As we approach International Women’s Day on March 8, I wanted to share the following question that was posed during a recent MPI International Board of Directors meeting: “If MPI is the largest association in the events industry and the majority of MPI members are women and MPI has been working to serve our members’ needs for almost 50 years, isn’t MPI the association for professional women in the events industry?”
The reality is that nearly 80 percent of MPI members are women, women hold more than 70 percent of the leadership positions in our chapters and MPI has a legacy of inspirational women IBOD chairs—from our first woman chair, Marta Hayden in 1987-88, through last year’s chair Amanda Armstrong and our current chair-elect Annette Gregg.
Throughout its existence, MPI has taken a leadership position in supporting the professional growth of women and being responsive to women’s issues. In recent years MPI has launched a number of women’s leadership programs and been at the forefront of addressing the #MeToo movement (with the intent to not only ensure a safe environment at MPI events, but also to educate our community on how to ensure safe environments at all of the events they design), including the launch of “MPICares”—a hotline for victims to report harassment they experience at any MPI-hosted global or chapter event.
And as an organization, in 2017 MPI began an aggressive and widespread campaign fighting the horror of human trafficking—an insidious crime that impacts far too many young women and children. This is an issue I’m passionate about, and I’m proud to say that MPI has taken a leading role in raising awareness. Every issue of The Meeting Professional in 2018 included an article about what meeting planners and hospitality partners are doing, and can do, to ensure we put an end to human trafficking—ranging from using ECPAT USA training to help a potential victim to identifying traffickers with the help of the banking and credit card industries. Forty-six percent of respondents to the latest Meetings Outlook survey say their organizations are now taking part in practices to combat trafficking, and 22 percent say they will do so in the future. But they also report a general lack of awareness of the problem and how it’s being addressed within the meeting industry. The fight will continue, and we will continue to gain momentum in 2019.
George Orwell once said, “Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious.”
So, to restate the obvious—MPI is the association for women in events and as such we want to welcome women throughout the meeting and event industry who are looking for a professional association to call home. An association where they can find their tribes, hone their professional acumen and expand their networks.
With the formation in 2018 of the MPI’s Women’s Advisory Board, co-chaired by Sara Soliman Daudin and Courtney Stanley, MPI is increasing its focus on women’s issues and honing our strategic focus on developing women leaders. The advisory board will offer MPI staff and leadership strategic guidance on the development of resources and educational content relative to the issues facing women in our industry—issues including gender pay equity, sexual harassment and the need for formal mentorship for women. “What’s really exciting is even in our initial discussions, we’ve begun to identify a lot of challenges that look like really great opportunities to explore solutions,” says Stanley, also a past IBOD member.
Many MPI members also weighed in with some insightful thoughts about issues facing women in our Meetings Outlook report, with 64 percent of women saying that they face limited or capped career opportunities, 54 percent saying they are paid less than men and 46 percent saying they are not taken seriously. Professional training, assertiveness and seeking diverse mentors are actions they recommend for women working to level the playing field.
Let’s continue to work together this year to make MPI, the meeting industry and the world a better, more equitable place for women and every group of people that is marginalized in any way.
Thank you for your engagement with MPI and your leadership of this incredible industry.
The reality is that nearly 80 percent of MPI members are women, women hold more than 70 percent of the leadership positions in our chapters and MPI has a legacy of inspirational women IBOD chairs—from our first woman chair, Marta Hayden in 1987-88, through last year’s chair Amanda Armstrong and our current chair-elect Annette Gregg.
Throughout its existence, MPI has taken a leadership position in supporting the professional growth of women and being responsive to women’s issues. In recent years MPI has launched a number of women’s leadership programs and been at the forefront of addressing the #MeToo movement (with the intent to not only ensure a safe environment at MPI events, but also to educate our community on how to ensure safe environments at all of the events they design), including the launch of “MPICares”—a hotline for victims to report harassment they experience at any MPI-hosted global or chapter event.
And as an organization, in 2017 MPI began an aggressive and widespread campaign fighting the horror of human trafficking—an insidious crime that impacts far too many young women and children. This is an issue I’m passionate about, and I’m proud to say that MPI has taken a leading role in raising awareness. Every issue of The Meeting Professional in 2018 included an article about what meeting planners and hospitality partners are doing, and can do, to ensure we put an end to human trafficking—ranging from using ECPAT USA training to help a potential victim to identifying traffickers with the help of the banking and credit card industries. Forty-six percent of respondents to the latest Meetings Outlook survey say their organizations are now taking part in practices to combat trafficking, and 22 percent say they will do so in the future. But they also report a general lack of awareness of the problem and how it’s being addressed within the meeting industry. The fight will continue, and we will continue to gain momentum in 2019.
George Orwell once said, “Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the restatement of the obvious.”
So, to restate the obvious—MPI is the association for women in events and as such we want to welcome women throughout the meeting and event industry who are looking for a professional association to call home. An association where they can find their tribes, hone their professional acumen and expand their networks.
With the formation in 2018 of the MPI’s Women’s Advisory Board, co-chaired by Sara Soliman Daudin and Courtney Stanley, MPI is increasing its focus on women’s issues and honing our strategic focus on developing women leaders. The advisory board will offer MPI staff and leadership strategic guidance on the development of resources and educational content relative to the issues facing women in our industry—issues including gender pay equity, sexual harassment and the need for formal mentorship for women. “What’s really exciting is even in our initial discussions, we’ve begun to identify a lot of challenges that look like really great opportunities to explore solutions,” says Stanley, also a past IBOD member.
Many MPI members also weighed in with some insightful thoughts about issues facing women in our Meetings Outlook report, with 64 percent of women saying that they face limited or capped career opportunities, 54 percent saying they are paid less than men and 46 percent saying they are not taken seriously. Professional training, assertiveness and seeking diverse mentors are actions they recommend for women working to level the playing field.
Let’s continue to work together this year to make MPI, the meeting industry and the world a better, more equitable place for women and every group of people that is marginalized in any way.
Thank you for your engagement with MPI and your leadership of this incredible industry.
