Women In Product Conference 2022
As we move into the third year of the pandemic, there was one thing we could all agree on: the need to Restore and Rediscover. Over the course of 2 days, 2,670 women came together for our 7th annual Women In Product conference. Through dance parties at our desks, 1:1 chats, joining affinity groups like Black Women In Product and WIP Mothers, the energy and the enthusiasm were evident.
WHAT’S GOT US FIRED UP AND INSPIRED 🔥
We live in a world where only 20% of board seats belong to women, where women ask for raises, but are 25% less likely to get them…I say these stats to upset you and disappoint you, but also to inspire you to push back and help us take back our power together.
Deb Liu set the stage by dropping some hard truths about what we face as women in product management in her keynote. But she left us inspired as she took us through her 10 new rules for women at work to take back their power, like building a learning mindset, charting your own course, and knowing your playing field.
WHO WE WANT TO GRAB VIRTUAL COFFEE WITH
I’ve come to the realization that it’s important for me to communicate early and often because in this new normal, a lot of us are working from home and we truly can’t reschedule whatever it may be or we can’t control the internet gods. So, this added stress of pretending like we have control over everything, just wasn’t worth it for me. So, by communicating any restrictions, obligations, or known issues up front, I felt like more people around me also were more open and willing to share their own limitations or challenges for the day.
Keynote Mamuna Oladipo is 6 months into her new role as VP of Product at Shopify, so she had all the tips for starting a new job remotely. By now, most of us have experienced that building relationships on our tiny screens and juggling new work from our home set-ups can be…hard.
Mamuna started setting up lots of coffee dates with her new colleagues…virtually! This helped her get to authentically connect with her co-workers, learn important context about the company, and build trusting relationships.
HAVE YOU GOOGLE’D TULSEE DOSHI YET?
“The decisions we make as product managers, they matter, and they affect experiences that we may not even be thinking about in the moment.”
“I think often if you bring in the expertise, if you bring in community voices, if you bring in those who are thinking about these spaces, you actually can understand systemic biases and build to directly address those. That is what can make a truly beautiful Product.”
“So to me, what product inclusion is really about is about making better experiences, and those better experiences often, by thinking about those who are often left on the margins, can actually improve the overall whole.”
She’s been recognized as one of Forbes 30 under 30 leaders and one of the top women in AI Ethics, and just recently, she led her team at Google Photos to launch a 10-Step Skin Tone Scale to better represent skin tone.
Tulsee Doshi, Head of Product – Responsible AI at Google is 🔥, and we couldn’t pick just one quote.
JENNIFER LOPEZ (THE VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AT CAPITAL ONE) GETS US
We decided that a job and a life of certainty and repetition was not for us. We decided to pursue the craft of product management, where hardly anyone in our family understands what we do for a living.
How many of you can relate? 🙋🏽♀️
Jennifer dazzled, delighted, and inspired us. She reminded us of who we are as Product Managers: creators, problem solvers, and makers. And she also reminded us that to do these things, we need to continuously fill our own wells to create spark in ourselves, and spark in our communities, because that spark is what drives innovation.
GENTLE REMINDER ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF BOX BREATHING
Sally Thornton, Founder and CEO at Forshay talked about how we are in charge of our own well-being, and how we can have the greatest impact on our own lives.
The TL;DR version (that’s based on science): prioritize sleep, balance work and play, make movement a regular part of your life (bonus points if that’s outdoors), and spend the most time with the people who make you happy. And if there’s one thing you’re going to do today to reduce your stress right now, try out this box breathing exercise: You breathe in for four, you hold for four, you breathe out for four, and you hold it for four.
PS: Sally was featured on the Women In Product Podcast!
THE KEYNOTE WHO BROUGHT IT HOME
I’m sure you’ve all heard this, PMs are the CEOs of the product. I never really appreciated that sentence until I really went from being a product manager to a CEO. I think, as a product manager, I implore you to really take a deep look at your journey, what you’re learning, and what you’re amazing at, because you have the power to alter the course of real businesses and real lives.
Deboshtree Dutta honed her PM skills as Head of Product at PayPal and leveraged them to start up her own company. She’s now the CEO at Criya, a platform that empowers women creators to run their own business (psst…she’s also hiring!).
WHAT WE KEEP REPLAYING
A new addition to this year’s conference were a selection of live workshops, and the crowd went 🎉! These touched on topics like Career Planning & Growth, Leadership Skills, Moving to Exec Roles, People Management Skills, Product/Market Fit, and more. Our interactive workshops encouraged PMs to put pen to paper using customized tools and resources, and included actionable steps to bring back to their roles.
Throughout the conference, we came together to reconnect, restore, rediscover, and reimagine ourselves while supporting and celebrating each other. We listened, we learned, and we connected with each other.
Here are some of our favorite memories from #22WIP:
Each year we end the Women In Product conference with a renewed sense of awe. What started as an idea between a handful of women over dinner has turned into a thriving community of over 30,000 women.
Pavi Ramamurthy from Upstart says you need to “Network as if your life depends on it!” Women In Product is the place to meet other women PMs and uplevel your career.
Looking to see all our amazing speakers from this year’s conference? Find them all on the registration page here.
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