The Female Quotient's Shelley Zalis Activates Diversity Via the "Power of the Pack"

When MediaVillage hosts its third Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors on January 8 at CES Zalis will be among those being inducted Leading up to that event each of our 2020 inductees has shared their strategies for accelerating the move from advocacy to activism In this podcast episode Zalis speaks with EB Moss head of content strategy for MediaVillage about her many accomplishments creating real change around gender equality Zalis also explains why men are essential partners for gender equality why she believes the language of diversity needs to evolve and how to create a culture of inclusionThe following is an abridged version of their indepth conversation Listen here to the full interview and please subscribe and share all the Advancing Diversity Podcasts available on Apple Podcasts Stitcher and YouTubeEB Moss You39ve coined a few phrases since you started The Female Quotient Things like quotpower of the packquot amp8230 quotconfidence is beautifulquot and quotuse your voicequot Those sayings remind me of what we39re aiming for with the Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors and why you39re an inductee You39ve moved people from advocacy to activism which is what we39re all aboutShelley Zalis I always say a woman alone has power collectively we have impact I think about the power of my pack of 18000 girlfriends every time I39m in the Female Quotient LoungeMadeleine Albright says it brilliantly quotWomen that don39t support other women deserve a place in hellquot We say that women who support other women deserve a place in heaven We have created the largest community of women but also the largest community of activists who are conscious leadersMoss Please explain the root and evolution of your quotLoungequot Zalis I started the Girls Lounge to take on the Boys Club In 2013 I wanted to go to the Consumer Electronics Show after I heard there would be 150000 attendees with less than 3 percent women The thought was quite intimidating so I invited four girlfriends to walk the floor with me and asked them to invite other women We were 50 strong on the first day Every guys39 head turned as they wondered where all these women came from At the end of the conference we congregated in a suite to share experiencesand the Girls39 Lounge was born I39m proud that The FQ Lounge which evolved from the Girls39 Lounge was recently named the Official Equality Partner for CES 2020 a proclamation of progressWhen MeToo and Time39s Up started doing so much for women I realized that the only way change can happen in the workplace is through leadership which is predominantly men So I evolved the Girls39 Lounge into The FQ Lounge the home of equality amp8212 where we all belong amp8212 and made it a leadership conversation Afterall if women just talk among ourselves we will not rewrite the rules of the workplace We started collaborating with men in a unified fashion There39s nothing more powerful than unplugged conversations amp8212 discussing the good the bad and the ugly and not just blindly following rules that never made sense in the first placeToday we host 60 Lounges a year at conferences including Davos Cannes and Advertising Week along with popups on university campuses in 120 countriesThe Female Quotient emerged as an umbrella company to advance women and equality through the FQ Lounges custom boot camps accountability metrics and updated rules of engagementMoss And you conduct eyeopening sessions with Fortune 500 companiesZalis Yes We help Fortune 500 leaders see how gender equality delivers to the bottom line We have 50 of the biggest companies as partnersamp8230 A company alone is power collectively we deliver impactMoss There39s been a lot of inspiration around climate change sparked by a 16yearold Greta Thunberg Do you see a change in receptivity to the messages of women young or old Zalis Leadership is at every level If you believe and act as a leader you are a leader We39re all leaders regardless of ageWe do a lot of work with Parkland students who talk about how real their voices are because they39d been there done that they39ve experienced it They are social activists and they each can make a differenceLook at how Greta moved the worldMoss You39ve said you don39t necessarily like the word quotdiversityquot because you feel it separates people and that you prefer to talk about proximityZalis It39s time to create new words I want to create a new lexicon because sometimes words such as diversity carry negative connotations there are preconceptions of what that word stands forProximity is another important word because we hire people who act like us Get near people who you normally would not be near When you are in someone else39s shoes you will learn a lot about them I want to start playing with this whole new idea of proximityMoss When you were at Cannes you said that you want us all to create a culture of belonging What action steps that you recommendZalis We need to purposefully create a culture of inclusivity Cultural belonging emits a sense that you can just be and bring your best self to the table Companies need to realize the power of collaboration over competitionWe need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and then the more we do it uncomfortable will become the new comfortableWe need to be bold daring and push the envelopeWe need to be conscious of our unconsciousWe need to put diversity expectations in our RFPs And we need to develop equality KPIs for business performanceMoss So I want to take it from the business level the hacks and I want to ask you how you hacked your life How did you get so inspiredZalis First I39m one of four girls and my parents raised us to be best friends and supportive not jealous of one another they are my sisters by birth but also my chosen sisters There39s nothing more important than a shared sisterhoodAnd then one day I looked in the mirror and realized that quotI am my mother39s daughterquot She started the first conference for women for California Governor Pete Wilson She brought 5000 businesswomen together It was quite remarkable She did that for a few years and Maria Shriver took it over That was an inspirationAlso I look back to when I was the only female CEO in the top 25 in business I knew I thought differently and was different when I found comfortable shoes that were not ugly flat man shoes I realized that I wanted to wear high heels and didMoss As you were getting started with this what was the biggest obstacleZalis I don39t see obstacles I see opportunitiesamp8230 Once we got past expectations of what we39re supposed to be and realized that we can be anything we choose the floodgates opened We stepped into our power with unapologetic acceptanceMoss Now so much has been accomplished since walked the halls of CES with the pack of women So last question what more can you doZalis Ratify the ERA close the wage gap and get more women Create an accurate and realistic portrayal of girls and women in media and entertainment through SeeHer The Female Quotient is all about putting more women in any equation and every equation so that we see a return on equalityWeaving diversity and inclusion into the fabric of your company is good for business And we have proof In this podcast series our Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors 2020 inductees each discuss the many ways their organizations champion diversity equality and inclusion as well as examine the benefits to their company constituents and community Each episode features one inductee39s strategies and best practices that others can adapt to help their organizations accelerate the move from advocacy to activismThe 2020 Advancing Diversity Hall of Honors inductees include Jill Baskin chief marketing officer The Hershey Company J Michael Haynie PhD vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation Institute for Veteran and Military Families Tim Jones chief executive officer Publicis Media Americas Tim McNeal talent development Walt Disney Television Sue Obeidi director Muslim Public Affairs Council The Hollywood Bureauamp160Tony Rogers chief member officer Sam39s Clubamp160Tiffany R Warren founder and president ADCOLOR and senior vice president chief diversity officer Omnicom and Shelley Zalis chief executive officer The Female QuotientClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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The Female Quotient's Shelley Zalis Activates Diversity Via the "Power of the Pack"

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