The Women Empowering Leadership and Learning (WELL) event held here in San Francisco last month was a huge success, and your San Francisco IT consulting team at Intivix was proud to be a part of it!
The sold-out networking event was sponsored by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and held at SPiN on August 29th. The event brought together more than 250 members of the local business community to discuss the changing roles of and lasting difficulties faced by women in the workplace. Intivix’s very own HR & Marketing Coordinator, Brandi Manuel, was proud to be in attendance.
WELL featured an informative keynote speech on personal branding by Aparna Singhal of Google and Julie Rosendahl of Accenture. This talk invited attendees to consider how they use their personal brand as a woman in business settings, and offered tips and insight as to how to be more confident in networking and other business environments.
In her keynote presentation, Singhal shared her experience as a successful leader and member of the modern business community, as well as in her roles as a mother and wife. She shared the difficulties she has faced in the modern business world, such as being a pregnant woman in a leadership role. Singhal works hard to empower women and change the traditionally male nature of the business world into a more accepting setting for everyone. Singhal further spoke about how important and effective it is to exercise more confidence – that means trying to be yourself, trusting your instincts, and embracing your mistakes as opportunities to learn, grow, and improve. At the end of the day, Singhal shared that her family always comes first, but that doesn’t make her any less of a valid or effective member of the professional world.
Further key points and topics in the discussion included a consideration of how important it is for women to be careful and methodical in the way they approach situations in the professional world. Unfortunately, many prejudices still exist that affect women negatively in the workplace today. Whereas active and enthusiastic men are often seen as “go-getters” in the business world and are rewarded for it, the same drive and behavior in women can get them labeled as a “b!t@h” – difficult, aggressive, bossy, pushy, and unpleasant, etc.
That’s why furthering the cause of equality in the business world, by talking about these vital topics, and practicing the right perspectives and values in the workplace is so important in business today. The discussion closed on the idea that there is no ceiling if women do not limit themselves, and work to find and support the right advocates and partnerships within the workplace.
It’s discussions like this that make WELL so important for everyone in the modern workplace – it’s for women, men, and all allies of gender equality and workplace inclusion. Brandi greatly enjoyed the opportunity to participate in such an important event, and to get to meet so many strong and amazing women from all different backgrounds and professions in the San Francisco business world. WELL brought together a diverse and interested community of advocates for gender equality.
“I walked away feeling motivated and inspired,” says Brandi. “Being a leader and someone who empowers other women is what I strive for but we all need mentors, so I hope there are more events like this in the near future.”
In addition to the exciting keynote event and following discussions, attendees also got to participate in key networking and business activities including:
- a LinkedIn headshot station
- “Resume Recon” with Brit + Co, Robert Half, and HireMojo
- Raffles with prizes from Southwest Airlines and Corporate Vintage
Furthermore, Brandi notes that the food was amazing, with buffalo cauliflower, miniature pitas with crab and caviar, sautéed chicken skewers, cheese fruit platters, and much more for attendees to enjoy while they talked about vital modern business topics, and gained further experience in networking.
Intivix is proud to have been represented so enthusiastically by Brandi at an event as important as this. As active advocates of gender equality in the workplace, the Intivix team knows how vital it is for members of the business community to take part in initiatives like WELL.
About WELL
WELL featured a number of valuable sponsors that helped make the event possible, including: Wells Fargo, Accenture, SPiN, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Comcast Business Built for Business, LinkedIn, Unversity of the Pacific, Southwest, Brit + Co, Drew Altizer, Farella, Braun & Martel, LLP, Golden Gate University, Hire Mojo, Jo Malone London, Laundry Locker, Levo, Lyft, Microsoft, Prezi, Robert Half, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Business Times, Sherwood Productions, and Lilli Keinaenen.
For more information about WELL, and future events that promote gender equality in the workplace, be sure to keep an eye on the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce’s events.
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