Tina Perry, President of OWN, is this year’s Inclusivity Champion for her visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to representation. Under her guidance, OWN amplifies Black voices through authentic storytelling and groundbreaking initiatives like the “OWN Your Health” campaign. Beyond her executive role, Perry’s advocacy in media, the arts and community health underscores her belief in creating spaces where all voices are valued. “Tina leads with a rare blend of clarity, strategy, empathy and emotional intelligence. For those of us lucky enough to work alongside her, that means every meeting, every pitch, every greenlight and every note session is grounded in the network’s mission statement that Tina created and fosters,” says Drew Tappon, OWN’s Head of Unscripted Development, Programming & Specials. Cablefax spoke with Perry about what drives her inclusive approach.
OWN was obviously built to serve a Black female audience, which is inherently inclusive, but you have broadened that mission. Why?
When Oprah and I thought about the word inclusivity at OWN, one of the first things we talked about was making sure that on screen, we were inclusive of all different types of Black women—from physical skin color, background, socio economic—it was important that all women we were serving in our demographic felt included and reflected. And then an extension of that was about how do we include these women, but also address different parts of their lives. That’s where OWN Your Health and OWN Your Vote came from. How do we remain in service to them as much as we’re entertaining them, and talk to this group in a more diverse, inclusive way than other people vying for their time in media and entertainment?
And what are some of your most recent initiatives?
We did an incredible partnership this year with the American Cancer Society. It was called Voices of Black Women, where we were supporting a cancer research project they were doing. The project was to help Black women prioritize their health, but also recruit people to participate in a research study. This year, we also had the privilege of participating in the American Black Film Festival, and we hosted a wonderful panel about the mental health of the creative. We talked about how just because you’re creating content, it does not mean that you should not be paying attention to your mental health and taking care of yourself. Every seat was filled, and we had a large number of men in the audience asking questions. I think it spoke a lot about the topic, but also, I realized we were filling a void.
What do you see as the business benefits of fostering inclusivity?
It creates an incredible brand halo for your business. Unscripted or scripted series or movies, there’s kind of a ceiling they can hit for brand amplification. But when you have a campaign like this, it just is much louder. I also say that it can frame your brand and also the talent who works with you differently. Many of the talent that we work with are excited to learn about the campaigns, figure out how they can lead them and be helpful. I know it makes them more excited about working with us.
You’re very involved in the arts. How do you see art as giving voice to overlooked communities?
When I think about how I feel about inclusivity and how I lead with it, probably my love of the art was one of the first places I experienced it. The beautiful thing about art is that the person making it is pouring their everything into that piece of work. It’s one of the most democratic creative spaces, if you ask me, because it doesn’t take a camera or a computer or a stage or acting class to make art. You can make it out of Popsicle sticks. I’ve encountered people from so many different types of backgrounds— socioeconomically, racially, physical, physicality, disability, sexuality. I think it’s one of the most inclusive mediums, but also accessible mediums for people to share their voice and their story.
What advice would you give leaders who want to be stronger champions of inclusivity?
Think about what that word means to you. It’s just a very easy thing to do, but you have to start with thinking very broadly about being inclusive. There’s no one way to be inclusive, but thinking about it on a regular basis, using it as one of the many filters as you’re creating and making, can be healthy. If you do that over time, it’ll become a part of your repertoire.