Women Take Wall Street: “Equity” Produced by Wilson Alumna

On Nov. 16, President Barbara Mistick and Executive Producer Candy Straight ’69 invited the Wilson community to a private showing of “Equity” at the Carmike Cinemas in the Chambersburg Mall. This is the first movie produced by the Wilson graduate who majored in History and has experience working in Wall Street.

After the screening, there was a Q&A session with Straight, which was also live streamed on the Wilson Facebook page.

Photo provided by Laura Giacomini

“Equity” examines the role of women in the financial world as opposed to other Wall Street movies which have men as central characters. According to Candy Straight, “Equity” provided the opportunity for great women roles on and off screen. Straight told the audience that the script was written by a woman and that 80% of the movie was funded by women. However, in spite of all this “girl power” it was the writer’s husband who came up with the title of the movie.

Another interesting fact shared by Straight was two endings were filmed two endings and then tested on audiences. The actual ending was the one the viewers considered the most realistic.

At the Q&A, Straight was asked how the values instilled in her at Wilson inspired her to produce the movie. She said that they had expanded her mind and gave her intellectual curiosity. She added that her experience at Wilson taught her that you could do anything you wanted. When asked her if she identified with any of the women in the movie, she said it took some time for her to be promoted in the financial world because she was a woman. As a matter of fact, she experienced a similar situation to one of the main characters in the movie.

Sexism and promotion are some themes in the movie. Other themes include women being held back when they get pregnant, lower bonuses given to women on maternity leave and the fact that when women hit a bump in their careers they always think they did something wrong. There were lots of stories they wanted to tell about women based on these themes in order to start a discussion about women and their supervisors and how different they are perceived in corporations. In addition, Straight said they wanted to tell the story from three different points of view: one of the main leading characters is in a same-sex relationship, another is single and the third is in a heterosexual marriage.

This movie explores the role of women on Wall Street while triggering discussion about women’s inequality in the workplace. The event, organized by Wilson College and producer Candy Straight, gave Wilson staff, faculty, students and alumni the opportunity to have a meaningful discussion about the movie and reflect upon the different themes.

For the full Q&A, visit the videos section on the Wilson Facebook page. Although it would be a better idea to watch the movie first.

 

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