Where gender equality meets sustainability

“The industry is 70% women-powered, but only 20% women-led, meaning that clearly more work around equality of opportunity is needed.”

Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, shares the guiding principle of She Means Business, a series of learning sessions dedicated to diversity, gender equality and female empowerment taking place at IMEX Frankfurt.

She Means Business: A Conversation for All, is delivered by IMEX and tw magazine, and supported by MPI. It invites women and men from across the global events sector to share their views, experiences and current diversity and gender equality challenges.

The program begins on the first day of IMEX Frankfurt, Tuesday, May 23, with a practical guide on the role of women in helping to achieve net zero by 2050. In Road to Net Zero: Women as Change Makers (supported by CCH Hamburg), speakers including Kathleen Warden from the Scottish Events Campus (SEC), host venue of COP26, will discuss the Net Zero Carbon Events Initiative and the role of women in powering sustainable business.

She Means Business: a conversation for all – highlights

Sessions taking place throughout the three days of the show, May 23-25, cover future skillsets, building connections and mentoring practices that best support women’s career development.

Other highlights include:

• With the potential to generate up to $5 trillion in value by 2030, the metaverse is not a space to be ignored. In The Metaverse – A Man’s World?, Christopher Werth from VOK DAMS Events and Sabine Reise from Allseated share how to take first steps into this multi-dimensional world and why this environment appeals to women in particular.

• Challenges around gender parity persist according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022 of the World Economic Forum which states it will take 132 years to close the existing global gender gap. While the events industry is female-dominated in terms of numbers, its glass ceiling inhibits female representation at senior leadership levels.

• In the spirit of cooperation and open exchange, Ladies’ Choice: Women Seek Conversation with Men About Diversity and Gender Equality brings together a panel of women and men to discuss what individuals and organizations can accomplish by working collectively. The panel includes: Dr. Debbie Kristiansen from Exhibition World Bahrain; Kit Lykketoft from Wonderful Copenhagen; Ben Goedegebuure, from Maritz Global Events; and moderator Kerstin Wünsch from tw tagungswirtschaft – dfv Media Group and co-founder of She Means Business

“Diversity and gender equality are not only an answer to the staff shortages in our industry.”

Kerstin Wünsch explains: “With the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), corporations in the European Union are now required to report on sustainability in all its dimensions, including the social dimension. She Means Business is doing its part.”

Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, concludes: “The events industry needs to collaborate and engage in open dialogue to ensure opportunities for everyone regardless of gender. Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, we’re delighted to introduce a really supportive and well-informed She Means Business program packed with honest discussion and women who are leading the way to a more equitable future.”

The first day of She Means Business rounds-off in celebratory style with a #pinkhour GetTogether, supported by Nürnberg Convention, and held on the tw tagungswirtschaft stand on the show floor.

She Means Business takes place at IMEX Frankfurt, May 23-25. To register – for free – click here.

International Women’s Day is March 8.