Wednesday, March 11, 2020
7:45-8:15am Continental Breakfast
8:15-9:15 Talk
Live Talks Business Forum with
Michelle King
Director of Inclusion at Netflix
discussing her book,
The Fix: Overcome the Invisible Barriers That Are Holding Women Back at Work
Gensler
500 South Figueroa Street
Downtown Los Angeles, CA 90071
This Event is being re-scheduled. New date will be posted as soon as confirmed.
$46 General Admission (includes book)
$20 General Admission
* Tickets include continental breakfast 7:45-8:15am, and a book signing follows the event
Michelle P. King is the Director of Inclusion at Netflix. She is a leading global expert in gender and organizations, and was most recently head of the UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change. Michelle has spent her career advancing women in innovation and technology, leading global diversity and inclusion programs and advocating for women at work. She is an Advisory Board member for Girl Up, the United Nations Foundation’s adolescent girl campaign, and host of The Fix, a podcast that shares the stories, challenges and triumphs of women across innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. She speaks frequently on the topic of gender equality, and contributes regularly to Forbes on the topic of women’s advancement at work. Her work has been published in Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, Scoop and TIME magazine. Michelle is a published, award winning academic with a PhD, a Masters in Psychology, and an MBA. For more, visit her website.
“So much about the world of work—from workplace culture to our definition of success—was created by men, and it’s not working for women or indeed for men. And it’s no surprise that women pay a disproportionately high price for their participation. That’s why The Fix, is so important. It’s a passionate, practical roadmap for addressing inequality and finally making our workplaces work for women.” — Arianna Huffington, founder of Thrive Global
For years, we’ve been telling women that in order to succeed at work, they have to change themselves first—lean in, negotiate like a man, don’t act too nice or you’ll never get the corner office. But after sixteen years working with major Fortune 500 companies as a gender equality expert, Michelle King has realized one simple truth—the tired advice of fixing women doesn’t fix anything.
The truth is that workplaces are gendered; they were designed by men for men. Because of this, most organizations unconsciously carry the idea of an “ideal worker,” typically a straight, white man who doesn’t have to juggle work and family commitments. Based on King’s research and exclusive interviews with major companies and thought leaders, The Fix reveals why denying the fact that women are held back just because they are women—what she calls gender denial—is the biggest obstacle holding women back at work and outlines the hidden sexism and invisible barriers women encounter at work every day. Women who speak up are seen as pushy. Women who ask for a raise are seen as difficult. Women who spend hours networking don’t get the same career benefits as men do. Because women don’t look like the ideal worker and can’t behave like the ideal worker, they are passed over for promotions, paid less, and pushed out of the workforce, not because they aren’t good enough, but because they aren’t men.
In this fascinating and empowering book, King outlines the invisible barriers that hold women back at all stages of their careers, and provides readers with a clear set of takeaways to thrive despite the sexist workplace, as they fight for change from within. Gender equality is not about women, and it is not about men—it is about making workplaces work for everyone. Together, we can fix work, not women.