Innovation in the Time of Crisis (Mobilize Women Week Main Stage)

General Motors, IBM, Trader Joe’s, FedEx, Uber, Airbnb… all of these companies were started during a recession. It’s no secret that crisis can spark innovation.

The pandemic made us change our day-to-day lives and adapt. In the same way, companies also had to pivot in order to survive. Not only did they have to reevaluate how they did business, but they also had to innovate on managing a new remote workforce, and staying relevant to their customers.

Prioritizing innovation today is the key to unlocking economic recovery and growth in a post-crisis world, and women can be at the forefront of this changing tide.

Whether you are starting your own company, are evaluating employers, or simply want to stay up to date with current trends, this session is for you:

• Learn innovative HR trends and practices that resulted from having a fully remote workplace and what you can expect to continue into the future.
• Know how to spot companies that are agile, adaptable, and sure to survive through rough times.
• Understand what role women can play in creating more innovative solutions to the world’s biggest problems.

More on our Speakers for Innovation in the Time of Crisis

Gitanjali Rao, TIME's 2020 Kid of the Year, has already had a big impact. At fifteen years old, Gitanjali is a scientist, inventor, and was named TIME’s first-ever Kid of the Year. Gitanjali has tackled some big issues ranging from contaminated drinking water to cyberbullying and opioid addiction. She’s creating a community of innovators and has mentored more than 30K students.

“I don’t look like your typical scientist. Everything I see on TV is that it’s an older, usually white man as a scientist.[…] My goal has really shifted not only from creating my own devices to solve the world’s problems but inspiring others to do the same as well. Because, from personal experience, it’s not easy when you don’t see anyone else like you. So I really want to put out that message: If I can do it, you can do it, and anyone can do it.”

Katrine Marcal, a best-selling author on women and innovation, is a Swedish journalist. She’s covered economics for a long time which led her to question why the fundamental theories of economics focused so much on the individualism and selfish nature of capitalism. Greed is good, wasn’t good enough. In her first book, “Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner?” she reminds us of the unpaid labor, mostly done by women. In her second book, “Mother Of Invention: How Good Ideas Get Ignored In An Economy Built For Men” Katrine goes into how our old ideas about gender continue to hold us back from innovating. Some of her questions: How did bras take us to the moon? And what would the world be like if we listened to women?

Tracey Patterson, Managing Director, Accenture, leads HR services for North America and Europe, Her work both internally and with clients ties into the idea of how diversity and HR practices can drive innovation. She believes companies need to undergo a cultural transformation and create a truly human environment where all talents are nurtured and cultivated. 

Maggie Lake, Anchor, CNN, is a veteran journalist with over two decades of experience covering business, technology, politics, and international affairs. Over the course of her career, she has been a consistent champion of economic inclusion and sustainable development.

This past year, there’s been a spotlight on the many flaws within our society.

While it’s no secret that the world has never been fair, the pandemic showed how broken our healthcare, economic and justice systems really are.

It’s time to re-evaluate priorities, re-imagine and re-build a new equitable world.

At Mobilize Women Week, your perspectives will be challenged at one of our daily feature sessions. At Roundtables, Mentoring Meetups, and Workshops throughout the week, you’ll find a safe space to process what you heard among your peers in at least one of our five programs.

We deserve a better world, and we can make it a reality - together.