New York, NY – November 29, 2016 - Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment (WIT) announced today that the organization will honor Academy Award®-winning actor and advocate Geena Davis with a Changemaker Award and Jill Barad with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 WIT Wonder Women Awards Gala on February 19, 2017 in New York City.

The Wonder Women Awards Gala theme will be WIT Changemakers: Playing it Forward, and will recognize and honor female executives who are creating positive change by giving back, passing on the lessons they’ve learned, and paving the way for future leaders.

“We are thrilled to be honoring Geena Davis and Jill Barad this year,” said Genna Rosenberg, Co-Chair of the Wonder Women Awards Gala and Principal of GennComm. “Both have made history for women in our industry and helped pave the way for today’s businesswoman to grow, thrive and prosper on a more level playing field.”

Changemaker Award honoree, Geena Davis, co-founder and chair of the Bentonville Film Festival and founder of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, has been at the forefront of gender equality in film and entertainment and an impactful advocate to the toy industry on the importance of improving gender balance, reducing stereotyping and creating diverse female characters in kids’ entertainment.

2017’s Lifetime Achievement honoree, Jill Barad, is a former Chairman and CEO of Mattel, who challenged and shattered the glass ceiling when she became one of the most prominent female chief executives in America. She was one of few women at the helm of a Fortune 500 company, while helping to build Barbie from a $320 million business to a $2 billion global brand.

Both women will be honored at the 13th Annual Wonder Women Awards Gala on Sunday, February 19, 2017 at Pier 60, Chelsea Piers in New York, during New York International Toy Fair. For more information and to purchase tickets to the Gala, please click here.

2017 annual WIT Sponsorship packages are now available, and include the new WIT Superhero Circle, which allows individual supporters of WIT to demonstrate their Superhero powers in support of its mission with their personal donation. Please click here for more information.