Using findings from a recent survey of women in the meetings and incentive industry, IMEX plans to present its first-ever Women’s Leadership Forum at its upcoming trade show in Frankfurt, Germany on May 24-26.
Conducted by Susan Sarfati, CEO of High Performance Strategies, and Liz Jackson, president of Jackson Consulting, the survey of 140 female professionals from countries around the world found that many are still challenged to find a sustainable work-life balance and are also doing battle with other workplace issues specific to the 21st century.
When asked "what is the major challenge you currently face in your leadership or management role?", time management, especially in an age of “always-on” social media, was highlighted by many respondents. Others expressed a desire to understand how to be assertive in the workplace without appearing dominant or aggressive, especially in a tougher economic climate.
When it comes to developing specific skills and new areas of confidence and expertise, many of the women said their greatest need is for improved time management, better sales and marketing skills, superior financial management as well as presentation and communication skills. Many respondents also said they would like to improve their negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
“These results make it clear we still have a way to go but they also demonstrate that women's desire and readiness to improve their skills and remain focused on career development is an essential component of a healthy international meetings and events industry,” Jackson said, adding that “our new forum will show that women often have more power and potential than they realize.”
Not all of the issues raised in the survey were gender-related. They included how to guide clients towards more ethical and fairer business behavior; how best to manage and motivate Generation Y employees; staff retention issues and how to achieve board-level support and understanding of the real value of meetings and events.
When asked which subjects they would most like to discuss during the Women's Leadership Forum, “dealing with conflict” was the topic most requested by respondents, closely followed by “understanding the differences in male and female leadership types” and “selling yourself and your ideas”. Suggestions made by the respondents themselves included multi-tasking—and how to avoid losing focus by trying to do everything—and cross-cultural training.
Noting that an increasing number of women are stepping into leadership roles on the political scene, Sarfati said that “the meetings industry is reflecting the same dramatic change as it relates to key decision makers and a multitude of new opportunities. The 21st century is indeed the century for women to make a major impact and we need to maximize how we can take advantage of this to move ourselves forward, and the meetings industry overall."
