A hearty round of speed networking kicked off the Women of InfoComm Network (WIN) event last night as a prelude to the launch of the WIN Career Empowerment Alliances for 2017. These monthly groups of eight to 10 women meet virtually to delve into topics relating to career advancement, work-life balance and conflict resolution.
“The point of this event here at ISE 2017 is to touch base with our European members to see what they’re interested in working on year-round as a group of women,” explained Betsy Jaffe, senior vice president of membership at InfoComm International.
“Right now we have 200 women worldwide involved in the WIN Career Empowerment Alliances programme. We have a few groups in Europe, but we want to expand the number that we have.”
Since its foundation in 2015, the network has helped members solve a number of challenges. “We hear from women that they are the only woman in a meeting or in the room, so they feel a camaraderie here they don’t necessarily have at the office,” added Jaffe.
The good news is that the provision of support and mentorship to women in the industry is coming from both genders. “We hear from women that a lot of men are providing support to them in their careers, so it’s important that we recognise the mentorship from both men and women as part of this group,” added Jaffe.
