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This Just In

Trade Show Executive Launches Women to Watch to Recognize Tomorrow’s Leaders

DANICA TORMOHLEN, EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Chicago — With the number of women entering the industry on the rise, Trade Show Executive is launching Women to Watch, a program designed to recognize top-performing female mid-level managers in the exhibition industry.

“Thanks to valuable industry-centric research, we now know that the number of women in our industry is growing at a very fast clip. Women have certainly overcome many obstacles in the workplace over the decades, and as a female-led enterprise, we at Trade Show Executive want to recognize, welcome and celebrate this emerging industry trend and these emerging leaders,” said Gabrielle Weiss, Publisher and Editor of Trade Show Executive.

Data from the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO) and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) reveals the exhibition industry employs more women than men. IAEE reports 57% of members are female. Female workers make up 64% of the workforce at independent show organizations, according to the Society of Independent Show Organizers Compensation Study.  Despite the high percentage of female staffers, SISO reports only 9% of these companies have a female CEO.

Women represent 35% of senior-level management of those surveyed, while men hold 65% of those positions, according to SISO. At the same time, females hold 51% of mid-level management positions at independent companies, while men hold 49%.

The exhibition industry has a higher percentage of female CEOs than other industries. By comparison, only 6.4% of Fortune 500 companies were led by women in 2017. A 2017 Korn Ferry analysis of the top 1,000 U.S. companies by revenue found that only 6% have female CEOs.

“TSE’s Women to Watch program is designed to benefit top-performing mid-level professionals by providing exposure to our flagship event and high-profile attendees, career coaching, and recognition in the magazine; perhaps the cover,” Weiss added.

Nominations are open to all trade show organizers and will be accepted online at https://tinyurl.com/TSEW2W through Sept. 10. Honorees will be selected by a panel of Trade Show Executive editors based on professional achievements, leadership qualities and professional expertise demonstrated within the last year.

Finalists will be announced in late September. Honorees are invited to attend Trade Show Executive’s Gold 100 Awards and Summit, scheduled to be held Oct. 10-12 at the Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Calif. Honorees will also receive career coaching from Angela Scalpello, a C-suite adviser based in Brooklyn. The group will also receive top recognition in an issue of Trade Show Executive.

Reach Gabrielle Weiss at (312) 493-7753 or gweiss@tradeshowexecutive.com

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