Speaker Articles

Use Social Media to Raise Your Value at Work

Jennefer WitterYou have your reasons if you don’t post on social media for work. Maybe you’re too busy. Or you wouldn’t know which platform to use—or what to post. Perhaps no one in your industry who is important is following you. Or you’re a private person and you want to keep it that way.

Whatever your rationale, personal branding expert Jennefer Witter wants you to know that you’re missing out on a key opportunity to advance your career. “Using social media can help you elevate your reputation and the visibility of your organization, which makes you valuable if your brand aligns with your company’s values,” says Witter, CEO and founder of The Boreland Group Inc. and author of The Little Book of Big PR: 100+ Quick Tips to Get Your Small Business Noticed. Read More →

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Stand Out as Manager Material

Grace KilleleaPop quiz: What separates the smart and hardworking from the smart and hardworking in leadership roles?

Answer: Executive presence, which entails exuding confidence, more so for women than for men, the Center for Talent Innovation has found.

Of course, the lack of executive presence, and so confidence, perceived or otherwise, isn’t the only reason there are so few women at the C-level of corporations. “Company policies and practices and gender bias are all contributing factors, too,” says Grace Killelea, founder and CEO of the GKC Group and author of The Confidence Effect: Every Woman’s Guide to the Attitude That Attracts Success. “But the confidence gap is real and it is keeping women back.” Read More →

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Oscar Nods for Hidden Figures Are a Win for Women, Diversity and STEM

In Hidden Figures, Dorothy Vaughan (played by Octavia Spencer) leads her team of mathematicians to begin work on the new IBM 7090 electronic computer.

By Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, Chief Diversity Officer, IBM

Riding a number of successful weeks at the box office, Hidden Figures was up for three Oscars last week: for best picture, best supporting actress and best adapted screenplay.

Though the movie didn’t snag any golden statuettes, the nominations are a win for the film’s director, actors, producers, writers and crew —and for women, diversity and STEM. Read More →

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How Women Can Get Ahead in Technology

What’s really holding women back in technology? You may have read about the “pipeline problem”—girls don’t study science, technology, engineering or math in equal numbers to boys—but that’s a red herring, says Gina Helfrich, founder and organizer of Feminist Hack ATX.

“The biggest obstacle, in my opinion, is poor retention numbers,” Helfrich says. “Research shows that more than half of women in technology leave the field by mid-career.” Read More →

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Yes, You Can Become a Natural at Public Speaking

Seeing Patty Chang Anker speak at the Conference for Women, you would never guess that she still occasionally gets performance anxiety. “There have been times when I was in the bathroom before going on stage and felt like I didn’t want to come out,” says Anker, laughing. “Woolly mouth? Pounding heart? Dizziness? I’ve had them all.” Read More →

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