We are pleased to announce Women in Retail, our fourth annual Women in Business event. Hear from diverse voices of women in retail leadership and actively participate in discussions on how to impact our communities with purpose.

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2022 Theme: Impacting Our Communities with Purpose

When it comes to gender diversity, the retail industry is in a better place than it was a decade ago, but still not where it should be positioned moving forward. In order to close the gender gap within the retail industry, companies need to put words into action to see the industry progress substantially. 

Women in retail face challenges and need to break many barriers due to an unequal system. Gender inequality is a global issue. The gap between retail and consumer brands is not closing at the rate needed to reach equality. Women drive an estimated 70%-80% of purchasing decisions, but still only hold 29% of executive and senior level positions in retail. When looking explicitly at chief executive roles, women comprise just 12% of the top positions (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2021). 

Empowering women drives inclusive economic growth. The lack of women in leadership roles is not just a representation problem, but also an economic problem. A May 2020 McKinsey report found, “That profits and share performance can be close to 50 percent higher when women are well represented in leadership roles” (Dixon-Fyle, Dolan, Hunt & Prince, 2020). 

A lot of women in retail are not only leading their team, but also impacting their communities in different ways. This conference will highlight women in retail, their journeys and the impact they have on their communities. Now is the time to support women in retail to discover and uncover ways to support these leaders and strengthen the social fabric of our communities. 

Goals for Women in Business 2022

We hope all Women in Business attendees leave with new tools to empower them to lead change in the world as innovators and entrepreneurs, who will create meaningful impact.

Some specific goals for the day include:

• facilitating new mentoring and mutually supportive relationships
• co-creating new language that includes and welcomes
• identifying specific strategies for women in the work field, specifically the retail sector, to overcome invisible barriers
• create a space for conversation on social impact and social enterprise
• learning ways successful women have made an impact in their communities with purpose, so future women leaders can do the same.