Masterson to Moderate "Gender Gap" Panel at U.N.

Chase Masterson, on Friday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, will moderate "Closing the Gender Gap in Entertainment: Systemic Social Change Through Media," a panel which the actress/singer/activist -- and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Leeta -- is also producing. The panel will feature Women’s March on Washington chair Carmen Perez and Teen Vogue editor Lauren Duca.

"It is a supreme honor to moderate this groundbreaking panel on the intersection of pop culture and women’s equality, as well as its economic implications,” Masterson told StarTrek.com. “Research shows that when more women are hired in entertainment, both on camera and in production, more women’s stories are told, and women are empowered in countless ways. I have always been an advocate for women, but the integrity of Star Trek’s message of equality has resonated with me increasingly due to DS9. The future is a place of unremitting inclusivity. Let’s make that future start now.”

Co-sponsors for the event are the United Nations Association, San Diego Chapter, where Masterson serves on the Advisory Board, and Pop Culture Hero Coalition, which Masterson founded with anti-bullying expert Carrie Goldman in 2013. The Coalition is the first non-profit to make a stand against bullying, misogyny, racism and other forms of hate, using stories from TV, comics and film. They work in schools, comic-cons and communities.

The notable list of panelists participating in Friday's event will include Bettina Hausmann, president & executive director of the UN Association, San Diego Chapter; Ravi Karkara, UN Women co-chair, Policy Strategy Group, World We Want 2020; comics icon and inclusivity advocate Gail Simone; Coalition co-founder and award-winning author Carrie Goldman (Bullied: What Every Parent Teacher and Kid Needs to Know About Ending the Cycle of Fear); author and founder of Geek Girl Con, Jennifer K. Stuller; and author Dr. Janina Scarlet (Superhero Therapy).

"This fact also doesn’t escape me: both as an employee of Quark’s, and then as the wife of a Ferengi, Leeta was never expected to speak out, or to have any strength or voice of her own." Masterson said. "She was basically expected to exist in service to men, objectified. But she didn’t conform to those stereotypes. Originally, some people saw Chase in the same way. So, yeah, not bad, for a Dabo Girl.”

The event will be live-streamed on Facebook at the Pop Culture Coalition page and the United Nations Association San Diego Chapter page on Friday, March 17 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 pm Eastern; it will be archived on those pages.

For more information, follow @SuperheroIRL, @UNASanDiego, and/or @Chase Masterson on Twitter.