JLL holds 10th
Annual Women’s
Summit
Over 100 JLL women came together virtually to discuss the importance of women's empowerment and advancement in the workplace
This year’s JLL Women’s Summit hosted over 100 virtual participants to discuss inclusive, driven leadership. Co-sponsored by JLL’s Talent Center of Expertise and the Women's Business Network (WBN), the event focused on connecting participants with JLL Leadership, how to lead authentically and strategies for elevating women in the workplace. Over 600 women have participated in JLL’s Women's Summit over the past ten years, as part of JLL’s ongoing effort and commitment to advance women in leadership, to empower our female leaders and shape the future of JLL.
Day 1
Greg O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer for the Americas, kicked off the event with welcome remarks addressing our commitment to diversity and inclusion.
“Our annual Women’s Summit is a cornerstone of our commitment to advancing opportunities for women at JLL. This year marks a decade for the event, which is devoted to celebration, professional development and interconnection among our top and emerging women leaders,” said O’Brien.
Pamela Harrington, Director, Learning & Leadership Development also facilitated an engaging discussion featuring 11 senior women to address barriers in the workplace and uplifting others.
Day 2
On the second day of the summit, attendees were able to network and connect as well as hear from leadership across the company including Sheila Penrose, former Chairman of the Board for JLL, and Bobby Mehta, Penrose’s successor. A discussion on women’s advancement in technology was led by JLL’s Nashunda Williams, Senior Director, Account Technology and featured Yao Morin, Chief Data Officer, JLL Technologies; Pushpa Gowda, Managing Director of Global Technology Engagement; Paulette Saunders, Executive Director, JLL Technologies; and Gina Calabrese, SVP/Executive Director, JLL Technologies.
During the discussion, Saunders shared, “I often tell women that even if they do not have a background in tech, they should not be afraid to step into technology and pursue that interest. Diversity of thought is key to creating a winning team and a more inclusive workforce.”
JLL’s participants assessed their individual differences through the Hermann Brain Assessment. Through this assessment and a discussion that followed, Dana Lemelin, Senior Director, Head of Leadership Development, showed the importance of recognizing people’s different preferences in order to facilitate gender diversity in corporate settings. This led the summit into a discussion with Professor Jaclyn Jensen of DePaul University in Chicago on Communicating in an Inclusive Workplace. The session encouraged self-awareness and self-assessment of one’s knowledge of diversity, privilege, stereotypes and biases in the workplace.
Through the event’s philanthropic trivia component which took place over the two days, summit attendees also raised over $4,000 for SHARE, a national nonprofit that supports, educates, and empowers women affected by breast, ovarian, uterine or metastatic breast cancer, with a special focus on medically underserved communities.
In its 10 years, the JLL Women's Summit has been an accelerator for the ongoing effort and commitment to advance leadership development for women at the firm, empower our women leaders and shape the future of JLL.
Women’s Summit attendees share their experience
The Women's Summit is one of the highlights of my year! Hearing from company executives about the importance our digitizing industry, the value of networking and mentorship and ways for everyone to be active in reducing unconscious bias, was truly inspirational! As Sheila Penrose said: It's an honor and privilege to be able to engage [together].
Linda Kramer
Americas (West) Solutions Lead, Senior Director, Workplace Agility
It was truly an honor to participate in the 10th Annual Women’s Summit. The program was well managed and we heard so many inspirational yet relatable stories from our leaders. It was even more impactful to see the commitment JLL has for the women in the organization and recognize how critical it was to move forward with this event virtually during a pandemic. Speaks volumes! What resonated the most for me was a quote shared by one of the panelists, Cynthia Kantor. She said, "We must own our definition of success and have the opportunity to change that definition anytime."
Rosemarie Alvarado
Director of Business Intelligence and PMO
While I was thrilled to be included in the attendee list for this year’s Women’s Summit, I did not know what to expect since it was all virtual. The planning team went beyond my expectations as the agenda and content was very engaging and inspiring! In each segment I was able to take away advice from the guest speakers and feel empowered. Also, even with the virtual platform I was able to “see” new people for future networking. I’m honored to be part of such an awesome team of women at JLL!
Alanna Philips
Senior Director, Project and Development Services
2020 has been an extraordinary year which experienced a global pandemic, unprecedented social unrest, and economic recession. The virtual format of this year’s Women’s Summit was a testament to JLL’s resiliency and dedication to addressing issues around diversity and inclusion. The speakers where informative, the content was relevant and the format was inspiring. I was amazed that the organizers managed to make 100 virtual people feel connected like we were all in the same room. Just a tremendous job by everyone involved!
Kathy Patterson
JLLT CS Data Lead, Americas Region
This summit was just absolutely phenomenal! The opportunity to connect and hear from JLL senior leaders and fellow colleagues was so empowering and inspiring and left me thinking about where I can apply all that I have learned to my personal and professional life and ultimately pay it forward! JLL’s investment in these types of programs are a testament to their investment in their people and why it’s the best place to work!
Lacie Bower
VP, Projects
The 2020 Women’s Summit was an inspirational and empowering set of virtual events. The event provided a tremendous opportunity to hear and connect with leaders at a time when so many challenges keep us apart. I was ultimately impressed by the strong connectivity during and after the virtual sessions. New relationships were begun, and others were enhanced and deepened. I am honored to have been included in the event and feel even more connected to the organization, our leaders and the talented women of our firm.
Pam Paddock
Group Account Executive, Life Sciences
Learn more about JLL’s Women’s Business Network which has 28 chapters across the globe and is committed to a culture of gender partnership to recruit, develop, retain and empower the best women in the industry.
