“She Means Men toring” –launch of the mentoring pr ogram for w omen in the e vent industry

For the first time the International Festival of Brand Experience (BrandEx) took place at Messe Wes tfalenhallen in Dortmund on 15 J anuary. Around 1,000 guests were able to follow 100 contributions b y reno wned speakers on 15 stages in parallel. In the evening the BrandEx Awards ceremony took place awarding the best contributions from live marke ting and live communication from last year. The festival got its special structure from the chosen open space architecture, which bundled all the s tages, hospitality offers and retreat areas in one large room. This openness offered space both for c oncentrated listening and discussions as well as f or animated conversations. Part of the program w as also the announcement o f “She Means Mentoring”, an initiative to promote w omen in the exhibition and event industry.

Is equality between men and women in the global meeting and event industry even an issue? Especially as our industry is already disproportionately female anyway?

It is, indeed! A behind-thescenes survey, in the form of a 2017 poll, has shown that every second woman in the MICE industry does not feel equal in terms of her career opportunities and salary. And although the MICE indus try is approximately 75% female, a disproportionately small number of women are in management positions. Time to change this!

Women for women – from the first “She Means Business” to the new mentoring initiative

“She

Means Mentoring”

Because sustainable results can be better achieved through c ollaboration, leading industry e vents and players and their s trong women behind them have c ome together in a joint effort t o work together to achieve the gr and goal: equality for women in the global meeting industry.

The successful launch of the fir st “She Means Business” c onference as part of IMEX in Fr ankfurt in 2018 as a cooperative project between tw tagungswirtscha ft and the IMEX Group has clearly shown a need for f ormats and events that support gender equality. “She Means B usiness” is a conference with a high-caliber education program that networks women and celebr ates the role of women in the meeting industry.

An only logical next step w as the development of the mentoring initiative “She Means Mentoring”. This initiative w as announced on J anuary 15th during the first BrandEx Festival in the Dortmund Wes tfalenhallen.

Chairwomen of “She Means Men toring” are Sabine Loos, Managing Director Messe Wes tfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH, Bettina Metz, Managing D irector UN Women National C ommittee Germany e.V. and Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group. “She Means Mentoring” will also be part of the next IMEX in Frankfurt 2019 as there will also be a next “She Means B usiness” with a high end educa tional and networking program.

“She Means Mentoring” –a new initiative for women in the global meeting- and event industry

“She Means Mentoring” is a mentoring initiative for the events industry to aim for gender equality

“She Means Mentoring” is inviting women all over the world to support each o ther and to empower young women.

Benefits f or mentors and mentées

+ Mentor shares knowledge and experiences, gets new/ fresh ideas/technologies, ne tworking, training (learn abou t mentoring)

+ Mentee gets career guidance, advice and assistance, ne twork building

Chairwomen

Bettina Metz, Managing D irector UN Women National C ommittee Germany e.V.; Carina Bauer, CE O IMEX Group; S abine Loos, Managing D irector Dortmund Wes tfalenhallen

Founders

Karin Ruppert, Head of c ommunications FAMAB; Ker stin Wünsch, Editor-inchief tw tagungswirtschaft; Christiane Appel, Editor-in-chief m+a report

Sabine Loos Managing Director

Messe Wes tfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH

The event industry is largely female. However, this fact is not reflected in the management po sitions.

I would like to encourage women to be enthusiastic abou t management tasks and plan their careers systematically.

Women are particularly burdened at work if they w ant t o combine their career with a f amily. This particularly affects the event industry because working hours are often not f amily-friendly. Tha t is wh y working mothers need special support at this point.

The industry also needs more young talents. In concrete terms, this means that we also have to make a special effort to attract female employees. For this we have to raise awareness of the need to improve the basic c onditions for working women and mothers. In my opinion, high-qualit y and flexible childcare is a crucial factor here.

I w ant to lead by example. I am a woman in a leadership po sition myself and a mother a t the same time. I know wha t it means to combine them both.

Bettina Metz Managing Director UN Women

Na tional C ommittee

German y e.V.

Mentoring means networking. Ne tworking between people of all ages, people who have been working in a company for a long time and people who just started t o work there as well as networking between women and men. Women still do not benefit from ne tworking as men do. This has t o change with “She Means Men toring”.

Women are well educated; they do have a lot of knowledge and abilities. Women are able t o compete with men on all fiel ds, but they do not have the same chances. We need role models who support women. We need people listening and enc ouraging mentees on their career s. “She Means Mentoring” will provide this support –hopefully with you on board.

Carina Bauer CEO IMEX Group

“She Means Mentoring” is the sis ter initiative to “She Means B usiness”, the great networking e vent and educational program f or women in the global meeting indus try. “She Means Mentoring” is about supporting each other within our industry and learning from each other. Every woman has a great story to tell and by sharing, we can learn from each other and profit from this v aluable experiences and knowledge.

I am very happy to be a chairwoman for this wonderful initia tive and to be able to help women to achieve their personal and carrier goals. We do need f ormats like this, as our survey has shown.

I am looking forward to welc oming women around the globe to both, our next “S he Means Business” and “S he Means Mentoring” a t IMEX in Frankfurt 2019.