Today, on International Women’s Day, we joyfully celebrate women around the world, with great sincerity behind our joy and deep reflection on the intention behind this day. While we have made great strides in our fight for representation, we recognize the fierce urgency of doing more and are in this quest for the long haul.

This marks our fourth year of the Alpha Female program, a formal commitment Sony made to the visual arts industry to help tackle the goals of representation, not only of women, but of all underrepresented and marginalized individuals of all genders. So far Sony has invested over one million dollars in the program, in the form of grants, gear, mentorship, promotion, sponsorships, events, travel (back when that was still a thing), and a myriad of other things that helped us put a few more cracks in that proverbial glass ceiling (“glass”, get it?) that women and minority photographers, videographers, and filmmakers still face. And so much more remains to be done.

Every year we’ve taken it a bit further, and I’m excited to share that this year, for the program’s fourth installment, and for our second year under the Alpha Female+ banner, we’ll be holding the program for an entire year, starting on April 5, 2021. Each month, we’ll offer opportunities to our community and one grant, open to all photographers and videographers who have a project that will further the woman and minority perspective in a world that sorely needs it.

Now, I’d like to leave you with a look at our 12 extraordinary creators from Alpha Female+ round three, which recently culminated with the final grant award to Lisa Janae, whose project we’re looking forward to bringing to you at the end of the month. Each one of the Alpha Female+ winners advanced our journey by many steps and each of them will continue to do so for a long time to come. We thank them for their voice, and we thank you for your support. Stay tuned for more info on the next installment of Alpha Female+ and join our Facebook group here.

Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Michelle Watt. See more about Michelle's project HERE.

Above: Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Lisa Frank. See more about Lisa's Project HERE.

Above: Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Dolphia Nandi. See more about Dolphia's Project HERE.

Above: Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Martha A. Hidalgo. See more about Martha's Project HERE.

Above: Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Rhonisha Franklin. See more about Rhonisha's Project HERE.

Above: Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Tenley Clark. See more about Tenley's Project HERE.

Above: Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Tiara Chiaramonte. See more about Tiara & her project partner Anne Lagamayo's Project HERE.

Above: Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Lisa Janae. See more about Lisa's docu-series project, which will be completed later in March, HERE.

Above: Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Julie Ellison. See more about Julie's Women Of The West Project HERE.

Above: Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Ruth Carter Hickman. See more about Ruth's cultural icons portrait project HERE.

Above: Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Shravya Kag. See more about Shravya's project following the route of the International Express, the 7 Train, HERE.

Above: Photo by Alpha Female+ Grant Winner Mary Bel. See more about Mary's self-portraits in a pandemic project HERE.