This year, Conscious Company Media teamed up with its sister brand SOCAP to offer the World-Changing Women Leadership Workshop, a one-day pre-SOCAP 2019 workshop focused on closing the gender gap for women in business — and supporting women to lead in ways beyond the old model of just “acting like one of the guys.”
On October 22, 2019, in Gallery 308 at Fort Mason in San Francisco, California, a powerhouse group of women-identifying social entrepreneurs, founders, investors, intrapreneurs, and business owners convened at the Workshop to not only share wisdom and best business practices but also to foster vulnerable, authentic, and raw conversations about what feminine leadership truly encompasses — and what we cannot possibly continue to not talk about any longer.
With Conscious Company Media co-founder and CEO Meghan French Dunbar and world-class facilitator (and force-to-be-reckoned-with) Jocelyn Macdougall at the helm — and with incredible speakers, relatable stories, heart-felt connection, and breakthrough reflections — the World-Changing Women Leadership Workshop felt like the three-day World-Changing Women’s Summit boiled down to a six-hour convening.
The group chewed on questions like:
- On whose shoulders do I stand to be here?
- How do I continue to perpetuate patriarchy in business and in my own life?
- Where do I source my wisdom?
- Once we create jobs for women and then step into those positions, how are we (mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually) when get there?
In the opening session, Dunbar bared her soul on stage, sharing the story of starting and running Conscious Company, as well as her recent struggles as a woman in business — miscarriage, motherhood, losing a key investor and discontinuing the print magazine, and reinventing her business strategy and her team’s values. To kick off what would be a day full of sobering-yet-uplifting wisdom, one attendee put Dunbar’s confessional into an even more encouraging perspective. “I am old enough to be Meghan’s mother,” she said into the microphone during a feedback session.”This change might seem slow, but what Meghan just admitted would never have happened 30 years ago. And a room full of women in business? That never would’ve happened.”
Words cannot express how grateful we are to be a part of this movement, and to experience it with such an amazing group of women who are all willing to share their most vulnerable thoughts about being a woman who leads. We are excited to see how we can move the needle, together, in another 30 years.
Here are our favorite snapshots taken, impressions made, and nutrient-dense sound bites shared from the intimate gathering. Special thanks to our wonderful sponsors, Kate Spade New York, SurveyMonkey, and Abacus Wealth Partners!
Tweetable Moments
Kicking this thing off! #WhenWomenLead @jocelynmacdoug #WorldChangingWomen #consciouscompany #socap19 @socapmarkets pic.twitter.com/5YVhMyDGcF
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
.@MegFrenchDunbar of @ConsciousCoMag inspires 150 female leaders at #whenwomenlead pre #socap19 on the future of business in a conscious way! #worldchangingwomen! pic.twitter.com/Wpvda9vOwu
— Cheryl Contee (@ch3ryl) October 22, 2019
A real-talk question to ask ourselves, from @MegFrenchDunbar, “How do I, personally, continue to perpetuate patriarchy in business?” #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen #ConsciousCompany #SOCAP19 @SOCAPmarkets #WomeninBusiness #Authenticity pic.twitter.com/Rjrr0ionOK
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
How can we move business as usual to create a work environment that is also a space for healing? Thank you @MegFrenchDunbar for your honest reflection on leading with your whole self in challenging times. #worldchangingwomen #whenwomenlead #SOCAP19 @ConsciousCoMag pic.twitter.com/FPUpUswLIh
— Meg VanDeusen (@megvandeusen) October 22, 2019
Only 58 minutes into #WomenWhoLead with @ConsciousCoMag and I’m feeling all the feels. #WorldchangingWomen #SOCAP19 pic.twitter.com/tCJayrHMUF
— Mia Bolton (@mmmbolt) October 22, 2019
"Masculine-energy leadership is externally validated; feminine-energy leadership is internally sourced. And it is feminine leadership that will recreate our world." — @niliach, founder & CEO of @hifemalefounder #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen #ConsciousCompany #femalefounders pic.twitter.com/kkvC7zm5Hx
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"If I had followed investors’ paradigms, half a million kids wouldn’t have access to sex education right now … That is what I call Goddess Leadership. Be a channel for what comes through you & trust that first." — @niliach, founder & CEO of @hifemalefounder
#WhenWomenLead pic.twitter.com/zbM2JuLlTx— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
Part 1/2: "There are people who can communicate with our ancestors; I can hear the voices of those who are coming. And here’s what I hear: we survive. The planet does just fine, y’all. The planet knows what she’s up to." — @AkayaWindwood @RSFSocFinance #WhenWomenLead pic.twitter.com/N5uPEgdlE2
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
Part 2/2: "Our great great great grandchildren are calling to us. They’re asking for us to put some things into place now that will allow them to live then. If there’s a call, then we need to respond." — @AkayaWindwood @RSFSocFinance #WhenWomenLead pic.twitter.com/b93cq9ufPI
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"If we can get out of our own way, resist & interrupt the patterns of patriarchy embedded in each of us, then we can actually build this future that will allow our great great grandchildren to exist. But we cannot do this alone." @AkayaWindwood #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"Let's get out of our comfort zones, refuse to give up on each other, refuse to let another woman give up on herself. We can do this … Practice falling into love with one another in business." — @AkayaWindwood #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
Kicking off the #FutureofBusiness panel of #WhenWomenLead: "When we then step into , how are we when we get there?" — Taryn Bird, Director of #SocialImpact at @katespadeny #mentalhealth #WorldChangingWomen #womeninbusiness #SOCAP19 pic.twitter.com/ioZug1PP78
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
From @ch3ryl CEO of @dobigthings on the #FutureofBusiness at #WhenWomenLead: "There’s an app out there to help women apologize less—but how about an app that helps men apologize more?" ? ? ?#WorldChangingWomen #ConsciousCompany #SOCAP19
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
“Ice cream is not about ice cream but about human connection… the network of good vibes that we spread around the world.” — Robyn Sue Fisher, CEO & Founder of @SmittenIceCream #FutureofBusiness #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen #ConsciousBusiness #SOCAP19
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"Always hire people who are smarter than you. It’s important that we get change-makers into established companies—young, hungry, excited women & men who have purpose & profit at the forefront of what they do." — Taryn Bird, Director of #SocialImpact of @katespadeny#WhenWomenLead
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"I used to think that being a woman in business wasn’t all that different or difficult; it could be seen as an asset. And then I became a mom—and that completely changed." — Robyn Sue Fisher, CEO & Founder of @SmittenIceCream
#FutureofBusiness #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"Women buy 70-80 percent of everything. We are the economy. So if you’re not at the table, you are on the menu." — @ch3ryl, CEO of @dobigthings #FutureofBusiness #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen #ConsciousCompany #SOCAP19 @SOCAPmarkets
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
Now @ConsciousCoMag #WhenWomenLead: badass investor @kristinhull on why #climatechange requires a feminist solution pic.twitter.com/J6bwZJcMxi
— Meg Massey (@blondnerd) October 22, 2019
“We want to find oppportunities to invite men into this mess with us, because we can’t bust patriarchy without them. We need each other.” @ConsciousCoMag ?????? pic.twitter.com/4PvEvtEPjr
— Mia Bolton (@mmmbolt) October 22, 2019
"This is a quantum world. We have no idea what we can create together." — @Hollyruxin, CEO of @MontcalmTCR, kicking off #FinancingtheNewEconomy at #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen #SOCAP19 @SOCAPmarkets #ConsciousCompany
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"Work with firms that will scream for your values … We have to take control of our finances & in some cases it starts with not being scared." — Eileen Freiburger,
Financial Advisor, @AbacusWealth #FinancingtheNewEconomy #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen #ConsciousCompany— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"Every one of us can be an investor. We as women have the power to put it together collectively, and that’s what @PipelineAngels is about." — Anna Banks, CMO, @FairTradeCert; Member of #PipelineAngels #FinancingtheNewEconomy #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen #SOCAP19 pic.twitter.com/Ui0ahfIHfN
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"Money is energy, another way to bring nourishment to people’s lives. And one of the barriers I see to getting into the #investing space is confidence." — Lorrie Meyercord,
Angel investor #FinancingtheNewEconomy #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen #ConsciousCompany #SOCAP19— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"We can break the system. This is a manmade—a human-made system. We have to continue to be fearless. When your biggest fear happens and your chid gets super sick, you realize that you're okay—you lose all your fear." — @Hollyruxin, CEO of @MontcalmTCR #WhenWomenLead
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"There’s not going to be some cataclysmic event that’s going to catapult us into the next thing. Just being here, having this conversation—there’s a tremendous ripple effect in that." — @Hollyruxin, CEO of @MontcalmTCR#FinancingtheNewEconomy #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"We don’t need to change the system; we just need to get up into the system and create you own rules." — @Hollyruxin, CEO of @MontcalmTCR #FinancingtheNewEconomy #WhenWomenLead #SOCAP19 @SOCAPmarkets #smashthepatriarchy
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"I struggle with this every day: I feel like I’m doing good, but is it enough?" — Anna Banks, CMO, @FairTradeCert; Member of @PipelineAngels #WhenWomenLead #WorldChangingWomen #ConsciousCompany #SOCAP19 @SOCAPmarkets
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
"The reason no one understands finance is because it’s gobbledygook. Your single mother who ran your household knows every single thing she should about finance." — @Hollyruxin, CEO of @MontcalmTCR #FinancingtheNewEconomy #WhenWomenLead #SOCAP19 pic.twitter.com/0gK9pw9L1T
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
This might be the most refreshing and interesting panel discussion I’ve heard about the #impacteconomy b/c it’s about overall holistic relationship with money & economy #WhenWomenLead @ConsciousCoMag pic.twitter.com/RJQoJaIReX
— Meg Massey (@blondnerd) October 22, 2019
Thank you to everyone who made today's When Women Lead Workshop such a success! What a great way to kick off #SOCAP19! To stay in the loop on content, workshops and events, join our World-Changing Women newsletter community https://t.co/1b6IyRmbUC #whenwomenlead #SOCAPStories pic.twitter.com/6t4jgrRJ4D
— Conscious Company (@ConsciousCoMag) October 22, 2019
