Female Empowerment, The Mission of the 8th Women’s Leadership Conference
The 8th Edition of the Great Women’s Leadership Conference took place on October 18, 2022, in Lisbon. And the focus was one we love, “Building a Better World”. Promoted by the professional women’s network Executiva, this event had female empowerment as its main mission.
During the one-day event, 26 speakers, mostly women, debated and shared precious teachings, their career history, and their vision of women in the professional world, in the most diverse areas of society, from psychology to technology.
Love Happens had the privilege to attend the conference, where we learned many brilliant lessons from women who inspire us to be better not only professionally but also personally.
Read on to be empowered by this noble event that so graciously aimed to highlight the role of women in building a better world!
How Can Women Help Build a Better Future?
Making a Career in a Men’s World
All the women speakers agreed that making a career in a man’s world is not easy. However, many also mentioned that women increasingly have to stop thinking that being a woman is an obstacle and start changing their mindset. This problem is often only in our heads and not in the company.
Having a successful professional career as a woman is particularly demanding in some areas, such as science and technology, as highlighted by women who work in companies more dedicated to these areas, namely Samsung, Opentext, IMM and MC.
It is cultural that women are not so interested in science since society is formatted for that. Thus, at the base of a company’s pyramid, it is difficult to insert women. In other words, if a company, early in the recruitment phase, doesn’t hire many women, it will be very difficult for a woman to get to the top.
Career and Motherhood
Most speakers mentioned that the main help when it comes to career and motherhood is the company in which they work. Currently, organizations need to contribute to the development of a woman’s career when she is a mother. Each company must have this orientation towards cooperative, empathetic, and understanding management.
No company sees the fact that a woman is a mother as a disadvantage; on the contrary. An example of this is P&G. The family is not a “weight”, but an asset, and companies must adapt and provide flexibility.
Many mentioned that the husbands and fathers of the children were relevant to the development of their careers, as it is teamwork and never just the women!
How to Reach the Top as a Woman?
First of all, each woman must define her ambitions well since, without this characteristic, we can’t achieve anything! Ambition and passion for the profession are the main characteristics. Second, you have to say, “I’m here, I want to get to the top, I want to be a leader.”
An important topic often mentioned was age. Many women have experienced difficulties in their careers, not so much because they are women, but because of their age. So, because they were new, they felt they had to prove more.
We cannot, in any way, let them put labels on us. Preparing for a subject is the biggest proof that we are as competent (or more!) than some men.
Mental Health Is Part of Female Empowerment!
It is true that we have to be people who are enthusiastic and passionate about what we do! But to what extent? In fact, it is unquestionable that there must be a balance.
It’s perfectly normal on a day not to be productive because not every day is the same! Don’t blame yourself for that. Work is important, but it’s not everything in your life.
Don’t blame yourself if you just want to rest and watch Netflix for a day, we are not machines to always have the same income. Fortunately, mental health is starting to be a hot topic. Burnout is finally no longer a taboo.
Love, self-care, and energy are the three predominant words that we must not forget or stop practicing!
Advice We Have to Share
Finally, we leave you with some of the most important, empowering, and inspiring advice that some women taught us at the 8th Great Women’s Leadership Conference.
Loving what we do is the best path to success.
We should always have 3 names of women in our consciousness that we want to help improve.
Talking is very important, but listening is even more.
It is urgent to praise more and criticize less. We women must learn to exchange competition for cooperation: together, we are stronger!
Words by Sílvia Oliveira
Be Empowered by the 7th Great Female Leadership Conference
A Million and One Reasons Moms Rule All Images Courtesy of Executiva
More to Love!
Originally published at https://www.lovehappensmag.com on October 21, 2022.
