Join this year's Womensphere Summits and Festival, and connect with a powerful community of leaders, visionaries, creators, innovators, change-makers, and doers, who are reshaping the future of the world – across business, education, entrepreneurship, government, media, philanthropy, policy, social innovation, and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts/music/literature/design, mathematics).

The Womensphere Capital Summit will bring together CEOs, business leaders, investors, bankers, technology leaders, startup entrepreneurs, small business owners, economists, policy-makers  to focus on enabling gender equality in access to capital, investment opportunities, and funding for innovation, entrepreneurship, and income; and share insights on advancing women’s leadership in finance, capital markets, and leadership in financial innovations and emerging trends in fintech. We will discuss resolving economic inequalities, and empowering women and all people with the strategies, resources, and networks needed to create stronger financial futures.

INTRODUCING THE WOMENSPHERE CAPITAL SUMMIT

The financial system and socio-economic odds seem stacked against women. But systems and probabilities can change. How do we accelerate this change towards greater equality? This question is at the heart of the Womensphere Capital Summit.

At the Womensphere Capital Summit, we will explore how we achieve progress in:

LEADERSHIP IN CREATING THE FUTURE OF FINANCE & CAPITAL MARKETS

  • Accelerating women’s leadership in the global financial system

  • Advancing women’s leadership & innovation in finance & capital markets

  • Empowering women’s leadership in financial innovations and emerging sectors like cryptocurrency/blockchain and fintech

CAPITAL-RAISING, INCOME GROWTH & ECONOMIC STRENGTH

  • Expanding capital access & raising incomes for women and women of color, across the spectrum of entrepreneurship, science, technology, and capital-raising for social enterprises and institutions

  • Capital-raising & fundraising for women and women of color

  • Empowering women and girls towards financial independence and building stronger financial futures

RATIONALE FOR THE SUMMIT:

The reality in America today is that economic odds have been stacked against women, women of color (and people of color generally), with progress happening glacially. What are some of the interventions and systemic solutions that can resolve these issues?

Capital & Funding:

As of 2015, women entrepreneurs run 30% percent of all small businesses, together employ 7.9 million people, and generating $1.4 trillion in sales. However, women entrepreneurs and small business owners generally have a harder time finding funding: loan approval rates for female entrepreneurs is 15-20% less than it is for men.

In 2016, women only received 2.19% of venture capital funding: Venture capitalists invested $58.2 billion in male-founded companies, while women received only $1.46 billion in VC money. And companies run by men got 16X more funding than companies run by women.

Money & Income:

In the United States, women earn less than men; the national female-to-male-earnings ratio was 82% in 2016  (US Census Bureau).  Women also earn less than men at all educational levels; the gender pay gap widens for persons with advanced degrees compared to people with high school education.  This all contributes to why around 50% of women believe that women have to work twice as much to get half as much. Gender pay gaps are pervasive across all states and across most industries, including greater pay gaps for women of color and people of color.

Investment & Net Worth:

Women lag men when it comes to investments and net worth. While on average, men and women have similar levels of debt and cash savings, men have nearly 200% the net worth of women. Many women also do not feel good about elements of their financial security: their net worth, savings/retirement savings, and investment portfolio.

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SUMMIT AGENDA – DAY 1:

CAPITAL-RAISING & INCOME GROWTH

  • Institutional Roundtable on expanding capital access for women & women of color:  Initiatives, strategies & actionable wisdom

  • Venture Capital Roundtable on expanding capital access for women & women of color:  Initiatives, strategies & actionable wisdom

  • Angel Investor Roundtable on expanding capital access for women & women of color: Initiatives, strategies & actionable wisdom

  • Philanthropic Roundtable on expanding capital access for women & women of color: Initiatives, strategies & actionable wisdom

  • Innovative Economic Empowerment: Empowering women and girls towards financial independence and building stronger financial futures

Who should attend Day 1:

Everyone interested in enabling capital access to entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs, and enabling successful capital-raising for entrepreneurship/innovation, as well as fundraising for social entrepreneurship/non-profits.

SUMMIT AGENDA – DAY 2:

LEADERSHIP IN CREATING THE FUTURE OF FINANCE & CAPITAL MARKETS

  • Roundtable of financial industry leaders on global market trends, risks, challenges, opportunities – and what they mean for women’s leadership in finance & capital markets

  • Business, international organizations, governments: How to accelerate women’s leadership in the global financial system

  • Navigating & building leadership in the global fintech landscape & emerging sectors (like cryptocurrency/blockchain/mobile payments)

  • Institutional Design: How to build institutions, workplaces & cultures that empower women to thrive in finance & capital markets

  • Restructuring systems & incentives for more inclusive & equitable economies in the era of AI and transformations from the Fourth Industrial Revolution

  • Stories, Wisdom & Insights from Women Global Banking Leaders & Leaders in Investment Management

Who should attend Day 2:

Everyone interested in building leadership in finance, capital markets, and the global financial system, as well as creating workplaces & institutions that empower equality, diversity & inclusion in leadership in finance & capital markets.

 SCHOLARSHIP POLICY TO THE SUMMIT

Womensphere has selectively offered partial/full Scholarships to a number of invited Participants based on existing community partnerships, past participation and contributions to Womensphere programs and the Womensphere community and demonstrated service and positive contribution to the community.  There are currently no other Scholarships available from Womensphere beyond the Scholarships we have already extended. We encourage invited/accepted Participants who need Scholarships for registration, to approach your workplace, academic institution, or a sponsor/sponsors, to enable your participation at the Summit.