#changtheratio

This year’s theme for IWD was an equal world is an enabled world.

“Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day. We can actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women's achievements.

Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender equal world. Equality is not a women's issue, it's a business issue. Gender equality is essential for economies and communities to thrive. A gender equal world can be healthier, wealthier and more harmonious - so what's not great about that?

The race is on for the gender equal boardroom, a gender equal government, gender equal media coverage, gender equal workplaces, gender equal sports coverage, more gender equality in health and wealth ... so let's make it happen. Let's be #EachforEqual.”

-Quoted from the International Women’s Day Website

PALs Conversations

We started the evening with networking and socializing with our Panelists at Large (PALs), which included Erienne ‘E’ Byers, Dina Facklis, Odun Ishola, Ania Malus-Kitzmann, Katie Schlott, Karri Soukup, and Jani Westcott. They were positioned throughout the space to connect and initiate conversations around this year’s topic and how we can each take action for ourselves and others to move in the right direction for a better future for womxn in the creative fields.

Melissa Healy, our MC, kicked off the event with introductions and set the stage for our speakers. We are fortunate to have worked with her the last 5 IWD celebrations. She is a powerhouse at ARC Worldwide and an advocate for all of us here in the local SheSays Chapter. She has partnered with us continuously to bring this event to life in our community year after year, and we can’t thank her enough for her leadership and inspiration.

Worldview Warmup

Melissa then introduced our Worldview Warmup Guest Speakers, which included 2 mighty messages from individuals outside the advertising industry—as marketers, we all know the importance of listening to those unlike ourselves to understand. First we had Almira Yllana, a current leader at Accenture, a member of the Adler Planetarium Women’s Board, and an International Council of Purdue Women Executive Advisory Board member. Almira, having an identical twin sister, Giovanna, explained that all she has ever known from birth is how to support and be supported. Her overall positive outlook on life inspired the room as she shared advice on being empathetic to all, not discriminating against anyone no matter their background, and above all else, never being afraid to be yourself. Our second Worldview speaker was Anja, an 8th grade disability activist, who had the room engaged and on the edge of our seats as she spoke of her personal experiences and the realization that it was up to her to make a difference for all disabled individuals. Definitely keep your eye out for this powerful lady in the future!

Panel Perspectives

From there we brought our moderator ET Franklin and a diverse panel, which included Susan Betteridge, Naomi Cao, Tim Gonzalez-Smith, and École Weinstein, to the stage. They each shared their own perspectives to the room, and I have to say no one held back how they truly felt on the various questions ET Franklin asked of them regarding the impacts on womxn in the advertising industry and what action they have taken to stand for equality in the workplace.

To wrap up, we opened the conversation to the audience, uniting the large crowd in our discussion. The questions were relevant, deep, and passionately driven for many. Ageism was a big piece of the conversation and how to handle that on top of being a woman in the industry. Our goal is to enable our attendees to find answers and ways to feel confident in their careers through new connections—we hope we achieved that here.

It was quite an evening, where we all learned something. Hopefully we each took away new strategies to act on and were inspired to actively raise up other women in the workplace, to diffuse disparities and find our voice for our future success.

As We Look Forward

We all are experiencing uncertainty, anxiety and loss during this unsteady time since our event on March 5th. It is important now more than ever before to stay connected and empowered in our community. The leadership of SheSays have been exploring ways we can still support one another for as long as this self-distancing continues. Our team has been spending some time planning for upcoming virtual events which will be opened up to all who are engaged in our local chapter as well as the international community to bring us all closer together. Our goal is to continue to be able to share knowledge, find inspiration, and support each other during this time — COVID-19 is impacting us all and we hope we can be here for you when you need us. Stay connected through our Facebook Group, Twitter and Instagram and keep an eye out for our upcoming online events in the next few days. We plan to bring you the first online forum on April 2nd, with partners from SheSays Toronto on the topic “Wisdom, Health & Calm, In Turbulent Times.”

Let’s lift our spirits and each other. We’ll get through this together.

Jen Lemerand & Beckie O’Connor Co Directors, SheSays Chicago

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team to get involved or just to say hello. Email us at [email protected]

Follow on Social Media: @SheSaysChicago, @WomanKind.Burnett

Thank you to Leo Burnett for hosting, in conjunction with two of their Employee Resource Groups: WomanKind and VivaWomen.

Special thanks to our collaborators who brought this event to life: Leigh Armstrong, Ginny Barrett, Rachel Blitz, Colleen Capola, Ella Delaney, Jillian Duma, Caitlin Fitzgibbons, Melissa Healy, Taylor Jennings, Dalia Jury, Devika Premsukh, Jaimie Thimmesh Rachie, Holly Springer, Monica Stahl, and Laura Stratford.