“I’m talking with you, not at you. I want to know about you.”
As Victoria Alonso — Marvel Studios’ EVP of Physical Production — entered the room, she gently voiced these words to us. A room of parents, who she immediately felt a connection to, since she is a mom of a daughter. We thought we were in for a talk about Visual Effects, but it turned into a candid talk about parenting.
Equality For Women Is Up To Us
Victoria Alonso is the highest ranking female executive at Marvel Studios, and yet she does all the things I do as a mom; makes lunch, transports her kiddo to school and activities, and has heart-to-heart bedtime conversations. She also shares the drive all moms feel; we need to do better for our kids. We need to show them what they can be, through our own actions, and we need to believe in ourselves.
“I think that women need to believe in their core that they’re equal. Because I see it in my daughter at seven, and, boy, she’s gonna take it over. And there’s a shift somewhere along the way, I think when they turn between 12 and 15. And something shifts. Something shifts, and I think it’s within us. You gotta believe it in your heart.”
Hearing Victoria share her experiences with her 7 year old daughter, immediately created a deep connection I had to her story. Raising my own 7 year old powerhouse daughter has put me on a certain space as a parent. I want to be strong for her. I want her to be able to see herself in other strong women. I want her to know that women like Victoria Alonso exist, and they also want the best for her.
Women In Power at Marvel
The conversation we had during this way too short interview sparked something in the room. As 25 influential parents, speaking with a parent who is at the helm of one of the biggest franchises on the planet, we wanted to know how to get a seat “at the table” of power in Hollywood. Victoria encouraged us to just sit.
“When you go to that table, you sit at the table; not on the side, not behind. You sit at the table, and own it.”
Balance Challenges and Hurdles
When asked how she gets it all done, Victoria says that she doest believe in challenges. Challenges aren’t attainable, but hurdles are.
“A challenge is something you can’t achieve, where a hurdle is something you just need to jump over and go. So, I like to change a little bit of the dynamic of how we teach ourselves. If you want to get past it, that is a hurdle and not a challenge.”
This is how she handles day-to-day tasks at work and home. It’s all hurdles that she needs to jump over at her pace, and in her time. But how does she balance it all? Well, she says that’s the real puzzle of it all.
“Perhaps the most difficult thing to achieve is balance, and that is a work in progress.”
We learned so much from Victoria, including some fun spoiler-filled information I’ll share in a later post. This interview was life-changing, and I’m so honored Victoria took the time to speak with us. Victoria is also the Executive Producer of Avengers: Infinity War, which is in theaters now!
