Here are some photos of Cate Blanchett in Italy this week, attending the Louis Vuitton Cruise Collection show at the Palazzo Borromeo. Cate is currently a “house ambassador” for LV, and she’s getting LV to design some custom looks for her using existing fabric, as in the fabric they had left over from other collections. She wore those fabric-remnant-designs in Cannes and I kind of disliked them. The fabric was fine, but the design was blech. I don’t know if Cate is wearing a dress made from “new” fabric in these photos, but considering she’s at the runway/event for the cruise collection, I bet they just gave her something new to wear. Again, the design sucks. I actually despise those sleeves. This ambassadorship is going to be very difficult for me.
Meanwhile, while Cate was in Cannes, she did a “conversation” as part of the Kering Women in Motion event staged at the festival. She spoke about recently becoming a producer and how she and her producing partner Coco Francini decided that they need to enforce diversity quotas on the films they produce, basically. Or at least quotas on who they interview for jobs.
On “Mrs. America,” Blanchett and Francini hired mostly female directors and crew members. On that set, they decided their mandate moving forward for all of their projects would be, “You must interview a woman and you must interview a person of color.”
Blanchett and Francini are proud to run a company that showcases women, international filmmakers and diverse voices. For Blanchett, she recalls a time in her career — not to long ago — when she would look around and be the only woman on set. With her work as a producer, she is hoping to change that.
“We’ve both had experiences where we walked on set and done the headcount and you wonder why you sort of slightly feel alienated and annoyed somedays,” Blanchett said. “I realize that I’m the only woman in the cast…there at 62 men, and yep, I’m the only woman. This ratio is bad…it’s really disproportionate. And it means you’re always laughing at the same jokes. I do have a really good sense of humor, but it’s like, let’s change it up.”
I’ve already seen some right-wing sites try to make it sound like she’s dictating that all productions must be woke as hell, but… like, saying that you’re only required to INTERVIEW a handful of people of color and women is really bare-bones wokeism. It’s barely even woke?? Like, “let’s make sure that we interview some women of color for this job” is no guarantee that those people will be hired, it’s just that you’re expanding who gets interviewed. I’m glad Cate is producing now though, she has such funky art-house taste, I bet she’ll help get some really cool films made.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- Louis Vuitton Cruise Collection 2024 presentation held at Palazzo Borromeo in Isola Bella, Italy. Featuring: Cate Blanchett Where: Isola Bella, Italy When: 24 May 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Louis Vuitton Cruise Collection 2024 presentation held at Palazzo Borromeo in Isola Bella, Italy. Featuring: Cate Blanchett Where: Isola Bella, Italy When: 24 May 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Louis Vuitton Cruise Collection 2024 presentation held at Palazzo Borromeo in Isola Bella, Italy. Featuring: Cate Blanchett Where: Isola Bella, Italy When: 24 May 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
I used to be Head of Talent for a large construction/engineering business and we tried to do this for senior roles to make sure women we are least being considered. We found ourselves continuously having to go back to the search firms and tell them to look again when we were presented with all male shortlists. When they made a bit of an effort sure enough they found female candidates. It was exhausting. We weren’t saying anyone had to hire women, just give them a chance to show up and interview for the role in a sector where most people love to hire someone they know from somewhere else and it kept the loop closed to ‘outsiders’.
@sarahcs – it’s great that you did this
That’s really great Sarah!
I applied for a job where they were, apparently, welcoming applications from disabled or half-disabled people and they would have had priority in interviews, together with minorities. This was at a major UK university, not a private company.
I came to find out much later that they had chosen already someone who was white and totally able-bodied but they were required, by law, to put disabled and minorities if they didn’t want to incur in issues due to discrimination.
The rejection email was really pathetic and infuriating too, something about me not being disabled enough (I wonder what was the rejection email for BAME or someone with a different sexual orientation/transgender!).
I don’t know why but Cate Blanchett always seems so performative to me, this is the bare minimum all producers should do, i.e giving equal opportunities to everyone.
That’s magnificent @ SarahCS!! It shows that it can be done if you push those who are sending you the applicants.
Sarah –
In my field, it’s not hard to find qualified white women, but it’s incredibly difficult to recruit BIPOC candidates. We have to dot every “i” and cross every “t” so any accusation of “lowering standards” would be absurd. Any BIPOC candidate hired is unquestionably the best person for the job. But it’s hard to get a representative application pool. Worse yet, BIPOC staff members often transition out in shorter time periods, demonstrating a lack of satisfaction with the workplace environment. That’s a systemic problem. It’s changing over time, absolutely, but a 50 year old middle manager grew up in a very different cultural climate than a 25 year old entry level applicant, so that’s where change is happening. But it is important to push hard to get recruiters to over turn every stone. If BIPOC candidates aren’t applying, there’s something missing in the recruitment effort.
That outfit is objectively horrible – everything out of proportion and guaranteed to make Kate look dumpy. And the shoes – ankle strap hooves.
Years back, I interviewed for a job at a major university. I killed it in the interview and was hired immediately. Later on, I took a look at my employee file and saw under “reason for hire” – “Only Woman Interviewed.” On the one hand, I got my foot in the door – on the other, this explained why I was I was so disrespected until I could prove myself on the job.
That’s awful @ Eurydice that you were questioned of your qualifications before you started your actual work. There’s always a handicap for women in the workforce and it still continues to this day. As for WOC, it’s still much, much worse.
While it’s a step in a better direction, it’s just a step.
Because ask the POC coaches in US professional sports leagues how that (the Rooney Rule) plays out in the real world when those in power are actively holding on to the whites only past, interviewing minority candidates to tick a box when they’ve already pretty much lined up a white person for the job.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/33194862/brian-flores-sues-nfl-others-former-miami-dolphins-coach-alleges-racism-hiring-practices
Pledging to interview one woman and one POC isn’t the kind of DEI that makes a difference. This isn’t the win she thinks it is.
This is what I came to say.
This actress could get ANYTHING greenlit if she wanted to do so, but has really only worked on projects produced and directed by men. But sure, interview away, girl.
Performative allies continue to give what they give.
Yes this was not the flex Cate thought it was.
LV had an opportunity to REALLY present a sexy/modern take on the severely tailored skirt suit & they decided to say “F IT” when it comes to those sleeves☹️.
DISAPPOINTED…I AM DISAPPOINTED WITH WHAT SHE SAID! It’s like the putrid “Rooney Rule” in the NFL which is 20 years old…for 20 years they’ve been INTERVIEWING Black candidates for Head Coaches…but look how many have been hired in that time period 😡
I really can’t stand Cate. She’s an excellent actress but gives off strong entitlement vibes. And requiring an interview is very performative. You get to pat yourself on the back for doing a whole lot of nothing.
See also: the Rooney Rule in the NFL which has recently been exposed for the scam it has turned into. While it was very well intended, it has turned into teams just interviewing POC to check a box while they really have no chance because a white man has already been chosen.
ONE, Cate? I don’t care if that’s a 100% increase, that is so lame.
I like the dress and the sleeves – just not the print. If the sleeves were solid black or the same fabric as the dress I think it would work better. As for the interviewing…yeah. This is perfunctory at best. She’s only asking they be interviewed. And let’s be real – most will NOT get the job. But maybe if enough people get into the room eventually the hiring itself will become more diverse. Also I really wish women and POC would stop being separated out when WW talk about these topic – women can be POC too.
I read this with very mixed feelings.
First of all, it’s not very much to just interview one woman or one person of color. It depends on the size of the group you are interviewing, of course–if you’re interviewing three people, this is a decent proportion–but it doesn’t sound like a radical reinvention of the field.
The sad thing is that the field is so white and so male, this is seen as a radical reinvention, so much so that she speaks about it publicly.
Pathetic that the bare minimum is seen as such an improvement. Pathetic that there are so many fields of highly skilled people in which women and people of color are sidelined so effectively.
I agree that the field is so white and so male.
If you look at Black, POC men and women producers and production companies, which are not perfect and they can definitely hire more women. They’re able to fill these roles with other Black and POC men and women.
So ask why is it so hard for their white counterparts to do the same thing.
Any pushback she gets on this from those right wing sites will be from the same people defending Elon Musk’s hiring and firing practices because “it’s his business and he can do what he wants!!!!!!!” Ok, well so can Cate.
She is my favorite actress.
I’m a truck driver now, started 6 months ago at 57 Y/o and I love it: true equality and opportunity. If y’all are thinking of a second or later in life career, look into it!
One of my friends is Head of HR at a large energy firm. A few years ago she got frustrated that she was always ending up with resumes that all looked alike – men, white. She was told “that’s just how it is with engineering”. She decided not to accept that and a/ changed where the company was advertising (to reach different talent), b/ started to reach out to engineering schools and technical institutes in Senegal and Morocco, and sign agreements with them. That ensured a steady connection with of a much more diversified pool of graduates (but also brings its own “brain-drain” set of problems…) At least she tried to do better than “1 interview.”
All actors should do this. Kudos to Cate.
I hate that outfit lol omg!!!!!!!!!
Oh, brother. Until companies and employers start actively and continually recruiting at historically black colleges and universities, promises like this are nothing but lip service. And companies won’t go there, because the talent pool is so huge it puts the lie to all that “we can’t find qualified people” crap.