Lean, Seen, and from Beantown – TiECON East 2013 Women’s Panel April 24, 2013

What is common across global giants like Lockheed Martin, Guardian Life, Pepsi, IBM, Xerox, Mylan, Yahoo! and Campbell Soup? They all have female CEOs!

Women hold more power than you think. It is estimated that there are 8.1M women-owned businesses in the US generating $1.3T in revenues and employing 7.7M people. Over the last 15 years, start-up activity by women has leaped 54% and American women are opening 550 new businesses a day. Successful startups had more women in senior positions than unsuccessful ones and more than twice as many women in top jobs than their unsuccessful counterparts.

Yet, women account for just over a third of those starting new businesses. Women receive lower equity funding than men, and only 11% of investing partners at VC firms are women. Only 14% of S&P 1500 board seats are filled by women, while of the more than 1,800 directorships currently held by women, nearly 40% joined their respective boards in the last five years. Although there is a big push to drive change and recognize the impact that women managers have on an organization, we have a long way to go.

With Massachusetts electing its first female senator last year, we are proud to discuss the success of women in business as well as consider ways to increase the rate of change for the next generation of women leaders. Clearly we are celebrating the many paths to success for women.

This diverse panel features Anita Brearton (Executive Chairman, FashionPlaytes.com), Janet Kraus (CEO, Circles & Spire), and Zenobia Moochala (Co-founder, Care.com) and is moderated by Jean Hammond (Founder, LearnLaunch). These leading ladies from Boston will discuss ways to ensure that the next generation of women can fully leverage their potential and contribute to the future. Come to our Friday afternoon Women’s Keynote Panel to hear their stories, celebrate their accomplishments, and get empowered on your unique journey!