By Randi Altman

Maxon is well known for having hands-on artists as presenters at their trade show booths. Highlighting these artists and their work — and streaming their presentations — has been intrinsic in what they do. Sometimes they also have artists on hand at press luncheons, where Maxon talks about their Cinema 4D product and advances that have been made while at the same time highlighting users’ work.

This year’s conversation was a bit different in that it featured an all-woman panel of motion graphics artists, including moderator Tuesday McGowan, Penelope Nederlander, Julia Siemón, Caitlin Cadieux, Robyn Haddow and Sarah Wickliffe. They talked about their career experiences, the everyday challenges women face to achieve recognition and gender parity in a male-dominated work environment and strategies women can use to advance their careers.

During the panel (which you can watch here), McGowan talked about how motion graphics, in general, is very young, and how she believes there will be a coming evolution of diversity, and not just women. “I think it will happen through awareness and panel discussions like this one that will actually increase the visibility and get the word out — to influence Generation Z, the next generation of women and people of color to get involved,” says Tuesday. “We think that the young women of Generation Z, who are more familiar and very confident with technology, will branch out and become great 3D artists.”

Paul Babb

We reached out to Maxon US president/CEO Paul Babb to find out about why promoting women in motion graphics is a cause he has dug into wholeheartedly.

How did the idea for a panel like this come about?
During one of the trade shows, we got beat up a little on one of the public forums for not having enough female artists presenting. At first I was angry because in the first place I think we had more female presenters than any other company at the show, and we have historically been sensitive to it.

Then I thought about it and realized we are one of the few companies streaming our presentations. So people who do not attend shows have no idea. So I decided we had to be more proactive about it and tried to come up with some ideas to encourage more women to come out to the shows. The idea of the panel seemed to be a great starting point — what better way to find out what would encourage women in the industry than to give successful women an opportunity to discuss it and share their insights?

Did the panel turn out the way you hoped?
Absolutely. Really, all I had hoped for was to contribute to a conversation that has already started. I wanted to give some great female artists a forum to share their experiences and hopefully encourage a new generation of female artists.

The conversation was great — candid, constructive and informative.

The panel generated frank conversation about the gender gap in 3D motion graphics. Topics examined included negotiating wages, mansplaining and being “talked-over,” the importance of flexible work time for women raising families, the need for women to seek out industry mentorship and tips for industry leaders to make workplace life inclusive to women.

What were a few takeaways from the panel?
I wasn’t surprised by any of the comments — good and bad. The biggest takeaway is that we have to find ways of encouraging more women in the industry, and encourage those in the industry to be more vocal.

What are the challenges they face and what do you think needs to change in the industry in general?
Other than the usual issues of a male-dominated society, the one thing that struck me is how women need to be more empowered — to toot their own horn, to recognize they are an expert and to stand up and be heard.

Maxon announced sponsorship of a new Women in Motion Graphics website. Tell us about the site offerings. Do you expect to continue to promote female graphic artists?
The Women in Motion Graphics website is intended as a resource to help women get ahead in the industry and to promote industry role models. It includes the video of the panel we organized at NAB 2018 featuring successful female artists, each working in different areas of the motion graphics business, addressing their struggles in the workplace. The artists who were on the panel share their insights into the motion graphics industry, its influencers and best practices for artists to achieve recognition. There is also a page with links to motion graphics education and training resources.

We will continue to sponsor the site and allow the women involved to drive its growth and evolution. In addition, we will continue to make great effort to get more women to come present for us at industry events, focus on doing customer profiles that feature women artists as well as sponsor scholarships and events that promote women in the industry.