Marking International Women’s Day – IMEX Survey captures opportunities, challenges and development interests for women in the meetings industry

According to female respondents, there are still places where gaps exist between a woman’s experience, achievement and knowledge and the level of respect, trust and opportunity she feels she receives in business. This gap, not surprisingly, varies across cultures around the globe. Progress is certainly being reported with women increasingly serving as key innovators, leaders and decision-makers within their organizations, yet there is still room for improvement.

Achieving life/work balance was also a red hot topic with many of the women surveyed, indicating that they need help in setting reasonable limits without fear of losing their jobs or taking a hit on professional recognition. They also want to find ways to avoid snapping into ‘caretaker-mode’ when on the job.

Keeping up with a ‘techno-happy’ world and keeping pace with skills used by younger employees who have been raised on technology is also an area of continued effort for female respondents. Always wanting to better their skill set and knowledge, many women in the survey also noted negotiation training as a top interest. Financial management, economic forecasting, strategic planning, time management and social media best practices were also in high demand. Finally, there was additional strong interest in corporate governance, team management and employee motivation.

Looking from the male side of the equation, men surveyed likewise see continued issues in leadership and professional opportunities for women – sometimes based on perceived versus actual differences in skills created by lingering biases and traditionally heavier childcare requirements. On the professional development front, male survey participants see no difference in what women and men are seeking, predominantly more learning in finance, technology and leadership.

When it comes to the next Women’s Leadership Forums at IMEX in Frankfurt (May) and IMEX America in Las Vegas (October), both sexes wanted to hear more about how to navigate biases based on a person’s culture, gender, age and disability needs; combating stereotypes and leveraging the best attributes of male and female employees for optimal business performance.

Pursuing work/life balance without guilt continues to be a welcome discussion topic, as is reviewing critical industry trends and incorporating green efforts into meetings goals and programs.

Further, having the chance to hear directly from women CEOs or C-Level executives in the industry about their successes and how they got there is also highly valued at the IMEX trade shows.

“Understanding how achievement is fostered within our industry for women and collaborating to move that issue forward is very exciting for us,” said, Carina Bauer CEO of the IMEX Group. “We are always eager to have insights like those from these surveys. They help to drive and improve our education program, which this year offers over 100 seminars and workshops, many of which have a strong appeal for women working in the meetings industry in particular.”

Facilitators for both of the Women’s Leadership Forums will be: Liz Jackson, President of Jackson Consulting Inc and Susan Sarfati, CEO, High Performance Strategies.

For IMEX America, see http://www.imexamerica.com/women.html
For IMEX in Frankfurt, see http://www.imex-frankfurt.com/women.html