The Future of Events: The Role of Women in achieving Carbon Targets

Part of the ‘Explore’ series hosted by Positive Impact, the roundtable provided an opportunity for discussions about the ways in which the events industry, with a predominantly female workforce, can play a role in addressing crises of climate, inequality, health and economy. The roundtable was the first in a series of events run by Positive Impact to support the development of a carbon target and reduction framework to coincide with the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) which will be hosted in Glasgow in November 2021.

Chaired by Positive Impact’s CEO Fiona Pelham, the roundtable also featured Miguel Naranjo of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and had an audience made up of events professionals from around the world. Kate Dashper shared insights from her recent research into gender and the events workforce which reveals that, although the industry is female dominated numerically, there are persistent issues with gender inequality. Women get paid less, are less well represented in senior positions and are less satisfied with their careers in the events industry than are men. However, there are also examples of events organisations and individual professionals who are trying to change this by working more collaboratively to reduce any persistent inequalities.

This sparked a discussion around the value of feminine characteristics, such as empathy, collaboration and kindness, to bring about change. Both men and women can and do embody these feminine characteristics, which may offer alternative ways of doing business that can alter traditional practices. Miguel Naranjo presented some stark figures on the climate crisis and the urgency of working together to address climate change. The audience joined in a discussion of how the events industry can contribute to these efforts, focusing on the value of bringing people together to cooperate as a powerful way of changing behaviours at individual, corporate, national and even global levels.

To find out more about how women at Leeds Beckett #ChooseToChallenge perceptions and help further the cause for equality on a daily basis. https://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/womens-history-month/