Recently, I was flying home from the Conference for Women, where I had been invited to speak. I was carefully holding a copy of the conference program on my lap — my mom likes to save them, and I wanted to be a good son and bring her back an unwrinkled copy. The guy sitting next to me on the airplane noticed it and asked me about the conference. I told him it’s a series of nonprofits across the country that run conferences for women from all industries to talk about leadership, fairness, and success. He then surprised me by saying, “I’m all for equality, but I’m not sure what good a conference will do.” Done with the conversation, he put on his headphones, content in his cynicism as I stewed, trying to come up with the best, albeit incredibly delayed, response.
Do Women’s Networking Events Move the Needle on Equality?
A recent research study tested the impact that a Conference for Women had on attendees in the year following the event, and the results were impressive: Their likelihood of receiving a promotion doubled, and their likelihood of a 10%+ pay increase tripled. And the positive outcomes weren’t limited to women’s finances: 78% of attendees reported feeling “more optimistic about the future” than they had before the conference, and 29% reported that they “agree a lot” with the statement “I feel happier.” Twenty-five percent of the attendees reported that they “agree a lot” with the statement “I feel more capable of handling stress in a positive way.” Perhaps most significant, 71% of the attendees said that they “feel more connected to others.” The data shows connecting has real power that can have significant ramifications in terms of well-being, work performance, and overall career satisfaction.
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