In April, more than 2,500 women, men, activists, CEOs, peacemakers, entrepreneurs, and politicians from all sides of the debate came together in New York City for the Women in the World Summit. The event is a vehicle for inspirational stories of courage and action in making lives better for women and girls, while illuminating the world's most pressing issues.
The speakers this year included the honorable Hillary Clinton, Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, actress Scarlett Johansson, Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and many more.
For the first time, BCG participated in the summit as a cosponsor, alongside other global organizations and clients, demonstrating the firm's commitment to diversity and pride in supporting women around the world. We reinforced our dedicated efforts for an inclusive environment through a video shared with all attendees during the conference.
The 40 BCGers who attended from both the consulting team and the business services teams found this a deeply inspiring experience. Among them:
- Miki Tsusaka, BCG's CMO, spoke on the She-Suite panel alongside Arianna Huffington (founder, CEO of Thrive Global), Susan Wojcicki (CEO of YouTube), and Sallie Krawcheck (CEO and cofounder of Ellevest and chair of Ellevate Network). Miki discussed Women@BCG's recent thought leadership article "Dispelling the Myths of the Gender 'Ambition Gap'" as well as their shared experiences in the corporate world. The panel received coverage in Fortune, Entrepreneur, and Women's Wear Daily. Watch Miki's video remarks from the summit.
- Jooyeon Song, BCG ambassador (from Korea, working in Helsinki), had the opportunity to attend the summit through her winning essay for International Women's Day and tweeted her experience through the BCG Careers channel.
"The range of topics on stage at Women in the World included stories about enslavement, political assassinations, and more—and stories of women around the world stepping up to lead. Our fight to break the glass ceiling might pale in comparison with these struggles, but there's perspective to be gained. In the scheme of things—amid such mighty global challenges—achieving gender equality in the business world should be a priority. We have to step up, take care, and take responsibility to lead from the front. The time to win this simple, long-overdue battle is now," said Miki.
Women in the World is a global organization, and therefore we are continuing to assess opportunities to participate at events and discussions around the globe. Our partnership also includes the production of the "She-Suite" video series—conversations, released monthly, with top female executives.
Cosponsoring Women in the World is just one part of Women@BCG external engagement efforts.