Women hold key to overcoming innovation gap, talent shortage, says OneKC for Women

OneKC for Women designed its November event for men, said Rania Anderson.

“Winning at Work” is a chance for male business owners and entrepreneurs to improve results by changing the way they interact with women in the workplace, she added.

Rania Anderson, The Way Women Work

“There is an opportunity for business leaders in Kansas City to get some ideas on how to recruit and retain and lead with women in a different way,” said Anderson, cofounder of angel investor network Women’s Capital Connection. “We have such a dramatic talent shortage here in [Kansas City], as well as across the country, and yet we’re not tapping into the talents of women. [‘Winning at Work’] is an action-oriented presentation with different ideas on that topic.”

The event — planned for 4 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Midland Theater — is expected to feature Anderson, a sought-after speaker for entrepreneurial advice and insights, as the keynote speaker, ending with a networking reception.

Anderson plans to present themes from her recent book, “WE: Men, Women, and the Decisive Formula for Winning at Work,” she said. The topics provide a behavioral framework to help companies better recruit and retain women workers.

“We need to help companies have the kind of workforces that help them be successful in our economy,” she added. “If businesses start with homogeneous teams and they stay with homogeneous teams, they don’t make as good decisions, they’re not as innovative, and they’re not as creative. They make less money than businesses who have diverse leadership and diverse workforces.”

Women are usually over-mentored and under-sponsored, said Anderson, with companies typically tending to give advice and guidance, rather than openly advocating for the employee.

“Also, oftentimes the reason why women are not applying has more to do with how we’ve positioned and where we’re recruiting, rather than like, there’s something wrong with women,” she added.

OneKC for Women, an umbrella alliance that brings together companies dedicated to providing resources and opportunities to women, is presenting the event with Bank of America and community partners the Kansas City Area Development Council and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, according to a press release.

“We are fortunate to partner with great organizations to make this event possible for business leaders in the Kansas City metro area,” said Sherry Turner, founder of OneKC for Women and president of the Women’s Employment Network. “Rania continues to bring new and impactful insights to executives and leaders at all levels — building stronger leaders, improving businesses success and creating talent-ready communities.”