Events

Merge the research with the real life to create solutions.

A roundtable.  A clearinghouse.  A think tank.  No matter what you call it, we are creating a space for discussion around the country and committing to share what we learn from talking with each other.  We see the Opt-In Project having several different approaches to addressing our goal. 

• The Cross-Industry Initiative – When you bring together similar interests from different backgrounds new connections are made.  Some industries have been working on women’s initiatives for years; other industry segments are just starting to recognize that they must tackle the problem; and academics and commissions have been writing articles and conducting their own analyses for decades.  By having different groups share their successes, as well as their challenges, we can all learn and build.  We hope to have events that will identify best practices in various industries to be shared with all members of the Opt-In Project.
• The Industry Implementation Initiative – We hope to conduct several events where we can bring leaders of the same sector into the room to pinpoint what successes and shortcomings women face in their industry. These events will focus on how the best practices that came from our cross-industry roundtable discussions could be implemented by an industry through its own leadership and clients. Our focus this year will be on the legal industry. We will ask in-house and general counsels from various corporations and managing partners from law firms to meet to discuss how the legal industry can restructure to encourage women to stay in the profession.  We believe many in-house legal departments have initiated creative solutions to the work-life balance issues facing lawyers, and we hope to use those insights in challenging law firms.

This year's events include:

• “Women at the Top” Defining the Need and  Kick off The Opt-In Project- participants helped define the issues that we want to tackle this year and identified retention efforts in other industries. Katherine Spillar, Executive VP, Feminist Majority Foundation, Executive Editor of Ms. Magazine and Joan Williams, Distinguished Professor of Law, Hastings College of the Law, Founder and Director of Worklife Law and the Project for Attorney Retention, outlined the importance of having women in leadership and  decision making positions, presented the business case for retaining women in the legal community, and discussed the solutions and strategies that law firms as well as businesses can use to retain women and help create leaders. (May 31, 2006, San Francisco, CA)
• “How Do You Do It?” A Discussion on Women's Initiatives in the Professional Services- Corporate America and professional service firms have been leaders in promoting innovative programs for work-life balance. We invite leaders in these groups (consulting groups, investment banks, financial services firms, and accounting firms) to a conversation which will focus on strategies and methodologies that professional services firms use to retain and advance women in the workplace. (September 28, 2006, San Francisco, CA)
• Work Life Balance- “Not Just for Women”- A discussion in Silicon Valley with male-dominated sectors (Technology, Pharmaceuticals and Telecommunications) on how these industries have moved beyond work-life balance being a "women's issue." (January 2007, Silicon Valley, CA)
• Women in Charge: Making a Difference- A discussion between the private and public sectors on the issue of promoting women into leadership positions and how to keep them there. (March 1, Washington, D.C.)
• Asking For Directions: Finding Workable Career Paths - A discussion on how these industries have created new ways to help women and men chart their careers and how these programs have helped their companies fill critical talent needs. (April 12, 2007 New York, NY)
• The Opt-In Project Report: The Business Case for Balance- Present our findings on best practices that have a universal appeal and strategies on how to get a specific industry to adapt these solutions. (May 31, 2007, San Francisco, CA)
• Beyond the Billable Hour” Implementing What We Have Learned- We will initiate a roundtable with general counsels and law firm managing partners to discuss ways in which law firms can better serve clients through alternative billing arrangements that may facilitate work-life balance. (Discussions Beginning in Fall 2007)

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." – Margaret Mead

Involvement

Opt-In with us.

We want innovators.  We want leaders.  We want people who are committed to the issue, people who want to debate, people who want to share, and people who want to make changes happen.

Being a part of the project means attending one event or many, submitting ideas for our best practices or inviting others who will add to the conversation and to our cause.  We look forward to working with you in all different aspects and having you as part of the collective. Sign up to get updates and information on our upcoming events (link to Opt-In with us Page)

"Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade." 
– Constance Baker Motley (First Black Woman in the U.S. to become a Federal Judge)