Thousands of women were in San Francisco today to hear from top female business leaders. They took the day off of work to take part in the Professional Business Women of California's 24th Annual conference of Moscone Center.
Among the speakers was Facebook COO Sheyl Sandberg.
Sandberg was recently ranked No. 8 on Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women in the world.
She was one of the keynote speakers at the conference.
The event was started by Rep. Jackie Speier 24 years ago to help women unlock their full potential in the workplace.
While woman at the conference Thursday, said much has changed, there is still gender inequality at the top.
"Women still hold very few top level jobs. Very few boards, very few CEOs. In congress only 17-percent of the members are women. We still have much to do," Speier said.
Sandberg asked women in the crowd if they ever said out loud that they wanted to be a CEO and most said no. The she offered this advice.
"Don't worry if you think you aren't fully qualified. You are. Raise your hand and say it with confidence. Don't wait until you have 100 percent of the criteria. You will learn on the job. If someone asks you if you have the skilled to be CEO say 'yes' because you do," Sandberg said.
Other speakers included Jackie Speier. And former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. In all, 4,000 women attended the conference and it was sold out.
