Though the coronavirus pandemic forced many women to leave the workplace, the crisis has also pushed people to reevaluate their career goals, an advocate for women in leadership roles said.
“Regardless of where you are, who you are, what you’re doing, we should all be constantly questioning: ‘Are we where we want to be in either our careers, our jobs or our lives?’” said Phyllis James, CEO and founding president of the Foundation for Women’s Leadership and Empowerment.
“The silver lining of the pandemic is that it has kind of given everyone permission to ask these questions for themselves,” she said.
A nonprofit established in 2019 to educate and develop women for all levels of leadership, the foundation will conduct its 14th annual Women’s Leadership Conference Monday at the Mirage.
The live one-day event has been scaled back this year because of uncertainties surrounding the pandemic but will feature business leaders and motivational speakers on this year’s theme: re-emergence.
James said women were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, with many forced to leave their jobs to care for children because schools and day cares closed.
That, in turn, stunted professional growth for hundreds of thousands of women, said James, the former executive vice president and chief diversity and corporate responsibility officer for MGM Resorts International.
The need for programs based on networking and mentorship is as strong as ever for women and men, James said.
“The fact that the conference has become so successful, to me, is an indication of not just interest … but a thirst that women have for forums that address their needs in terms of recognizing them as a distinct group of people worthy of being prepared for leadership roles,” James said.
“We are managing to attract the level of attention for the conference that we set out to when we decided to go live with the conference this year,” she said.
This year’s conference was capped at 800 people, and James expects it to sell out. The organization limited capacity to help reduce the threat of spreading COVID-19, but previous years have seen more than 1,500 attendees.
“It speaks to people wanting to gather and be in person and missing the face-to-face and missing that energy,” said Dawn Christensen, a member of the foundation board and the vice president of communications and corporate responsibility for the Nevada Resort Association.
Many attendees have participated in past conferences, Christensen said.
“So much of what makes the conference so popular and brings people back year after year is being around … 900 to 1,500 people who are all sharing the same goals of wanting to be their best self,” she said.
Those unable to attend in person can purchase a ticket to participate in virtual presentations and workshops. E-attendees will also get access to bonus content, question-and-answer forums and can network with fellow virtual attendees.
“I don’t feel we’ve neglected anything,” James said. “I think, in a way, everything has been leading up to this moment where I think we are ready to present a national offering.”
Registration for the in-person conference and the virtual offering remain open until the day of the event. The in-person event costs $425 and includes breakfast and lunch, with an option for a VIP reception after the 5 p.m. closing keynote. The virtual conference costs $325.
James said the virtual conference will be key to the foundation’s plans to expand beyond events in the Las Vegas area.
“We think what we’re doing here is so important for the audience that we’re trying to reach,” James said. “We want to broaden it. And with the virtual platform, we can be accessible to people all over the country, and, theoretically, all over the world.”