Why Attend an Event Solely for Women? by Lindsay Griffiths
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ince 2019, I have had the pleasure of being involved in the Empowered Women’s Event series as a committee member, with our organization as an in-kind sponsor. The event focuses on storytelling and according to event founder and host Susan Freeman: “Stories have a transformative power to allow us to see the world in a different way than we do if we just encounter it on our own. Stories are an entry point to understanding a different experience of the world. Storytelling, presenting a different perspective of the world, is important when it comes to connecting with each other. It gives us an opportunity to learn from another person’s experience and it can shape, strengthen, or challenge our opinions and values. When a story catches our attention and engages us, we are more likely to absorb the message and meaning within it than if the same message was presented simply in facts and figures. When someone tells their own personal story, we catch a glimpse of a view of the world that may be slightly or radically different from our own. When we see the world as they see it, or walk in their shoes, the experience can inspire empathy.” I never fail to leave the event inspired, challenged, engaged, and enthused. Volunteering as a committee member is a lot of work when you do it well, but it’s incredibly rewarding and never more so on the day of the event itself. Yes, other genders are welcome too (and encouraged!) and we learn so many lessons throughout the day. So why attend an event designed for women? I asked some of our committee members in the weeks leading up to Empowered Women 2022 and added my own thoughts and this is what we said.
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Attorney Journals Orange County | Volume 196, 2022
Learning How to Harness the Power of Vulnerability Not only is this the topic that speaker Eva Wisnik connected with us on, but it’s something we learn over and over again at these Empowered Women Events. This is the special sauce that you’ll get when you’re in the room at EWE. So many women shared their stories—on stage and off—in ways that they never had previously. It was truly beautiful.
Connecting with Amazing Women Leaders We had 12 incredible women speakers who showed us the power of storytelling throughout the day, women leaders from 22 phenomenal sponsors and their guests who were in the audience, another 12 powerhouse committee leaders, not to mention over 100 attendees who brought their own leadership skills with them. It was an amazing room full of phenomenal women.
The Chance to Open Your Mind When we’re working in the day-to-day and often in our personal lives, it’s easy to get stuck in the details—and of course, those details are important. That’s how we get things done and it’s how we move from one thing to the next. But stepping back and attending a conference like Empowered Women 2022 allows us a moment to breathe, to take in other women’s stories, and other perspectives, and to open our minds in a way that may let some new ideas in. A quick anecdote—I remember being at a legal marketing conference a number of years ago when the keynote speaker was from Zappos. A few attendees muttered that they didn’t know what shoes had to do with legal marketing and skipped the session—but it was immensely valuable. Something doesn’t always have to be within our wheelhouse
