In an industry in which nearly 80 percent of the workforce is female, why are there still pay and opportunity gaps and what is the event industry doing about it?

1. “This isn’t a‘We are
women, hear us roar’
atmosphere. It’s more
like,‘We are women,
we are learning these
skills together and we
are productive mem-
bers of society, hear
us roar.’ We take a
positive approach as
opposed to the victim
approach.”
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2. MPIWEB.ORG 91
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n Jan. 21, 2017, women across the globe took to
the streets to voice a collective opinion. At the
Women’s March, pay equity, access to affordable
childcare, sick days, healthcare, paid family leave
and healthy work environments for women
were at the top of the list of Unity Principles. The march pro-
vided further evidence that women, including women in exhi-
bitions and events, have power and each other. And whether
they decide to lean in (code words for becoming more assertive)
or lay low, women are demanding choices and opportunities.
Fortunately, there is a growing movement in the meeting
industry to put some strategy behind those aspirations.
Afterthe
March
Women
AND
Work

3. 92 THE MEETING PROFESSIONAL JUNE 2016
WhatWomen Are Up Against
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics (BLS), 46.8 percent of the national labor
force is female and the typical woman who
works full-time, year-round earns about 21
percent less than the typical male. In the
predominantly female events profession
(the BLS reports that 77 percent of meeting,
convention and event planners are women),
the pay gap is wider. A survey of show man-
agers from the International Association of
Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) revealed that
women at the manager level earn 17 percent
less than their male counterparts. Female
directors, vice presidents, C-level executives
and owners make 27 percent, 41 percent, 62
percent, and 117 percent less, respectively,
than males. Convene magazine’s 2016 Salary
Survey reported that women earned nearly
one-fourth less than their male counterparts.
Pay disparity is only one aspect of the
female-employee experience. The Women
in the Workplace 2016 study, the result of
a partnership between LeanIn.org and
McKinsey & Company, reveals some inter-
esting findings. Compared to men, women
are underrepresented at every level of the
organization. They are less likely to be pro-
moted to manager, participate meaningfully
in meetings, receive challenging assign-
ments, believe their contributions are appro-
priately valued or be consulted for input on
importantdecisions.Thereportalsosaysthat
although women negotiate as often as men,
they are still 30 percent more likely to receive
negative feedback and less likely to get the
promotion.
In Lean In: Women, Work and the Will
to Lead, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg
discusses the workplace dynamics that
prompted her to develop the “Lean In”
framework. “When a woman excels at her
job, both male and female coworkers will
remark that she may be accomplishing
a lot but is ‘not as well-liked by her peers.’
She is probably also ‘too aggressive,’ ‘not
a team player,’ ‘a bit political,’ ‘can’t be
trusted,’ or ‘difficult,’” Sandberg says, going
on to talk about the downside of achieve-
ment and how women react to it. “If a
woman pushes to get the job done, if she’s
highly competent, if she focuses on results
rather than on pleasing others, she’s acting
like a man, and if she acts like a man, people
dislike her. In response to this negative reac-
tion, we temper our professional goals.”
Personalizing the Path to
Leadership
About five years ago, IAEE set up a mem-
ber task force to assist with the design and
delivery of a single event, the Women’s
Leadership Forum. Since then, the task force
has evolved into the permanent Women’s
Leadership Committee to help develop pro-
gramming for the forum. It also oversees
the association’s other women’s initiatives,
including educational webinars, bi-monthly
newsletter, members-only message board,
charitable-giving campaign, Woman of
Achievement award and an Equal Pay
Pledge requested of member companies
to eliminate the gender pay gap that exists
in the exhibition industry. The committee
also works to ensure that all of IAEE’s events
address gender—from the composition of
speaker panels to decisions about sponsor
gifts.
IAEE’s women’s programming comes
from listening to female members. “We do
a lot of pre-event needs assessments so we
can customize the leadership education to
everygroup.Wedigdeep,askingthemabout
their responsibilities at home and work, what
keeps them up at night, and where they
need help. Over the course of four years
we’ve gotten the sense that women are
trying to succeed in lots of areas, both per-
sonal and professional, at the same time,”
says Marsha Flanagan, M. Ed., vice president
of learning experiences at IAEE. As a result,
IAEE has developed a holistic approach to
leadership.“We teach skills that can help you
lead whether you’re at home, at work, in your
community or in government,”she adds.
In its upcoming installment of the Wom-
en’s Leadership Forum, IAEE will focus on a
range of topics. Speakers will tackle reinven-
tion and adaptability, how to maintain physi-
cal and mental health, the impact of women
on politics and the economy, financial strat-
egies to help women protect themselves,
communicating leadership values to others
and handling the disruption that’s a normal
part of life.“This isn’t a‘We are women, hear
us roar’ atmosphere. It’s more like, ‘We are
women, we are learning these skills together
and we are productive members of society,
hear us roar.’We take a positive approach as
opposed to the victim approach,” Flanagan
says.
Leveraging Female Economic
Power
One of the presenters at the Women’s Lead-
ership Forum is Jocelyn Wright, MBA, CFP,
director of the American College State Farm
Center for Women and Financial Services.
She will speak to attendees about the impor-
tance of getting their financial houses in
order. “As caregivers or as mothers, we have
to make sure that we have everything in
place for ourselves and our families,”she says.
But, her presentation won’t only be about
maximizing what women get; it will also
be about helping them understand what
they’re losing through wage disparity. “It’s
not just saying, ‘Oh, I make 78 cents to your
dollar.’It’s realizing that over a 30- or 40-year
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career,thataddsupsignificantly,”sheexplains.
Wright admits that women are in a better
position today to improve their opportunities
at work than ever before. “Women now con-
trol a growing percentage of wealth in this
country,” she says. According to Investment
News, by 2020, some $22 trillion in assets will
shift to women as they outlive their husbands
and advance in the workforce.“There is going
to be a huge wealth transfer in terms of the
money that women will inherit not only from
their husbands but also from their parents. If
we’re controlling the dollars, we’re going to
get the attention from companies and busi-
nesses. We just have to recognize the power
that we have,”she explains.
Wright will also talk about tactics. IAEE’s
research shows that while not every woman
in the exhibition industry wants to be in the
C-suite, most want to be able to have that
opportunity, whether they take advantage of
itornot.Historically,Wrightsays,womenhave
been afraid of the repercussions of appearing
too aggressive or of going against the grain
and giving people reasons to dislike them.
“We have to be willing to let go of the fear.
Whether you want to be CEO or you just want
to be paid equally based on your experience
and credentials and just take care of your
family, you should be able to have that too.
It’s important to give people steps and best
practices so that they have options,”she says.
A Skills-Based Approach to
Getting Ahead
As a college-aged Gen-Xer, Kristi Casey Sand-
ers,DES,HMCC,directorofprofessionaldevel-
opment at Meeting Professionals Interna-
tional (MPI), had trouble understanding why
her female professors were unable to move
past the “equal rights” discussion. Years later,
she saw the data. Leanin.org reports that
46 percent of women hold entry-level jobs,
but only 19 percent last long enough to join
the C-suite. Harvard Business Review says that
women at Fortune 500 companies spend an
average of 23 years at the same company
before being elevated to CEO while their
male counterparts put in only 15 years. The
Pew Research Institute reveals that 43 per-
cent of people believe that firms hold women
to higher standards than men, and an equal
percentage believes that companies simply
aren’t ready to hire women executives.
Sanders’ response to the growing body
of information about pay inequity and the
climate for corporate career advancement
prompted her to develop a leadership pro-
gram for women in the events industry. To
start, she looked at four women in executive
leadership positions and studied what they
have in common and where their experiences
diverged. Then, she reviewed the data, had
discussions with other women in the industry
and even looked at what recruiters say are the
reasons keeping female job applicants from
getting the positions they want.“There is this
sense in our industry that yes, you can reach
some kind of position where you can have
influence and where you can be visible, but
for some reason, women aren’t getting to the
next level,”Sanders says.
Sanders became intrigued by “the forces
at play” preventing women from achieving
their goals at work given that “women have
always been able to succeed despite major
obstacles and throughout history,” she says.
She believes it comes down to priorities
and skill sets. “If moving ahead is a priority,
you should be aware that there are unique
challenges and there are concrete things
that you can be doing to package yourself,”
she explains. Her work has culminated in
MPI’s Women in Leadership certificate pro-
gram (sponsored by Marriott international).
It addresses, among other things, research
that says,“Even if you possess all the qualities
that make your peers attractive candidates
for CEO, CMO, CFO or COO positions, studies
show that if you’re a woman, you’re 28 per-
cent less likely to get the job.”
In MPI’s four-hour course, participants
explore a number of topics, such as the five
qualities senior-level executives possess, what
holds both men and women back from clos-
ing the deal and the strengths and skills that
women need to work on.“We talk to women
about where they want to be and the value of
askingformorethantheyactuallywantrather
than focusing on the minimum expected
standard. We give them time to mentor each
other and help them work on a five-year plan
ofaction,”Sanderssays.Shehopesthatbytak-
ingtheclass,womenwillbecomemoreaware
of their personal strengths and more strategic
about achieving their professional goals.
WillWomen Lean In or Lose Out?
The Women’s March was designed to convey
the collective angst that women feel about
their desires to be fulfilled, empowered,
enriched and respected. Both marchers and
non-marchers gained a sense of optimism
and a blueprint for activism that they can
take from Main Street to the C-suite if they
want. Jocelyn Wright believes that women
have a tremendous opportunity to leverage
their power and potential to make significant
advances in the workplace. “Regardless of
where you stand on the political spectrum,
the Women’s March was an example of what
can happen when women work together as a
group,”she says.With the momentum around
women’s initiatives building, the only ques-
tion for women in the event industry now is
“when?” n
Michelle Bruno is a writer, blogger and
technology journalist. She publishes Event
Tech Brief, a weekly newsletter and website
on event technology. You can reach her at
michelle@brunogroup.com or on Twitter
@michellebruno.
“We have to be
willing to let go of
the fear. Whether
you want to be
CEO or you just
want to be paid
equally based on
your experience
and credentials
and just take care
of your family, you
should be able to
have that too.”