Keynote: 9:15 AM - 9:45 AM
Reimagine Inclusion: A Fireside Chat with Mita Mallick
Join us for a must listen to conversation with Mita Mallick, author of the new book "Reimagine Inclusion: Debunking 13 Myths to Transform Your Workplace.” Mita is a corporate change-maker with a track record of transforming businesses. Her passion for inclusive storytelling led her to become a Chief Diversity Officer, to build end to end inclusion ecosystems across big and small organizations. In her new book, Mita is saying all the quiet parts out loud of what holds us back from making meaningful progress in this work.
Some of her myths include: “Of course we support women. We just extended maternity leave,” and “We can work from home now. The future of work is inclusive.” Each myth opens with a powerful story and then she leaves us with practical and actionable advice and tips on how to show up differently to work. If you are invested in building more inclusive cultures, this is a fireside chat you won’t want to miss.
Keynote
Mita Mallick, Carta
Main Stage: 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM
Insights from Research on Women’s Career Equality in Virtual Work: Where Do We Go From Here?
Leaders often face contradictory information when seeking to understand how virtual/remote work can help or hinder women’s careers. Some reports tout the benefits for women, and others raise alarms regarding its detrimental effects. Research evidence supports both views, suggesting that working virtually can be a double-edged sword for women. In this session, panelists will share insights from existing research regarding tensions underlying the double-edged sword of working virtually/remotely for women’s careers and discuss the implications for future scholarship and practice to advance gender equality in the virtual workplace.
Speakers
Lauryn Burnett, George Washington University (Moderator)
Shavit Bar-Nahum, Moody's Corporation
N. Sharon Hill, George Washington University
Ellen Ernst Kossek, Purdue University
Isabel Villamor, IESE Business School
Breakout Session 1: 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Meeting the Needs of an Ever-Evolving Intersectional Talent Landscape
This session will explore remote and hybrid work experiences from the perspectives of women who also identify as veterans, LGBTQIA+, or a person with a disability. The rise of remote work has yielded diverse effects on various demographic groups, particularly women from marginalized populations. Although research has shown reported increases in psychological safety and a higher quality of life when working in remote environments, remote work can exacerbate existing gender disparities, thus flipping the flexibility gained from working remotely into a liability for marginalized populations. While remote work presents opportunities for improved work dynamics and inclusion, careful consideration is needed to address the unique challenges of a diverse workforce, ensuring that the benefits are truly accessible to all. The panelists will discuss the latest research, as well as share lived experiences relating to the unknown as it pertains to this new way of working, as well as suggestions on how to make hybrid workplaces more inclusive and equitable.
Speakers
Samantha Santos, Citi (Moderator)
Mason Ameri, Rutgers University
Lucy Del Gaudio, Veteran Advocate/DEI Leader
Michelle Petrazzulo, Phillips
Remote Work and Career Advancement – Is There a Gender Gap?
With the increased use of remote/hybrid work, there is a growing concern among remote workers that the flexibility of hybrid work may lead to negative effects, potentially resulting in poor performance evaluations and reduced career progression, especially for women. This session will explore the latest research findings of how gender biases can impact perceived performance and potential career impact, and what companies can do to ensure this doesn’t become a reality.
Speakers
Nicole Tucker, iCIMS (Moderator)
Adriana Bury, Sanofi
Sumita Raghuram, San Jose State University
Véronique Robert, Toulouse School of Management
It’s Not Just a Women’s Issue – The Role of Men in Hybrid and Remote Work
Women are not the only ones looking for more flexibility, more time with their loved ones, and more time for themselves. The more men take advantage of the hybrid and remote work options offered by their companies, the more it normalizes the practice for everyone. Learn how men, especially those in leadership positions, can support women (and men) in hybrid and remote environments, ensuring they are rewarded for performance and not penalized if they are not physically in the office. Discuss future opportunities for research exploration.
Speakers
Colleen Tolan, RBS/CWIB (Moderator)
James Chae, PGIM
Jeff Owen, Milliken
Matt Piszczek, Wayne State University
Breakout Session 2: 1:15 PM - 2:00 PM
Aligning Organizational Priorities & Women’s Needs Across Career Stages & Life Cycles
This panel of experts will acknowledge the confluence of never before changes and trends that impact organizations and their human capital. This includes everything from business interruptions (economic crisis, supply chain issues, social unrest), scarcity of labor with needed future fit skills and declining engagement, to name a few, challenging the status quo. Organizations that lack agility, change readiness, and ignore prioritizing talent will risk future viability. We will discuss some of the root causes, the importance of revisiting talent strategies and approaches to attract, engage, and retain women across their lifestyles and career stages, and how hybrid work is an essential part of a talent strategy. We will provide “on the ground” stories regarding what organizations have done to mainstream and successfully execute hybrid work models to enhance performance, productivity, and engagement. Questions are welcome!
Speakers
Jeana Wirtenberg, Rutgers Business School (Moderator)
Lisa Chiobi, LinkedIn
Meryl Rosenthal, FlexPaths, LLC
Jennifer Schoenig, Guardian Life
Remote and Hybrid Work Experiences at the Intersection of Gender and Race
Understanding the implications of remote and hybrid work for women is a topic of growing interest to academics and practitioners. But this work frequently overlooks the unique experiences of women of color and how these experiences may vary based on race and ethnicity. In this session, a panel of researchers and organizational leaders will discuss the challenges and benefits of remote and hybrid work at the intersection of gender and race. This evidence will be used as a basis for identifying strategies to promote the success of all women in the future of work.
Speakers
N. Sharon Hill, George Washington University (Moderator)
Katherine Giscombe, Catalyst & Giscombe Associates
Malar Hirudayaraj, Rochester Institute of Technology
Nicole Reyes, Sony Pictures Television
Wellness Online
This session will offer perspective on some of the challenges inherent in remote working, especially including increased isolation and reduced professional support. Three presenters will offer insights from their work on such topics as the ways in which remote collaboration is uniquely challenging for women, the difficulties faced in maintaining appropriate boundaries between work and home lives, the reduced opportunities to network and build mentorship ties, and the need to attend to personal wellness. Presenters will each provide concrete suggestions for building and improving habits to encourage wellness in remote work.
Speakers
Terri Kurtzberg, Rutgers Business School (Moderator)
Shailja Dixit, Curio Digital
Jennifer Gibbs, UCSB
Theresa Lant, Pace University
Breakout Session 3: 2:15 PM - 3:00 PM
Are We Caring Enough about the Impact on Caregivers?
The US lacks the caregiving infrastructure of most industrial nations, and women often assume the unpaid caregiving responsibilities for their own children, their parents, and others as a default. Remote work and flexibility help bring more moms into the labor force, but it does not solve the childcare crisis, as teleworkers still need to have childcare to work. Additionally, the fear of the motherhood penalty and gender stereotypes may discourage women from taking advantage of the remote opportunities available to them. This session will discuss the latest research on how companies and organizations can retain caregivers and simultaneously reduce the stigma.
Speakers
Lisa Kaplowitz, RBS/CWIB (Moderator)
Bhagyashree Barhate, The University of Southern Mississippi
Misty Heggeness, University of Kansas
Mindy Ryan, Sanofi
Evolution of Workspace Designs to Facilitate Collaboration and Engagement
To adjust to the ever-changing needs of their employees, organizations have been constantly evolving in structuring various hybrid work arrangements. As constraints continue to change, it is crucial to continue the conversation about workspace designs to improve people’s wellness and facilitate their success. The aim of this session is to combine expertise from academic and industry experts to discuss how different configurations of remote workspaces influence employee engagement and contributions. The panelists will discuss a wide range of relevant trends and issues, including rebranding and repurposing existing office space to be more collaborative and to fit various needs, and development of architectural solutions to address the multitude of modalities while prioritizing the goal of inclusivity, among others.
Speakers
Julia Eisenberg, Pace University (Moderator)
Sara Parra, eFM North America
Monica Ponce de Leon, Princeton University
Tessa Tinney, Cisco
Intentional Power Skills: Why Women are Uniquely Equipped for Success in the New World of Work
In today's complex work environment, modern leaders understand that purpose and meaning are essential to driving success for themselves, their teams, their companies, and the world at large. They know it is no longer only about delivering results for the bottom line; it is about spreading prosperity to all stakeholders. It's about people, planet, and profits. Here's the great news: women are uniquely positioned for success in the new world of work. Why? Because we bring a set of previously undervalued skills including empathy, resiliency, inclusivity, and more.
Traditionally called "soft" skills, these are today's power skills for success that help drive the triple bottom line impact our world wants and needs. This session will discuss the latest research, as well as personal insights on how women are using their power skills with intention to foster highly inclusive, highly productive workplace cultures that drive better business outcomes for all stakeholders.
Speakers
Lisen Stromberg, PrismWork (Moderator)
Maggie Boyraz, California State University, San Bernardino
María Ximena Hincapié, Universidad de los Andes
Pooja Songar, Aruba an HP company
Closing Keynote: 3:15 PM - 3:45 PM
Keynote Fireside Chat: 2023 Women in the Workplace Insights with Anjali Menon
We are closing out the conference with a fireside chat to discuss the insights from the 2023 Women in the Workplace report, with a focus on the four key challenges and their respective solutions: ambition, the broken rung, microaggressions and flexible work. Women in the Workplace is the largest comprehensive study of the state of women in corporate America. LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company have published this report annually since 2015 to give companies the information they need to advance women and improve gender diversity. Over the past nine years, data has been collected from almost 900 organizations employing more than 23 million people.
Keynote
Anjali Menon, McKinsey & Company
