The Women in Product Conference is an annual conference that started a few years ago by leading women product managers in Silicon Valley to provide support for women in the product space. The conference brings together more than 2,000 women product managers to share ideas, network, hear from product leaders, and learn about product management best practices. This year, I was honored to be chosen to attend the 2019 Women in Product Conference. Why? As product managers, it’s important to keep your skills sharp since the role requires that you meet with designers, engineers, and marketing teams to develop products and features while maintaining a company’s business goals simultaneously.
The Women in Product (WIP) organization’s main headquarters is located in San Francisco and it’s dedicated to increasing the number of women in product management positions through building a strong community. The Women in Product organization is beneficial because it holds career and networking events across the major cities in the U.S., Canada, and Asia. The organization also focuses on mentorship and career development for women product managers at all levels in person and online.
(Women Product Managers at the 2019 Women in Product Conference)
Key Takeaways
It was great to be surrounded by more than 2,000 women product managers all working towards taking their career to the next level. Below are the five key takeaways that I gained from attending the conference:
(Diane Von Furstenberg at 19WIP)
- Be fearless! Fashion and product collided as fashion icon Diane Von Furstenberg, a designer who catapulted to fame by designing the maxi wrap dress, kicked off the conference by sharing her wisdom of what she has learned throughout her years in the fashion industry. Furstenberg is often outspoken about encouraging women to go for the career they want and not hold back.
- Bias is real! As machine learning continues to help shape our lives, we need to make sure that the products we build are not made with unconscious biases, which can harm society as a whole.
- Don’t wait! You don’t need to wait for something to happen, just take the lead and do it.
- Live your values! As a product manager, you will need to determine what kind of leader you want to be and collaborate with your team accordingly. Make sure you believe in the products that you build.
- Create your path! No two product managers landed in the role with an identical journey. It’s helpful to learn the best product management practices, but in the end, you will need to determine your path.
(Stephanie Marie Glover)
As the Women in the Product community grows I hope more women will try to enter this dynamic career path.
