Sarah shared her leadership journey in technology, which spans almost 20 years, and acknowledged women are still very much underrepresented in the audio-visual industry in a wide range of roles. She commented, "We have the opportunity and requirement to do something to change that. I see the importance of groups such as this to share experiences, hear from others and for us all to guide, mentor and motivate each other.
"The culture we have created at Electrosonic is open, creative, inquisitive, and supportive." said Sarah. She encouraged organisations and individuals to invest in leadership development and embrace diversity to create organisations which develop practices that invest and retain talent.
Sarah also highlighted how mentoring programmes and engaging with schools and educational establishments is also vitally important to ensure the continual growth of the industry, encourage more women into technical roles and help inspire the next generation.
"Statistics showed that only 10 percent of attendees at ISE and InfoComm are women," said Betsy Jaffe, vice president of communications at InfoComm International. She explained "The Women of InfoComm Council has been established to provide a global community of InfoComm members and other professionals committed to supporting and empowering women who work in the technology and AV industry."
Diana Danziger, an organisational development and leadership consultant, led an interactive session aimed at promoting women in technology. She covered numerous topics including why there are not enough women in AV, how both men and women experience limiting self-beliefs that hold them back and how leadership development and greater self-awareness can overcome them.
Attendee Jo Saull, digital producer, Imperial War Museum said about the session, "It really got me thinking about how we can encourage women in the industry to grow in confidence. Women have as much of a role to play in the AV industry as men and it was great to spend time exploring the challenges around this."
Sarah ended the event by encouraging all attendees to 'invest in themselves'. To find out what makes each of them tick, what makes them strong, and what each could do in their own companies to support and empower women.
(Jim Evans)
