An estimated 6,000 women are gearing up to attend the Watermark Conference for Women, an event centered around inspiring women to become excelling leaders in the workplace.
The San Jose-based event, which will be attended by the leading female executives, emerging leaders and entrepreneurs from around the Bay Area, is scheduled for Wednesday.
“We have a full day of breakout sessions that range from negotiation, which is such a hot topic of especially among women, finance leadership development, public speaking, networking and any sort of skill building and gap filling that you need to do to bring your career along," Mary Thorsby, Vice President of Marketing and Events for Watermark, said.
A number of big names, including Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Oscar-nominated actress Viola Davis, and former Secretaries of State Condoleeza Rice and Madeleine Albright, will be on hand to spread inspiration.
"We are all about women helping women — as Madeleine Albright has said — and she of course is one of our keynote speakers," Thorsby said. "There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."
The overarching goal of Watermark is to increase opportunity for working women, especially at the top.
"Companies that have gender diversity and ethnic diversity from the top all the way through their organizations, they're more successful," Thorsby said. "They're more profitable. It's not just the right thing to do. It's good for your business."
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NBC Bay Area's Jessica Aguirre and Laura Garcia-Cannon will also be speaking at the event.
