by Charlize Theron says women in the entertainment industry need to “push each other to keep using our voices and platforms for something bigger than ourselves.”
The Hollywood actress received the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment event on Wednesday.
Theron said she saw the recognition “less as a sign of accomplishment but more as a challenge to keep doing the work” and urged the other women to “hold each other accountable.”
She was presented with the award by her friend, comedian and actor Seth Rogen.
In her acceptance speech she told attendees that leadership “is not a game for one person, especially for women” and that a sense of community was needed.
“I’m looking out and I see an entire room of some of the most powerful women in the world who all showed up this morning to help make some change. You know it means something when so many women agree to a full-on glam red carpet at 8 on Wednesday,” she said.
“I want us to hold each other accountable, use each other as assets, and push each other to keep using our voices and platforms for something bigger than ourselves.
She added: “I guess all of this means that leadership is not a game for just one person, especially for women.
“We need communities, not just to build each other up, but to help pass the torch to the next generation of great women who will no doubt be up here one day, telling us how they solved the climate crisis or how they became the first (woman) american president.
“We all want it or we wouldn’t be here today.”
Theron added that, in addition to her successful acting and producing career, she also finds great joy in her charitable work with her foundation, the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP).
“I take this leadership award less as a sign of accomplishment, but more as a challenge to keep doing the work,” he said.
“I see what’s being done here today, with the grants being handed out, these young people that I absolutely know are going to use it to create giant waves in their communities.”
American actress Issa Rae was honored with the Equity in Entertainment Award, presented to an individual who amplifies the voices of underrepresented communities in the entertainment industry.
The Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment event took place Wednesday night at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel.
Other famous female faces in attendance included Margot Robbie, Jamie Lee Curtis, Carey Mulligan and Janelle Monae.
Brooklyn Beckham was also photographed at the event, accompanying his wife, Nicola Peltz Beckham.
