Relationship-building, learning, and designing a plan towards equality together— this is the promise of the Equality Lounge® at SXSW 2022. Join us on March 12-13, 2022 in Austin, TX where we will connect leaders in technology, sports, advertising, healthcare, and more to discuss everything from the future of work to how the metaverse and emerging technologies can advance equality across industries.
In addition to the conversations we’ll hold in the Equality Lounge, interactive experiences will be available, including:
• Professional styling and headshots
• Female founder showcase and giveaways
• LaLaLand Kind Cafe signature lattes and bites
• Full-body Hydrow workout experience
• NFT and blockchain coaching with Invest in Her Art
• Enrollment pod for fast, touchless travel with CLEAR
Location:
Waller Creek Boathouse
74 Trinity St, Austin, TX 78701
In the context of leadership, the word “creative” is often used to describe a leader’s work: their ideas, strategies, innovations. But in today’s modern leadership, creativity is also a key component of a leader’s ability to be inclusive and create equitable spaces for all. In this conversation, we’ll discuss the role creative thinking plays in advancing equality and building a future of work that everyone can thrive in.
Sebastian Guth, President, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Americas & Board Member, Global Executive Committee
K. Rocco Shields, CEO, Genius Academy
Tiffany Rolfe, Global Chief Creative Officer, R/GA
Michelle Yeh, Managing Director, Technology and Disruptive Commerce Group, Commercial Banking, J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC
Beverly Jackson, VP, Global Brand and Consumer Marketing, Twitter
Ronda Carnegie, Chief Innovation Officer, The Female Quotient
You’re invited to Dolphin Tank: Austin by Springboard Enterprises in partnership with Project W, BBF and The Female Quotient. The Dolphin Tank is a "how can we help" showcase where we build community around women entrepreneurs to help them grow and scale. Selected companies will present their business case for advice, resources and connections to experts and receive crowdsourced support from the audience. Women-led tech companies making an impact for society and/or for the environment.
Anna Consani, VP, Community and Strategic Partnerships, Springboard Enterprises
Melanie Vanslavens, Attorney, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Chris Denson, Innovator, Author, Host, Producer
Rakia Reynolds, Founder and Executive Officer, Skai Blue Media (SBM) and Member, Springboard Enterprises
Shelley Zalis, CEO, The Female Quotient
Alana Libertad Cortes, Founder & CEO - Netavox is bringing Mexico into the conversational AI revolution.
Madison Long, Co-Founder and CEO - Clutch is a side-hustle marketplace that connects student creators to small businesses looking for affordable services.
Natasia Malaihollo, VP, Business Development - PopCom is developing software to turn "dumb" vending machines and kiosks into intelligent autonomous machines.
In the past two years, as personal and professional life have become increasingly intertwined with the remote work model, effective coaching has become essential to help women in the workplace effectively navigate uncertainty and find balance in their careers. In this conversation, we will chat with Jessica Wolf, founder of Skye Coaching, and executive coach Hanna Phillips, to discuss how coaching can help women get ahead in the workplace and navigate obstacles, as well as how it ties into the future of work.
As we re-emerge from the pandemic, there are a slate of financial issues that are top of mind for many women. Whether related to juggling work and childcare or supporting aging parents, it’s important we have tools to secure a safe financial future. In this discussion, we’ll source strategies for women and caregivers to financially take care of what’s important right now, while also preparing for the future.
Tushar Nadkarni, Chief Growth & Product Officer, Celsius
Francois Reihani, Founder and CEO, La La Land Kind Cafe
Gretchen Saegh-Fleming, Chief Commercial Officer, Hydrow, Inc.
Ellie Bamford, SVP, Global Head, Media and Connections, R/GA
Nataly Marks, Managing Director, JPMorgan Chase
Ronda Carnegie, Chief Innovation Officer, The Female Quotient
Special Guest
Art has always had a way of reflecting both the challenges and triumphs of a specific moment in time. As our global push for equality continues to grow, we see that same call for diversity, equity, and inclusion reflected across all art mediums and disciplines. In this conversation, we’ll hear from the women in the art industry who are solving for inequities in the broader landscape and are redefining the future of art.
With millions of women leaving the workforce the last few years due to burnout, we have been reminded of the connection between our mental, physical and emotional health and how they directly impact our performance at work. The solution seems simple enough: Alleviate stress and help women thrive in the workplace. With its state-of-the-art home fitness machine, Hydrow is doing just that and helping women unlock their greatest potential from the comfort of their WFH space. In this conversation, we will chat with Hydrow executives and athletes on how the world-class rower helps women improve their overall well being and thereby thrive at work and in life.
When it comes to advertising and media, a people-first approach is key to connecting with consumers and telling diverse stories. How can marketers effectively embed DE&I into their content strategy? Once they do, how do they measure their results in order to continue growing? In today’s conversation, we will talk with Ipsos executives about how to understand measurements of inclusivity and how to use that data to continue to close the gaps in brand strategy and content creation.
Robots will probably never wake up and decide to end the human race, as they do in the movies. But soon, they will look convincingly human—and when they do, they will be poised to make a profound impact on humankind. Whether positive or negative depends on the principles with which technologists design and market them. In this conversation, Liz Snower, ICONIQ AI co-founder and COO, will share the rationale behind the company’s Ethics policy, and ask Kuki–ICONIQ’s flagship AI, which has texted with over 25 million humans during "her" lifetime–some questions in a live demo, giving the audience a chance to ask Kuki some questions of their own.
Nora Ali, Media Entrepreneur and Host, Business Casual
Sandy Carter, SVP, Unstoppable Domains
Rebecca Everts, Head, Marketing Services, Reset Nation
Ashley Duncan, NFT Creator, She Survives and CryptoTitties
Joost van Dreunen, Founder, New Breukelen
Melody Hildebrandt, President, Blockchain Creative Labs
Ann Rosenberg, SVP, Sustainability, Wood Plc
Trinity Lloyd, Energy Transition & Sustainability, Google Cloud
Katie Mehnert, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Allyenergy
Anders Rodenberg, CEO, Denominator
Sherena Hussain, Founder, Academic Collaboration Consulting
Deeana Ahmed, Sr. Director, Strategy and Government Affairs, Our Next Energy, Inc.
Anders H. Lier, CEO & Founder, Energi.ai
To live a meaningful, joyful life requires intention — especially when burnout and stress are at an all time high for women and caregivers. How do we prioritize happiness — both for ourselves and others — so that we each can make a positive impact on the people we meet and the spaces we occupy? Who better to speak on this topic than Harvard professor Arthur C. Brooks, whose latest book, From Strength to Strength, explores how to cultivate meaning and deep purpose in the second half of life. In this conversation, Brooks and Hayley Romer, Chief Revenue Officer and Publisher at The Atlantic, will discuss key lessons from the book and explore how self-care and the pursuit of happiness play an essential role in an individual's ability to advance equality for others.
Shelley Gretlein, Vice President, Software Strategy, NI
Tori Bell, Founder, Inclusion Unpacked
Navroop Sahdev, Founder and CEO, The Digital Economist
Tom Bourdon, VP, DE&I, BigCommerce
Kimberly Penn, Chief Strategist, Women and Drones
Amber Coleman-Mortley, Director Program Development / Partnerships, The Female Quotient
What role do organizations and conscious leaders have in speaking out about sexual and reproductive health care? In this conversation, Planned Parenthood’s Corporate Engagement team, as well as business partners from a range of industries — including technology, media, entertainment, finance, and banking — will convene to discuss how (and why) companies and employees can take action to protect and provide affordable, essential sexual and reproductive health care access for their workforce, consumers, and communities.
Conversations around women’s health have historically been taboo topics—and the pandemic has made it even harder to have these candid, potentially life-saving conversations with women. Hear from Jennifer Gottlieb (Global President, Real Chemistry) and Wendy Lund (Chief Communications Officer, Organon), two communications leaders who are helping to break down barriers for women seeking to have critical conversations about their health.
Social issues like racial justice, gender inequality, and the environment are top of mind for the latest generation. In this conversation, we’ll hear how leaders across industries are inspired by this conscious group of consumers and how their organizations are authentically integrating equality into their brand's DNA.
Ebony Flake, C-Suite Reporter, Insider
Crystle Johnson, Director, Diversity Business Partner, Nike
Luke Lawal Jr, CEO, L & Company
Tanu Grewal, VP Marketing & Innovation, ALEN USA
Michelle Diedrick, Vice President, Field Marketing Central Division, Spectrum Reach
Pamela Sherman, Managing Director, Culture of Inclusion, Applied Materials, Inc.
Last fall, Stacy’s Rise Project launched FoundedByHer, an online business directory featuring women-owned businesses from across the U.S., to shine a light on and empower female founders. Today, we continue to build off that legacy with a discussion led by Ciara Dilley, VP, Stacy’s Pita Chips and Transform Brands, and a group of female entrepreneurs and leaders across various industries. We will dive into their founder journeys, obstacles they have faced as entrepreneurs and how brands can better support female founders.
Businesses once had to choose between profitability and sustainability. But in today's world, companies have no choice but to prioritize both. Explore how companies are embracing the power of digital technologies to bring profit and planet together, from furthering climate action to building an inclusive society to create a more equal and equitable world for us all.
We all have a responsibility to push for increased visibility and distribution of women in sports, media, and entertainment. While it’s important to commit to initiatives that empower women and recognize their achievements, it’s equally as important to have tools that measure our success…not to mention where we’re falling short. You can’t hold yourself accountable to action without knowing where the goalpost is. In this conversation we’ll unpack the value of the Gender Equality Scorecard, which helps brands, organizations, and leaders identify areas of improvement to drive gender equality growth for their own brands and businesses and hopefully begin to set industry standards or benchmarks for growth.
While early crypto companies focused primarily on generating revenue, today there's an opportunity for the blockchain community at large to make immense social impact by empowering and serving their communities. This people-first business model is what sets companies like Celsius apart from others in the space. In this conversation, the trailblazing leaders who are disrupting the industry will share their strategies and scalable solutions for giving back to their communities – and why doing so has not only benefited their users, but has driven the bottom line.
While our main mission at The FQ is to change the equation and close the gaps, our #1 priority is the health and safety of Equality Lounge® attendees. As part of our entry requirements, all guests must be fully vaccinated OR show proof of a negative Covid-19 test within 48 hrs, and wear a mask while inside the lounge, except while actively eating, drinking, or speaking on panel conversations. We’ve partnered with CLEAR for a fast and seamless entry when you check-in. Want to skip the line? Simply start by downloading the free CLEAR app and follow the prompts to upload your proof of vaccination or negative test. A green Health Pass means you’re good to go…show it to the check-in desk when you arrive. We can’t wait to see you there!