Earlier this summer, our very own co-founders, Dayna Gilchrist and Kate Bright co-produced and attended the Industry’s First Women in Events Agency Roundtable hosted by Event Marketer (EM).
As the experiential industry continues to take off in new and ever-evolving directions, so do the roles and opportunities for women on the agency side of the business. Hype is a women-owned business and we were honored to be a part of this year’s event. As the only staffing-agency involved in the discussion, it felt great to connect with our clients in this type of setting. In this, EM’s Inaugural Women in Events Agency Roundtable, the magazine assembled 11 of the industry’s leading agency executives to find out what it takes to be successful on the highly creative and highly competitive side of the industry. The article is available in hard copy in this month’s Event Marketer and online at eventmarketer.com. Both articles highlight some of the candid insights collected from the summer luncheon event.
One of the hot topics that was brought up during the luncheon was whether work-life balance is possible for women in this business. This is a hot topic not just among the women in this industry but all men and women in the events world. Now more than ever, we live in a world where we are always connected, always available, and always on. We all agreed that we need to create a culture in our companies that rewards our employees for getting the job done and be flexible on how they get it done. There are a lot of women balancing their home-life, getting married, and having babies. We want to keep these people in our companies to teach and mentor the next generation here at Hype and it is important that everyone supports each other and helps out when they need it. Cassie Hughes from Grow, is quoted in the magazine saying “you had my back six years ago when it was my six year old (sick), so go”. We have this same philosophy here at Hype. Both Kate and Dayna needed to take time off when they had their children (thankfully they were at different times!!) but they covered for each other and “had each others back”. The thing about women (and men for that matter) that have children, home lives, and other commitments outside of work, we know time is incredibly valuable and we get the job done! Dayna is quoted in the article saying “I feel like rather than it being a conversation about women having to juggle, instead it’s about women being able to prioritize”.
Read more about the conversation online here, or get the full article by picking up a copy of this months Event Marketer!
To learn more about the Hype! owners, read their interview here, also featured in this month’s Event Marketer