Thoughts on the NYU Stern: Women in Business Conference

This past month, I had the pleasure of attending the NYU Stern Women in Business Conference at my undergraduate alma mater. In addition to hearing from inspiring women and men who lead fields from insurance to cosmetics, there were also great conversations about how equality in the work-place can be supported by both men and women on a day-to-day level.

As a female entrepreneur, whose team happens to be all women, it was important to me to understand the challenges of women in the workplace and how we can do more for women in all stages of their careers. Two of our team members at Media Volery are mothers with small children, who juggle their various responsibilities while doing awesome work (data analysis and research, respectively) for our clients. Their work is invaluable and I’m excited by their contributions to this team.

In addition, to workplace challenges, I wanted to learn more about how we can support the next generation of women leaders. I have been supported by strong women managers/superiors throughout my career (at companies including AIG, Kennedy Spencer, Lion Brand), and I believe we have to lift young women up so they believe in their abilities and sit confidently at the table. I wholeheartedly feel that NYU Stern is doing just that–I sat next to a sophomore (20!) and an incoming student (17!), both of whom were articulate, capable, and smart.

Finally, I also got to spend a little time with my colleague Jess Ostroff of Don’t Panic Management (another Stern alumna), who is a cracker-jack entrepreneur herself with a team of smart women working with her.  I’m excited to be able to work with amazing people like her every day.

Support. Lift. Inspire. Those are my takeaways from the conference, and those are some ideas/ideals that I plan on focusing on as I continue to develop this company.