The Buzz: The 2019 National Diversity Women’s Business Leadership Conference

Have you ever entered a room and felt like you had already “leveled up” just by being there? A feeling as if the courage and dedication of the power players in the room had already rubbed off on you as soon as you stepped in the conference space? 

This was my experience at the National Diversity Women’s Business Leadership Conference that took place November 14-16, 2019. The theme of the conference was “level up,” and it started with an evening reception kickoff that was followed by two days of keynotes, flash talks, workshop sessions, and panel discussions. Time was also allotted for the Mosaic Awards Luncheon, where four women were honored and awarded a stunning mosaic created by world–renowned multicultural visual artist, Dr. Synthia Saint James. She says her work is meant to “epitomize women of diverse and intersectional backgrounds, enhanced with self-esteem, pride, togetherness, and sisterhood.” Conference founder and CEO of Diversity Women Media, Dr. Sheila Robinson, shared that the mosaic was meant to be representative of any woman looking at it with hopes that she can see herself. Among the awardees were Shellye Archambeau receiving the legend award, Jacqueline McWilliams receiving the leadership award, Pat Mitchell receiving the trailblazer award, and Valerie Jarrett receiving the pioneer award. 

Gloria Feldt, cofounder and president of Take the Lead, was one of the speakers in the conference who suggested a power paradigm shift that stuck with me. She spoke on changing the “power over” mindset to self-reflecting on what we have the “power to” do. In this model, we all have the strength and power to make a difference in our lives and those of others, without diminishing the power of those around us or making them feel powerless. The speakers, panelists, facilitators, and attendees embraced this shift and each one showed their power. 

The Power to Story Tell 

Chief executive officers, chief diversity officers, managers and more spoke at the conference about how the path to gaining leadership roles and respect were not easy, and definitely not finished. The stories often had one thing in common, and that was the storytellers’ own experiences of being minimized for their skin color or gender, courage, or work ethic. Dr. Shirley Davis was told she was ungrateful for deciding to take a better job offer and had “ruined things” for black women after her, while Michelle Gadsden-Williams encountered a threatening letter while in her Chief Diversity Officer role. These stories hit hard when these women informed the room that they made the decision to move past their moments of minimization and use them as fuel for the rest of their journey. Dr. Davis told us that the reality is that organizations and society are not ready for the disruptive world of heightened diversity, but my takeaway is that we have the upper hand in knowing what’s to come because we are only going to level up from here. 

The Power to Take Action & Teach Action 

There was a common theme among many of the speakers and facilitators that dealt with developing a goal and staying on track to accomplish that specific goal. Although Audra Bohannon was able to reach her goal of having no debt by a certain age and has maintained having no debt, she did not expect the participants in her session to automatically relate. Instead, she expected us to take action and hold ourselves accountable while working our way toward our own goals. She understood that some of us needed the time in her session to remind ourselves of the goals we may have set and strayed away from, or to set a new goal. Stacey Gordon and Farzana Nayani allowed the participants of their session time to reflect on who their mentors, sponsors, and allies were. The lesson did not end there because they made sure time was also provided to reflect on the equally important task of knowing how we can take on the role of being a mentor, sponsor, or ally to others. 

The 2019 National Diversity Women’s Business Leadership Conference was three days full of reflection, transparency, vulnerability, and fearlessness. Everyone deserves time to self-reflect, learn, and grow and it is at conferences like these where you are held accountable in the moment to make an effort. Diversity Women will be celebrating their 15-year anniversary during next year’s 2020 conference, which will be held October 7-9 at the Gaylord Resort National Harbor, MD.