Come Get Uncomfortable With WiC in Denver
Come join Women in Comms in Denver on Wednesday, September 14, and we promise we'll do our best to make you uncomfortable before 9:00 a.m.!
You read that right -- our goal with WiC's tenth (10!) networking breakfast is to get a little uncomfortable -- ask the tough questions, go beyond the surface level and tackle complicated considerations, such as when does offering maternity leave not make sense, and what happens when you have to choose work or family?
The official topic of our panel is "Marrying Progressive Policies With Company Culture," in recognition that you really can't effectively have one without the other. Oftentimes, companies will have great headline-making policies, like unlimited vacation days, but a culture in which you'd be shunned if you really took advantage of them. Or, maybe your company has nailed the laid-back cultural vibe with a jeans-and-hoodie uniform and ping pong tables in the break room, but the expectation is that you work around the clock.
In taking on this focus, we hope to answer the call put forth in a recent LinkedIn post by Amy Allen Martin from Jumpstart Inc., who called on women's events to be bolder and more purposeful in their conversations to spark change. Let's face it: Change is squirmy, and sparking change -- not just feeling inspired, although that's nice too -- is really WiC's ultimate goal.
She writes, "Change is not comfortable, but it we want to truly address gender equality in the workplace for our future generations, we need to be much bolder in the way we drive conversations in our community."
We have an extremely impressive panel of women who have agreed to be in the hot seat to tackle these uncomfortable questions, including five women who have paved storied career paths for themselves in the comms industry. They include:
- Beth Lackey, Senior Vice President, Carrier Operations, Windstream Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: WIN)
- Megan Doberneck, General Counsel & Company Secretary, Vodafone Americas
- Nicola Jackson, Vice President, Marketing, XO Communications Inc.
- Sandi Mays, CIO, Zayo Group Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO)
- Lynn Comp, Senior Director, Industry & Sales Enabling (ISE), Network Platforms Group, Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC)
So mark your calendars and plan to join us in Denver on September 14. You can find all the details and register right here.
Come with your toughest questions. And, don't worry, we'll have a very comfortable hot breakfast and plenty of time for networking with like-minded peers to start the morning. But then it's time to answer Martin's call and start having those tough conversations -- even if the only thing that's comfortable is the chairs you're sitting in.
— Sarah Thomas, 
, Director, Women in Comms
