The Best Highlights of Pinterest Women's Conference 2024

There was a princess, a gold medalist, a designer and no, it's not a story book-- it was the 2024 Women's Conference put on by Pinterest's very own Women@ ERG for Women's History Month.

The theme, “I am Woman&...” was inspired by the simple truth that women are not a monolith.

It was inspiring to listen to women from across the globe talk about what it means to them to be a Woman&... Age, race, culture, ability status and so much more impact our unique experiences of navigating the world.

There was a beautiful diversity of events & speakers with different points of view & areas of expertise. The topics were timely and valuable with a great mix of internal voices and external experts.

5 Key Takeaways

CARBS is the acronym to remember (because who doesn't love carbs?) summarized by quotes and key moments throughout the conference. In the next year or so I will strive to be the following:

• Curious
• Authentic
• Resilient
• Brave
• Self-Assured

be Curious

How can you step out of your comfort zone this year?

How do you amplify the voices of others and have them be heard? Global Keynote speaker, Princess Sarah Culberson of Sierra Leone told excellent personal stories (and had us in tears more than once) as she stressed the power of listening and the importance of gathering feedback to help each other grow.

Try and do different things- that way if one thing is not going well, you have multiple to fall back on

Find your people- the ones who have your best intentions at heart & want to push you for the right reasons. Jill Scott , professional footballer gave the talk Conquering the Field: Unleashing Your Inner Strength about how when she retired she found it a liberating exercise that she also had to redefine her sense of purpose. Ultimately best illustrated by this quote: "A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings." -Charlie Wardle

What do I really care about today?

A successful career is a combination of the work you do that fits what you care about, said Julie Zhuo on The Art of Career Crafting. Half of that definition is is knowing yourself and understanding what you care about-- ask friends, family, your manager etc. As she said, "I am a black box of myself" so really dig into what it is that drives you by staying open and doing some homework on yourself.

Open yourself up to listen to what other people do for work

The second half of that definition of career success (above) is "the work that you do". How do you find what the work is that fits into what you care about? Well first, you have to know what's out there. Sometimes we don't have enough curiosity of what other people do which limits our ability to know how to craft our career. Ask others what they do for work and what their day-to-day is like so you can find what other options are out there.

be Authentic

Always be focused on your super strength

Find your own formula- what works for you & what makes you better, because comparing yourself to others is never a recipe for success. What makes each of us exceptional is also what makes us different-- it's focusing in on what we uniquely have to bring to the table that drives great outcomes. Jill Scott in Conquering the Field: Unleashing Your Inner Strength talked about how she focused in on the top 3 things she does better than anyone else and how that focus, when combined with her teammates, of super strengths drove wins.

Be ok with working through change & getting out of things that don't work for you

This was a powerful reminder that there is an option to opt-out of things that are not working for us in EmpowerHer by Sarah Eccleston & Elizabeth Anyaegbuna .

How do you make yourself more approachable in the workplace?

By showing up as the full you-- or at least more of yourself, you are better able to connect with others. When you relate to them in new ways it allows you both to thrive, said Princess Sarah Culberson of Sierra Leone in Better Together: Creating a Culture of Belonging.

Leading with your full-self helps you connect with new people in new ways & even lead better

Alicia Jabbar, CPCC, PCC had a great exercise in her talk, So Much More: To show more of your full self, you have to identify what you are and are not talking about currently. write down 20 things that I am (1-2 words). Leave off what you are not anymore, and be sure to include any new identities you are stepping into. Now that you have those 20 words-- which ones do you talk about? What is one thing you want to be known for? Then ask yourself where you can make that happen. It's petty much always better to show up as the full you!

Find your personal brand by finding yourself

Julie Bronsteatter CPC, PCC, PHR in Designing Your Narrative: Personal Branding spoke about how she had to go through a journey of self discovery to identify what she wanted to do in her career and how she wanted to show up in the world. After thinking through how to brand yourself, embrace & enjoy connecting with others-- You have created a story, now share it!

be Resilient

Setbacks are just experiences that helped me learn a little bit more about myself

This was one of my favorite perspective shifts:

Setbacks aren't bad-- since we are just consistently trying to calibrate what we are doing in our career and life, it just means that you learned something new, said Julie Zhuo in Designer: The Art of Career Crafting, it doesn't mean that you are behind. With new learnings you are always moving forward.

The bad days and the good days don't define you

In her talk, An Honest Conversation on What it Means to be Woman&… with our very own Erin Elofson VP, Enterprise Sales, CAPAC at Pinterest she pointed out that when you look back at your career or life it's never just the one bad day you remember. And since we are all human, there will always be some bad days sprinkled in.

Have you ever felt stuck?

How stuck are you feeling? What is making you stuck? What would you need to get un-stuck? What steps are you taking on this? This was a great thought progression exercise by Catalina Pe?a, PCC in her talk, Think Out of the Box. It helps you realize everything is figureoutable and being stuck in something is not final.

Win & lose as a team

Jill Scott , pro footballer spoke on Conquering the Field: Unleashing Your Inner Strength. She emphasized the benefits of sticking together as a team, and bringing your personal best to that equation.

be Brave

Take a risk... You will be surprised what you adapt to

In our employee panel moderated by Autumn Rose V. , A Diverse Perspective; What it Means to be “I am Woman& was a great reminder that we all have our own unique struggles, but have come so far to be here and will continue to overcome.

It's your responsibility: if there is a discord- you have to own it.

Julie Zhuo talked about growing up and being pressured to be a Doctor, Lawyer or Engineer, but ended up carving her own path in Designer: The Art of Career Crafting. She said when you look at what you care about in your career, the best and worst part of it is that no one can tell you what to do but you– you get to decide what you care about. How can you prototype it?

be Self- Assured

If you're not branding yourself, you can be sure others are doing it for you

Personal branding is not about self promotion, it's about self expression & a reflection of your identity, purpose & value, said Julie Bronsteatter CPC, PCC, PHR in Designing Your Narrative: Personal Branding.

Don't talk down about your accomplishments

Sarah Eccleston & Elizabeth Anyaegbuna in EmpowerHer warned that how you talk about yourself sends a message to others. Feel the self doubt and just do it anyways.

The biggest mistake we make is comparing ourselves

An Honest Conversation on What it Means to be Woman&… with Erin Elofson was filled with great industry stats and insights as to why things may be this way and what we can do about it.

Draw a line wherever you are, and just start!

Julie Bronsteatter CPC, PCC, PHR asked in Designing Your Narrative: Personal Branding:

What is one thing can you do today to move yourself forward?