Unequal paydays, marginalization, and now the rise of AI: For women who write and those who aspire to, there are many pressing concerns that can feel downright demoralizing.
But according to New York Times-bestselling author and Fordham President’s Council member Adriana Trigiani, author of 18 books with numerous producing and directing credits to her name, our only limitations are the ones we place on ourselves. That’s the message she delivered to a room of approximately 200 women — many who identified themselves as aspiring writers — at the eighth annual Fordham Women’s Summit on Oct. 16.
‘Find Out What the Men Are Making’
During the summit’s keynote session, Trigiani took part in an inspiring and often hysterical conversation with Fordham’s Mary Bly, chair of the English department and author of bestselling romance novels under the pen name Eloisa James. Trigiani offered advice on topics spanning from how to keep to a writing schedule, how to handle the naysayers, and most of all, how to get paid what you deserve.
“The number-one job of getting paid properly is finding out what the men are making,” said Trigiani, who is also a Fordham parent. “It doesn’t take much. Sometimes just half a cocktail and I can get the numbers out.”
Her tell-it-like-it-is delivery sent one wave of laughter after another through the crowd of career and philanthropy-focused women, many of whom were Fordham alumni or current students. She also offered words of encouragement and reassurance that touched on the real obstacles writers are facing today.
‘You Cannot Create Without Engaging the Soul’
One such moment came when Trigiani addressed the looming specter of the new AI text generators that threaten the craft with occasionally convincing imitation.
“Everybody’s worried about AI, but something’s missing there. That’s our secret — they don’t know, but the Jesuits would know. It’s that you cannot create without engaging the soul. It can look like it. It can walk like it. But it’s like one of them handbags in the street. It looks like a Birkin, but if you put two things in it the handles fall off,” said Trigiani.
Giving with a Purpose
The attendees were encouraged to join Fordham Giving Circles, a form of collective philanthropy where groups of individuals donate to a pooled fund. Emmy Award-winning content creator Isabel Rivera, FCRH ’90, who served as the summit’s emcee, highlighted the Fordham Women’s Summit Scholarship Giving Circle, created to make a Fordham education accessible to students of all backgrounds. Since 2017, more than 100 Giving Circle members in 20 circles have joined forces to give more than one million to Fordham, Rivera said.
For Trigiani, who along with Bly pledged to join a Giving Circle during the keynote session, it’s a worthy cause.
“I like that I’m looking at the world at Fordham,” said Trigiani. “It’s not just privileged people … Every country in the world is represented. Every religion. Those Jesuits are sharp, because they know the meaning of the word Catholic. It means everybody.”
