Event Marketer and MRD December 2022 - 39

WOMEN IN EVENTS SPECIAL REPORT
" A lot of what we do outside of problem solving and being quick on our feet is
thinking about people and finding a soft spot between being an empathetic
partner, but also knowing when and where to draw the line with assertiveness. "
-Terrie Jackson, Experiential Marketing Manager,
Small Business Experiences, Meta
need to fix and things that will continue to
help me grow as an individual.
SMITH: But I think the unique challenge is
in those companies and/or industries that
aren't acknowledging that it's still difficult.
We're actually still living in a world where
it's not acknowledged that the challenges
are different. So, I feel really glad to be
working for a company that is doing whatever
it can to ensure that my voice and
others are heard, and that we have a huge
ecosystem of partners that we work with
to either execute our events or who help
us sell our products that believe the same.
Annual reports like McKinsey & Company
and LeanIn.org's Women in the
Workplace 2022 again explores the
invisible work women often take on in
the workplace. Does this resonate with
you, and what is the invisible work that
women often do in events?
REILLY: I often joke that we are babysitters,
magicians and therapists, and all of the
things, and some days we're anything but
an event producer. But I think ultimately
the true invisible work is the caring for
people that we do. I find that that is core
to every aspect of how we approach events
is thinking about everything, from what's
going to be the best experience for our
participants, whether those are attendees
or speakers or vendors, to what food people
are going to want to eat, and do they
have dietary restrictions, and what time
are people arriving, and are they going
to be hungry or tired. The truly invisible
work is just caring.
JACKSON: Whether it's with internal execs
who want you to kind of hold their hand
through the process and let them know
everything is going to be OK, or with
eventmarketer.com
WINTER 2023 EVENT MARKETER
39
minor details on-site-i.e., adding signage
to the restrooms because you know that
people need that extra sense of security. I
don't know if it's a woman's intuition thing,
but a lot of what we do outside of problem
solving and being quick on our feet is
thinking about people and finding a soft
spot between being an empathetic partner,
but also knowing when and where to draw
the line with assertiveness.
PULVER: You do end up being the person
who really has to take into consideration
where peoples' minds are at, their
feelings, their emotions. I always say the
biggest risk to any project is the people
because they are the ones working, it's
not machines, we're not running robots-
even though, yes, there's a component
of that sometimes. But people may have
something else going on in their lives and
they're off focus. They don't understand
why you're asking them to do something.
You have to be the person that's the ultimate
collaborator. Getting everybody to
be on schedule, moving on or toward the
same path. It's exhausting to be a motivator,
an empath and a leader.
PENHALL: I always tell my team or try to
give them the advice-and I got this
advice as I was moving up through my
career-don't raise your hand when they
ask for administrative things to be done
http://www.eventmarketer.com
Event Marketer and MRD December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Event Marketer and MRD December 2022
