In 2024, we’ll celebrate an idea that’s proved powerful enough to circle the globe.
At the World Leadership Conference and Gala, May 15-17, 2024 in New York, NY, we’ll highlight 50 years of women changing the world.
Over 5 decades the International Women’s Forum and our members have been in the forefront of change – breaking the glass ceiling across professions around the world, proving not only that women lead but women lead differently and gender balance at every level of leadership makes stronger business, stronger societies and a better world.
In recent years the velocity of change, especially driven by technology, has impacted every country and every sector. It’s only fitting that our 50th Anniversary Conference address change and how women at the top are making change a force for good.
Our conference will focus on key sectors that -like IWF- have strong roots in New York but are global forces for change themselves…
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- Technology
- Health
- Media
We will also examine how more women at the top are managing change in the workplace and the social agenda for gender equality
Finally we will explore the business of fashion – how we have evolved from men telling women what to wear to women changing what we buy, how we buy and how we express our beliefs about ourselves and our world in how we present ourselves.
SESSIONS INCLUDE:
WOMEN CHANGING THE WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY
Technology has been the most dramatic force for change in the last 50 years and is impacting every aspect of our lives with exponential effect. This panel examines how women leaders are influencing this powerful force for change to bring meaningful impact to multiple spheres. This is truly technology “through a woman’s lens”.
FIRESIDE CHAT WITH ACCENTURE CEO JULIE SWEET AND BETSY FISHER MARTIN
As CEO of Accenture Julie Sweet offers her unique perspective on how exponential evolution in technology changes how leaders across all sectors must assess business challenges and solutions and why women’s leadership is more important than ever.
WOMEN CHANGING THE WORLD OF HEALTH CARE
The Global Pandemic sharpened an already growing global focus on healthcare – with research and technology accelerating breakthroughs at the same time costs are challenging equitable access. The who, what and where of healthcare are being
redefined with some brilliant women leading the way. This panel will examine this powerful force for change that impacts us as companies, communities and individuals.
WOMEN CHANGING THE WORLD OF MEDIA
One of the most defining trends over the last decade is the explosion in global media consumption and its impact shaping our culture and our lives. Average global
Media consumption for adults has crossed the 8-hour mark – over half of it online with 62%
of adults getting their news from social media – generating a miasma of disinformation and misinformation. The rapid contraction of traditional media has created existential threats to business models. While timely and truthful news is viewed by many to be essential to democracy, today’s algorithms deliberately reinforce existing prejudices, including gender bias. This panel examines how women at the top are dealing with this turbulent force for change.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: WOMEN CHANGING THE WORLD OF WORK
The Women’s Forum has always believed the potential for women’s leadership is unlimited and opportunities should be as well. Around the world, gender balance on Corporate Boards has been a leadership frontier – a critical glass ceiling to shatter.
While some countries have implemented government enforced quotas to drive change, the US has not. That’s why in 2011 the Women’s Forum of New York launched the Breakfast of Corporate Champions to keep the focus of top public companies on the need for gender balance in the Board Room. Our Breakfast progressively honors those companies that exceed the national average of board seats held by women and features inspirational CEO advocates to share why gender parity is a strategic business imperative and how to get there.
Since 2011 significant change has been achieved – the number of Board seats of S&P 500 Companies has increased over 200%. This panel of Breakfast of Corporate Champions All-Stars will address has this shift changed the workplace and the challenges still ahead.
WOMEN CHANGING SOCIETY
In 1974 the Women’s Forum was born as part of social change – as women challenged role definitions and limitations based on gender and demanded access to professional opportunities across cultures and careers. In the subsequent decades, the fight has continued for equal pay for equal work, constitutional recognition of equality in the United States and an end to sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace. Yet, seven years after Me-Too challenged an era of disbelief, many feel the clock is rolling backward. This panel examines the state of social change, the challenge for women’s equality that lies ahead and how future generations will embrace the challenge.
WOMEN CHANGING THE WORLD OF FASHION
For centuries fashion has played a powerful role in society – from expressing identity, to defining class, to being a force for social change. In the last decades, the industry has evolved from male designers telling women what to wear to women taking the helm of established designer brands and changing what we wear, how we buy and where this multibillion dollar industry is heading. In 2020, Maria Chiuris cotton statement tee for Dior proclaimed “we should all be feminists” and retailed for a mere $900. But change in the fashion industry is much more than statements – as this panel demonstrates.