Last week we received many holiday greetings, but some of the most dear are the personal ones. The people who took the time (or had the time, not everyone does) to send personal notes. We heard about Innovation Women successes, including the connections made over the last year because they were onstage. We even got some homemade goodies! Several notes included an interesting sentiment. To paraphrase: “Now, more than ever, we need Innovation Women.”
On a related note, this week we participated in a survey from a major women’s group. Going into 2017, how do we feel? Only a few of the options seemed positive. There was angry, scared, resigned, annoyed…
So, how do we feel going into 2017? It’s hard to say. 2016 was a tough year on so many fronts. There seem to have been an inordinate number of losses; yesterday’s loss of Carrie Fisher, Hollywood icon and writer cuts geek girls deeply. Vera Rubin, one of the most famous female scientists, was also a fierce advocate for women in the sciences. And, no matter your politics, we did get our first female major party candidate for president but the glass ceiling at the White House remains intact. Let us know how you feel about 2017 on our Facebook page: you could win a free profile and T-shirt!
On the Innovation Women front,
- We profiled more than 100 women as part of our Super Panel program.
- We saw more than 200 invitations go out through the Innovation Women platform, as well as many more speakers “discovered” through our platform. (Yes, sometimes event managers “go direct” and reach out through social media and/or website.)
- We shared more than 300 calls for speakers. (Check out this week’s collection below!)
- We submitted more than 150 speaker profiles for speaking opportunities through our concierge program.
So, in this, the last week of 2016, we will say that we go into 2017 hopeful. We are hopeful that 2017 will be a good year for gender-balanced conferences and events, and we’re going to do everything we can to make it happen!
So, get your speaker profile ready for the New Year and check out the speaking opportunities we list in every newsletter. 2017 is coming, ready or not!
