In this workshop, we discuss our research into women’s experiences of leadership in the event industry. Despite being an industry dominated by women in the workforce, it still lacks representation of women in leadership roles and we were curious to explore why that was.

There are persistent barriers to women's development as leaders that have an impact across all industries.  We investigated whether the pressures of live event delivery and the nature of work in events meant that the industry has its own set of barriers and enablers to women becoming leaders.   We recruited an expert panel of women in the UK and Australia who shared their perspectives on developing leadership careers in events, and the development of women’s’ leadership capabilities.

During this workshop, we’ll talk you through our findings and support you to share your own experience as PCOs, who often work with very specialist sectors.  We will offer insights into how women have been able to overcome some of the persistent barriers to develop leadership careers in events, and the reasons why they sometimes couldn’t.  Our aim is to start conversations that will ensure that women are given equitable access to the pathways to leadership.

Presented by:

Emma Abson - Sheffield Hallam University

James Kennell - University of Surrey

Objectives:

1. Develop understanding of womens' progression into leadership careers in Events.

2. Reflect on your own career development, and the factors that support or hinder this.

3. Consider approaches to supporting the development of womens' leadership capacities in events