Professional Convention Management Association President and CEO Sherrif Karamat, CAE, launched a new initiative that aims to make the meetings industry more diverse and inclusive during a She Means Business panel at IMEX Frankfurt this week. Called the Ascent CEO Promise, the initiative “seeks to empower those challenged by gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or disabilities to find success in our industry.”
According to the PCMA Ascent website, the initiative hopes to educate decision-makers on inclusivity issues—including unconscious bias—and provide best practices for making workplaces and events more open and inclusive.
“By working together toward inclusion and diversity within our workplaces and at the events we produce, we will enact meaningful social change,” says a statement on the website.
The inaugural She Means Business half day of educational sessions held during IMEX Frankfurt drew more than 400 to hear a Eurofighter pilot, a former astronaut instructor, the chair of the United Nations’ Women National Committee in Germany, and international business leaders explore the role of women in business. The sessions were developed jointly by the IMEX Group and tw tagungswirtschaft, a Frankfurt-based meeting industry publication.
