Girl power in the meeting industry

08/02/2011

Susan Sarfati

Achieving a sustainable work-life balance is one of the biggest challenges underlined by an IMEX survey revealing ambitions of woman leaders in the meeting industry. This

This study polled 140 women working in the meetings, events and incentive travel industry, and was conducted – of course - by two women, Susan Sarfati, CEO of High Performances Strategies, and Liz Jackson, President of Jackson Consulting Inc. They are both experts in the sector, Sarfati in the association management profession and Jackson in airline and hotel management respectively. The survey was mainly designed to provide ideas for the program of the first Women’s Leadership Forum which will take place at IMEX next May.

Apart from challenging time management, the women who took part highlighted other issues, such as how to be assertive in the workplace without appearing dominant or aggressive, as well as other challenges shared by both men and women leaders: guiding clients towards more ethical business behavior, motivating Generation Y, understanding the real value of meetings…

In terms of areas that they can improve, women polled say they would like to refine their sales and marketing skills and their negotiation and conflict resolution skills. In response to the question ‘What subjects would you like to discuss during the forum?’, dealing with conflict, understanding the differences in male and female leadership types, and selling yourself and your ideas were the most popular answers.

“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 meeting industry overall”, comments Susan Sarfati. Liz Jackson adds: “Women often have more power and potential than they realize. These results make it clear that we 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”. Women (and men!) interested in learning more about these issues are invited to attend the Forum on May 25th at IMEX.

www.imex-frankfurt.com