Once a year, female leaders from all over the world convene in the historic capital of Germany. The summit provides an unparalleled opportunity to discuss vital topics of business, politics and society and of course plenty of room to connect and network. We understand that networking is one of the biggest key factors encouraging positive development because discussions lead to actions that contribute to a meaningful and positive change in business and society.
This year, we had 300 high profile attendees and 64 fantastic speakers representing 24 countries. If you did not make it to this year’s summit, don’t worry – the official and complete review for the Global Female Leaders summit 2019 is now available for download!
This article gives a short overview of speakers, topics and key takeaways. This year, we focused on three main topics: Geopolitics of trade and the world’s shifting security landscape, opportunities in the tech sphere and expanding the digital economy, and the new world of work and human leadership in the age of disruption. If you want full insight in all topics, we encourage you to grab your review 2019 copy now!
Globalization, Planetary Health and EU’s development
The panel discussion between five renowned leading women – Dr. Cecilia Malmström (EU Commissioner for Trade), Qian Wang (Managing Director/Chief Economist Asia-Pacific) and Dr. Amy Jadesimi (CEO ad LADOL) to name only three of them – started with a rethinking in the minds of attendees to a very important topic: Globalization in the light of trade disputes and shifting security landscapes.
Let's be honest, globalization doesn't serve everyone.
Qian Wang, Managing Director/Chief Economist Asia-Pacific at Vanguard Investment Strategy Group, China
This quote started a long discussion about the development of globalization. The women evaluated the willingness of countries and companies of working together globally, whereas the roles of NATO and EU became highly important. Read the whole discussion in our review paper!
In this concern, another topic became essential at the summit: Our planetary health. When speaking about politics and trade, we still need an intact environment and healthy people to work in those institutes. Without fresh air to breath and clean water to drink, all other matters would be superfluous. Dr. Nicole de Paula explained the connection between environmental problems and humans’ health and emphasized how leaders can support sustainable development.
The interconnection of new technologies in an expanding digital economy
Technology unites the world and supports people and businesses with daily work. For businesses, it started as a point of differentiation – now, companies need digitalization to stay competitive. There are five big technology trends nowadays that will probably keep us busy for the next few years: AI, Autonomous things, Blockchain, Multi-cloud and user experience (the last one is more a unifying approach to technology). All five technologies are explained in detail in our online review.
The best technology cannot change the world if it is not used right. A good example of proper-used technology is the What3words software. Due to the lack of precision in current addressing systems, the company What3words established a totally new system giving even homeless people an address. Can you imagine what a simple address can mean to people? You probably have not thought about it yet, but around 4 billion people cannot open a simple bank account because they do not have a permanent address. This shows how new technology can contribute positively to the society
In contrast to that, many people fear technology as it could take away their jobs. In fact, the World Economic Forum estimated that around 75% of current jobs would disappear. But! We will build new jobs and communities instead. The expert Guy Grainger outlined how we should create constant interaction between humans and technology and how this interaction will even improve our current working situations.
We could extend the technology topic to infinity. The discussions at the Global Female Leaders summit have been very excited too, so if you are interested in deeper technological insights in, for example, flying cars, humans on Mars and cinemas in the desert, just have a look at our new whitepaper!
The new disrupted world of work
A new world of work – this is what Lauren Simmons introduces. At age 22, she became the second female Afro-American licensed trader in the entire history of Wall Street in 2017. Doing so, she became an idol for many women, who also desire a job in still male-dominated businesses. The world of work will change for the better for women.
You’re a woman, you’re black ... Yeah, I know that, I’ve been that since I was born.
Lauren Simmons, Trader at the New York Stock Exchange
Moreover, women in leading positions at big concerns like IKEA, Deutsche Post DHL Group and Microsoft Education discussed the importance of a loyal working force. Kimberlee Harrison, Executive Vice President Human Resources for Global Functions at Deutsche Post DHL Group, emphasized that companies should rather focus on hard-to-copy competitive advantages than on fresh ideas. The competitive advantage for Deutsche Post is, for example, the long-lasting workforce. By giving everything to make employees happy, they reduce the costs of acquiring and training new talents.
The appreciation of every single worker is definitely a trend in the world of work. As mentioned before, technology also plays a major role. What do our experts in HR think, how will it really disrupt the world of work? How to unlock the power of people to drive change? These and more questions are answered in the official summit review 2019.
If you cannot get enough from this year’s experts, don’t miss the interviews at our YouTube channel! We are thankful for a successful Global Female Leaders summit 2019 and are already looking forward to the next year. The first speakers will be announced in September. Stay tuned!
