I was asked recently by a male colleague whether I think there is value in women only events in the corporate world. After all there would be an uproar if a conference in any field was advertised as being specifically for men!
My response was that having been to a number of such events over the last few months I think they are absolutely necessary! Most conferences and business events have historically and typically been dominated by men, which has meant that women’s voices are rarely heard, and if women’s voices are not heard we are missing out on so much experience and knowledge, and most importantly on a different perspective. There has been considerable research in to the value of diversity and there is no doubting the value that diversity in leadership brings.
If you accept that women are as smart as men why would you want to miss out on half the gene pool, which of course begs the question, why hold women only events and miss out on the male half of the gene pool?
Sharing our stories
My experience has been that at women only events the female senior leaders are able to be much more open and vulnerable. The sharing of personal stories and how they impact on professional life (and vice versa) is not hidden. The feminine traits of sharing, collaboration and support are more highly valued in this environment, rather than competitive one upmanship. I have never experienced the same level of sharing and openness at a mixed conference as I have at women only events.
Role Models
“You can’t be what you can’t see” and we must not underestimate the importance of women having great role models.
Sometimes in a male dominated industry a woman can feel like there is no-one around in those senior positions who has experienced the same things she has, and at a women only event she can celebrate the achievements of those who in more senior roles, foster new connections across the industry and support those coming up through the ranks. Building the profile of women in a certain industry also allows outsiders to see those industries as attractive, enabling them to attract a much wider array of talent, which is crucial to all businesses.
Support networks
I have never met a woman who hasn’t had to deal with unacceptable behaviour from men (& women) in the workplace, whether it be aggressive bullying, sexual harassment or patronising of the “girl” in the team at some stage in her career. Other women can provide great advice and tips on how to handle difficult situations, from how to change your physical presence in the office, learning to respond with questions to an aggressor rather than becoming defensive, how to use banter and humour to make a point, when to get outside help, when to report incidents, and when to walk away.
Growing leadership capacity
Leadership is changing in a world where agility, innovation, creativity are so important, and we are seeing much greater recognition and acceptance of the role emotional intelligence plays in engaging and empowering people to do their best work. Women only events are super opportunities for women to flex their leadership muscles using their “softer” skills, and exploring ways to bring their whole authentic self to work, without the pressure to assert their masculinity.
Often women working in male dominated fields have felt that they had to suppress their femininity, and focus on their more masculine traits in order to rise up through the ranks, and it can be incredibly refreshing to have greater freedom in how you look and what you say.
Building the future together
I strongly believe that we need to be hearing the voices of all parts of our population in the corporate world so moving forward we need to be holding conferences and events with men and women both well represented on all subjects. However, research has shown time and again that women speak out less in groups where they are a small minority as is the usual case in board rooms, senior executive teams and political parties. They are also afforded less time to speak and are interrupted much more by men than other men are.
There is great research demonstrating that when women hold a significant majority in a group, men are also more likely to speak up on issues pertaining to family and care issues rather than these being seen as the domains of women (The Silent Sex, Mendelberg). This is a great opportunity for men to break out of their own gender defined roles and break down the stigma around fathers as primary carers.
Movements like The Panel Pledge, whereby men only agree to speak on panels where there is also strong representation of women, are fantastic to start shifting the diversity dial but we still have a long way to go.
I know some people see women only events as being counter-productive and others that see them as being purely a cynical marketing tool but I sincerely believe that women can only benefit from the flurry of women only events which are happening around town now.
Women and men do need to work together to address the issues of inequality and to improve diversity in the workplace and I look forward to the day when we don’t need women only events because men and women have equal representation and are equally respected in the corporate world but until that time these events provide wonderful new opportunities for women.
What are your views, either for or against gender segregated events?
If you are looking for leadership programs for the high potential staff in your organisation I would love to hear from you at [email protected]. I believe passionately in empowering leaders to become the best they can & I feel particularly strongly about supporting more women into senior roles.
My response was that having been to a number of such events over the last few months I think they are absolutely necessary! Most conferences and business events have historically and typically been dominated by men, which has meant that women’s voices are rarely heard, and if women’s voices are not heard we are missing out on so much experience and knowledge, and most importantly on a different perspective. There has been considerable research in to the value of diversity and there is no doubting the value that diversity in leadership brings.
If you accept that women are as smart as men why would you want to miss out on half the gene pool, which of course begs the question, why hold women only events and miss out on the male half of the gene pool?
Sharing our stories
My experience has been that at women only events the female senior leaders are able to be much more open and vulnerable. The sharing of personal stories and how they impact on professional life (and vice versa) is not hidden. The feminine traits of sharing, collaboration and support are more highly valued in this environment, rather than competitive one upmanship. I have never experienced the same level of sharing and openness at a mixed conference as I have at women only events.
Role Models
“You can’t be what you can’t see” and we must not underestimate the importance of women having great role models.
Sometimes in a male dominated industry a woman can feel like there is no-one around in those senior positions who has experienced the same things she has, and at a women only event she can celebrate the achievements of those who in more senior roles, foster new connections across the industry and support those coming up through the ranks. Building the profile of women in a certain industry also allows outsiders to see those industries as attractive, enabling them to attract a much wider array of talent, which is crucial to all businesses.
Support networks
I have never met a woman who hasn’t had to deal with unacceptable behaviour from men (& women) in the workplace, whether it be aggressive bullying, sexual harassment or patronising of the “girl” in the team at some stage in her career. Other women can provide great advice and tips on how to handle difficult situations, from how to change your physical presence in the office, learning to respond with questions to an aggressor rather than becoming defensive, how to use banter and humour to make a point, when to get outside help, when to report incidents, and when to walk away.
Growing leadership capacity
Leadership is changing in a world where agility, innovation, creativity are so important, and we are seeing much greater recognition and acceptance of the role emotional intelligence plays in engaging and empowering people to do their best work. Women only events are super opportunities for women to flex their leadership muscles using their “softer” skills, and exploring ways to bring their whole authentic self to work, without the pressure to assert their masculinity.
Often women working in male dominated fields have felt that they had to suppress their femininity, and focus on their more masculine traits in order to rise up through the ranks, and it can be incredibly refreshing to have greater freedom in how you look and what you say.
Building the future together
I strongly believe that we need to be hearing the voices of all parts of our population in the corporate world so moving forward we need to be holding conferences and events with men and women both well represented on all subjects. However, research has shown time and again that women speak out less in groups where they are a small minority as is the usual case in board rooms, senior executive teams and political parties. They are also afforded less time to speak and are interrupted much more by men than other men are.
There is great research demonstrating that when women hold a significant majority in a group, men are also more likely to speak up on issues pertaining to family and care issues rather than these being seen as the domains of women (The Silent Sex, Mendelberg). This is a great opportunity for men to break out of their own gender defined roles and break down the stigma around fathers as primary carers.
Movements like The Panel Pledge, whereby men only agree to speak on panels where there is also strong representation of women, are fantastic to start shifting the diversity dial but we still have a long way to go.
I know some people see women only events as being counter-productive and others that see them as being purely a cynical marketing tool but I sincerely believe that women can only benefit from the flurry of women only events which are happening around town now.
Women and men do need to work together to address the issues of inequality and to improve diversity in the workplace and I look forward to the day when we don’t need women only events because men and women have equal representation and are equally respected in the corporate world but until that time these events provide wonderful new opportunities for women.
What are your views, either for or against gender segregated events?
If you are looking for leadership programs for the high potential staff in your organisation I would love to hear from you at [email protected]. I believe passionately in empowering leaders to become the best they can & I feel particularly strongly about supporting more women into senior roles.
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