feel more positive about the day-to-day grind while I built my professional acting career.
At a particular juncture in 2016, I got close to that ideal arrangement – I had let go of college test prep tutoring, babysitting, and personal assistant work. Instead, I was working for an arts organization that was contracted by the military to deliver engaging professional development workshops around sexual assault prevention and response. I was also working for an advocacy group that helps women who’ve been hurt by negligent corporations and institutions take legal action.
Both of these “day jobs” impacted me deeply. In between my co-star auditions, I found myself at one job, speaking on the phone with women whose bodies had been wrecked by the use of an unsafe contraceptive device which had been approved by the FDA and then later recalled. Then, a few days later at a training in Guantanamo Bay with my other job, listening to a marine share her story of being ostracised by her command after she came forward as a survivor of sexual assault.
This was also the season of the burgeoning #MeToo movement and the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Everywhere I turned, I faced how hard it is for women to be heard, supported, and believed – in the media, at work, in the doctor’s office, at home.
While I geared up for a large military training session, a well-meaning supervisor advised me not to take it personally if the mostly male audience tuned out while I was speaking. I was told that I should turn the presentation over to my male co-facilitator if it seemed like my points weren’t landing. Speaking from her own experience, my trainer shared, “sometimes it just sounds better coming from a man.” I was shocked, but I also understood where she was coming from. She had found a way to get the job done in a masculine environment where a woman’s voice was not perceived as authoritative, trustworthy or knowledgeable relative to a man’s voice.
That was a big aha moment for me. That was the problem nobody was addressing. I wasn’t concerned about getting the job done, I was concerned about changing the underlying belief that a woman’s voice is not worth society’s attention.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
One of the biggest challenges was figuring out what to do with this pressing concern about women. How could I channel it into a program or business that would actually impact the world? And how could I do that while still supporting myself and building my acting career?
I am eternally grateful to the Actors Fund and the Creative Entrepreneurship Program for giving me a structure and mentors to sort out those questions. I thought that any entrepreneurial endeavor would wipe out my energy for acting work, and through the free career counseling services at the Actors Fund, that idea completely dissolved. I discovered that by leveraging my MFA, performance background, and varied professional experience, I could create a unique offering that I was perfectly suited for. From that springboard I founded The Center for Women’s Voice.
Another hurdle was acknowledging the impact this vision was having on me and my values. The more I invested in the Center for Women’s Voice, and the more I connected with and coached women who were looking for tools to change their lives – the more I felt at odds with the entertainment industry. So much of my identity was around being an actor with a certain trajectory, but when I really got down to what I wanted to create, how I wanted to feel when I was working on a daily level, and what I wanted my legacy to be, I found that the Hollywood Hustle was no longer aligned for me. I couldn’t go into an audition room hoping to be picked anymore – If I was going to have the role of a lifetime, it would be in a film that I greenlit myself.
A consequence of my shifting values was accepting that I don’t want to be a starving artist, advocate, or anything. I want to build wealth, which still seems like a dangerous and controversial stance for a woman. I have to believe that whatever value I’m putting into the world is worth compensation, and it’s up to me to determine what that looks like.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Center for Women’s Voice – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I founded the Center for Women’s Voice so that I can help women communicate without apologizing or over-analyzing. So many women fly under the radar in male-dominated industries, because they don’t have the tools, confidence or emotional support to challenge the existing culture. Through one-on-one coaching and group workshops, I provide a space where women can learn to trust their voice and get out of their heads, so they can speak with authority and contribute at the highest level.
I believe that how we use our voices as individuals in our daily lives directly impacts the rights we have and the way we’re treated as a community in the world at large. I’m not just talking about the sounds that come out of our mouths (though that’s important too), I’m talking about the bigger Voice with a capital V. What we have to say, what we believe, what we stand for and what we don’t stand for.
Since launching in 2017 I’ve had over 100 coaching sessions with women across a spectrum of career stages. What they have in common is the desire to expand their influence further, be heard, and “show up” more authentically across their different work contexts.
For example, one of the more established professionals I coached was very confident in her leadership capacity, but she wanted to improve her outward facing engagement with media outlets.
Another is a social entrepreneur in the start-up space, working on networking without apology and overcoming imposter syndrome to advocate for her business. Still, another client is the head researcher for a policy institute who wants to bridge her knowledge with storytelling to make her findings more accessible and compelling for the institute’s stakeholders. So far, I’ve found the most resonance with women who work in corporate environments, Silicon Valley, above-the-line entertainment industry contexts, and academia.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
The foundation of the Center for Women’s Voice has been one-on-one coaching with women. This has given me valuable insight into the challenges that women in different industries face, and it’s given me a sense of the broader issues that exist within workplaces. The future of CWV involves impacting the organizational cultures and frameworks that we live and work in.
One of my signature talks is called Communicate Like A Boss: How to Manage your Mindset Around Misunderstandings, Microaggressions and #MeToo Moments. In this seminar, I teach women how to speak up about difficult issues in real-time.
Our collective awareness about unconscious bias and sexual assault are at an all-time high, but the conversation is largely reactionary. We have a tremendous amount to learn from debriefing these confusing events and analyzing their negative impact, but we also need to create a path to move beyond the trauma.
We need more resources geared toward prevention and navigating these situations in the moment. Ultimately, The Center for Women’s Voice will be a space for individuals and organizations that are looking for practical guidance about how to move the needle on valuing women’s voices.
Contact Info:
- Website: centerforwomensvoice.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: centerforwomensvoice
- Facebook: facebook.com/centerforwomensvoice
- Other: linkedin.com/company/centerforwomensvoice
Image Credit:
Norman E. Anderson II, Sabina Zuniga Varela, Pure Praxis, Maria Pasquarelli
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