A Newcomer’s Guide to the MA Conference for Women
We’ll be seeing a lot of new faces this year, so we asked our staff and conference veterans for their advice on making the most of a day at the Massachusetts Conference for Women. We think Conference vets will find it helpful, too!
Download the illustrated guide (PDF)
2019 Bookstore & Author Signings
Exhibit Hall A | Open All Day
Sponsored by:
Author Signing Schedule:
9:45 a.m.
Celeste Headlee
Simon Sinek
11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Marci Alboher
Annie Duke
Amy Gallo
Anne Grady
Dr. Tiffany Jana
Mary Laura Philpott
Karen Rinaldi
Darcey Steinke
Tiffany Shlain
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Mary Abbajay
Chris Bailey
Lee Carter
M. Tamra Chandler
Jackie Glenn
Minda Harts
Erica Keswin
Sara Laschever
Maxie McCoy
Alicia Menendez
Amy Morin
Alechia Reese
Veronica Rueckert
Reshma Saujani
Virgie Tovar
Karen Wickre
2:45 p.m.
Tara Westover
4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
M. Tamra Chandler
Jodi Glickman
Maxie McCoy
Mindy McKnight
Veronica Rueckert
Tiffany Shlain
Shannon Watts
4:40 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Minda Harts
Michelle Wax
2019 Attendees: Important Information for Conference Day
We’re getting ready to knock your socks off at next week’s Massachusetts Conference for Women!
To help your day go as smoothly as possible, please prepare yourself by reading the information below.
Bring Kid-Sized Weather Gear to the 2019 Conference
Bring your donation of new hats, gloves & winter coats to the Conference – booth #223!
Bring your donation of new hats, gloves & winter coats to the Conference – booth #223!The Massachusetts Conference for Women and Cradles to Crayons are teaming up again to collect 2,500 sets of winter essentials to distribute to children in the region who most need them. Please bring NEW hats, gloves and/ or winter coats to the Cradles to Crayons’ booth (#223) and let’s help prepare these children for the cold weather.
Old Navy will also be onsite selling hats and gloves for those who wish to purchase items to donate.
Cradles to Crayons’ vision is that one day every child will have the essentials they need—to feel safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued. This winter, they aim to support 32,500 local children by providing warm clothing, shoes, boots, and other necessities to keep them safe from harsh winter conditions! We invite you to support their mission of providing children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play.
You may drop off your donation of new, kid-sized hats, gloves and coats at Booth #223 in Exhibit Hall A.
Livestream Tickets Now Available!
The Conference is sold out, but you can still join in!
New for 2019, the Massachusetts Conference for Women is offering Livestream Tickets that will allow you to watch video of keynote and select breakout sessions while they happen from the comfort of your computer.
Livestream tickets are $50 each and good for one device at a time. Details below.
What You Get
Access to a private video stream of:
Both morning and afternoon keynote sessions
+ Two breakout session options during each session period:
- Session I: 10:00 am – 11:00 am
- Session II: 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
- Session III: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
How it Works
- Purchase a livestream ticket on our registration page.
- The livestream URL and your unique access code will be emailed to you in advance of the Conference date. That email will also contain any technical details you need to have a smooth viewing experience.
- Livestreamed video is only available live—it will not be available for playback and recording of any type is strictly prohibited.
- Your access code will only function on one device at a time.
*Stream quality optimized for viewing on standard desktop monitors and smaller devices.
Questions? Email [email protected] for help.
Livestream Sponsors
2018 Attendees: Important Information for Conference Day
It’s an interesting time to be a woman in America, and this year’s Massachusetts Conference for Women promises to be a powerful one.
We’ve got leaders, thinkers, and innovators galore coming together for one day this Thursday—prepare to be inspired!
Read on for important logistical information, and stay tuned for more from us to help you plan your day at the Conference. Read More
Updated MassWomen App Now Available!
Download the official Massachusetts Conference for Women app. You requested better features, and we listened! You’re going to love it—just search “MassWomen” in your app store!
WHY DOWNLOAD?
- Full AGENDA & SPEAKER listings
- Full SPEAKER BIOS & access to PRESENTATIONS
- MAPS to help you get around
- ALERTS to keep you in the loop on last minute changes
- Access to past and present session podcasts
- Social wall to keep you posted on all of the amazing things happening – and share your own!
BENEFITS of CREATING a LOGIN:
- Ability to build a custom schedule
- Save session, speaker, sponsor, and exhibitor favorites for quick access
- Take & save notes on individual sessions – and export post conference
- Search attendees and send private and group messages
NOTE: Your App login is NOT at all related to your conference registration login. They are completely separate systems that require 2 separate logins. If you have not used the app previously, choose the option to “Sign Up.”
TO UPDATE FROM LAST YEAR’S APP:
iOS (Apple)
1. Go to Settings & make sure automatic updates are turned on. -OR-
2. Go to the App Store, Search “MassWomen,” click on the cloud to the right to update.
Android
1. Delete your current MassWomen app.
2. Go to the Google Play Store, Search “MassWomen,” and re-download.
Special thanks to Cisco for underwriting this year’s conference app!
To the MA Conference for Women Community:
As most of you know, MA Conference for Women 2018 registration opened and sold out Wednesday, June 6th in record time. The MA Conference for Women has grown into a massive event—and we’re proud of that and of the community that has coalesced around it and contributed to its success.
As demand for tickets has increased, we have added programming to address the increased demand—four years ago we launched Opening Night to bring more people into the experience. (Tickets are still available for this year’s December 5th evening event.)
We’ve also had to address the technical challenges that come with thousands of people trying to register at the same time.
To accommodate increasing ticket demand and avoid crashing the registration system, this year we deployed a “virtual waiting room.” As with anything new, we learned some lessons. Read More
BIG NEWS: The Power of Us, Quantified in HBR
We’re proud to have made it into the Harvard Business Review today, in an article by happiness researcher and Conference for Women veteran Shawn Achor.
You can read the full article here, but here are our main takeaways:
- People can be cynical about the utility of women’s professional conferences. Achor’s [male] seatmate on a recent flight said “I’m all for equality, but I’m not sure what good it will do.”
- What good CAN it do? Achor spoke with fellow happiness researcher Michelle Gielan, and the two decided to survey attendees in advance of the 2017 Conferences for Women in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Texas.
- They wanted to know what, if any, financial or intellectual impacts could be measured among attendees.
- They surveyed 2,600 women, using prior attendees to study outcomes and first-time attendees as a control group.
- Among attendees who had never attended the Conference, 18% had received a promotion over the past year. During the same economic period, 42% of women who had attended the Conference received a promotion.
- The likelihood of receiving a promotion doubled after attending the Conference for Women.
- 5% of women in the control group received a pay increase of more than 10% compared to 15% of women who had attended the Conference.
- Attendees of the Conference for Women had triple the likelihood of a 10%+ pay increase.
- 71% of prior attendees reported that they “feel more connected to others.” Achor’s book Big Happiness argues that social connection is the greatest predictor of success and happiness, and tangentially leads to longer, healthier lives.
- 29% of prior attendees reported that they “agree a lot” with the statement “I feel happier.” 78% of prior attendees reported feeling “more optimistic about the future” than before the Conference. 25% of prior attendees reported that they “agree a lot” with the statement “I feel more capable of handling stress in a positive way.”
“Laurie Dalton White, founder of the Conferences for Women, adds ‘Something special happens when you see that you are not alone. Making connections and building relationships with other attendees and speakers helps women form an understanding of their worth, and then they learn strategies to ask for promotions, seek fair pay, and even become a mentor to others.
Shawn Achor and Michelle Gielan
‘We invite women like Michelle Obama and Sheryl Sandberg to speak at our conferences not just because of their own personal success stories, but because they are role models who inspire women in both big and small ways.'”
Achor and Gielan’s findings suggest that business leaders ought to encourage employees to find social connections in a professional context.
The result may be a happier and healthier workforce.
New Security Procedures for 2017
While attending the MA Conference for Women at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, please note that magnetometers will be in use and weapons of all kinds will be forbidden from the event. Please refrain from bringing large bags containing unnecessary items to expedite your entry through security. Backpacks will be allowed, but are discouraged due to the amount of time it takes to search all of the compartments. Please consider bringing as few bags and packing as few items as possible.
Items like pepper spray, tasers or stun-guns, knives, guns, or any other projectiles, bottles or aerosol cans larger than travel size, or extended sharp items like long handled metal combs or screwdrivers, will be confiscated and not returned. Security will not store items for later pick up under any circumstances.
For the comfort and safety of all attendees, laser pointers, air-horns, whistles, and other noise makers are prohibited.