By Clary Castro
We talk with Ilia Calderon about all the challenges she had to face to become the predominant face of news within the Univision network, being the first woman to lead the newscast space alone.
In his process there are many “firsts”. And the fact is that the path of a woman in the entertainment industry and in many other areas sometimes requires double and even triple the effort compared to what many other men have had to work to establish a name, a face or a surname. Even on television.
It is not trying to provoke regret, it is opening the eyes of others and telling them ‘look this is the right society'”,
Calderón recognizes that when her achievements are highlighted, they talk about the first woman, the first Afro-descendant… and this causes some people to take it the wrong way and question the reason for using gender in her process and struggle. “Well, because for people who are women, who are of African descent or who are Hispanic, the path is much more difficult, it is much more complicated,” Calderón highlights.
“If you look at the 6:30 PM line today on all television in the United States, in English and Spanish, I am the only woman from Monday to Friday,” Ilia Calderón acknowledges. And precisely because of this we know that it has not been easy for Calderón to arrive. “The road has been full of obstacles,” he says.
In this interview, Ilia Calderón remembers that the obstacles in her path have sometimes had the name of a company or a boss who did not see talent in you. “Or it is named after circumstances that you have to go through and complicate your work,” the journalist summarized.
On an intimate level we both recognize that on many occasions we want to minimize a person’s work and process on that path to the top. Society itself and the industry want you to focus better on “you already achieved it” and not on “yes, but it was difficult for me.”
Given this situation, Calderón comments that “It is not trying to provoke regret, it is opening the eyes of others and telling them ‘look, this is our right society, it is a society that still discriminates against women.‘” “It is a society in which there is still machismo against women. “It is a society that is afraid of a powerful woman, that wants to close the doors to powerful women.”
Enjoy our full conversation with Ilia Calderón on our YouTube channel.
Continue reading more from Ilia Calderón here:
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Ilia Calderón says goodbye to Jorge Ramos with an emotional message after his departure from Univision
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