This past weekend marked the Second Annual Women in Nutraceuticals Summit. As a women and minority-owned company, the WIN Summit is an excellent opportunity for female leaders to exchange ideas and knowledge with the goal of better balanced workplaces and even products.
Even though we love going to the summit, our participation doesn’t end there. Best in Nature also volunteers for WIN by running the Partnership Sub-Comittee.
The Women in Nutraceuticals Summit took place in the form of a pitch competition, various networking events, 1 keynote and 5 panels.
The Pitch Competition
Female founders were able to receive guidance and coaching from WIN’s Entrepreneurship Committee.
Then get practice presenting and answering questions in front of a live audience. For many, it was their first pitch event!
Major Educational Takeaways
The Female Brain vs The Male Brain
Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary - neurologist by training, delivered a keynote highlighting some of the differences between the male brain and the female brain. For instance, Dr. Chaudhary discussed how men can compartmentalize and mentally “put something away” that’s bothering them where women need to process it.
She further shared a broad overview of alpha, gamma, beta and theta brain waves.
Most of the time, people are in “survival mode” (beta waves) which quickly leads to burn out and exhaustion. Chaudhary asserts that meditation, dance, and sound, can all help us access alpha, gamma and theta i.e. relaxing brain waves to pull us from survival mode into a state of calm.
These practices and insights could help people eat, work, sleep and live better.
Intention to Impact | Individual Actions to Make Systemic Change
This was a panel about where the rubber meets the road and people decided to take action.
Women shared stories of how they’ve addressed workplace issues including and up to leaving when there is no other option.
At the intersection of money and integrity, one set of co-founders shared a story of having to ultimately reject money from a group of male investors who proved to not be a good fit when they dismissed the female partner’s position as leader and decision maker.
Innovating for Women not AT Women
From clinical research to product development, a series of panelists discussed ways in which women are failed by the current systems.
Most clinical studies are only done on men or respondents heavily skew towards men. Then, many everyday products that are helpful or even necessary for the health of women are prominently marketed for men’s health. Examples include omega 3, creatine, magnesium, and protein.
Leading Through Life Stages
Two female business leaders (Irena Bozdogan and Carilyn Carlson Anderson) walked us through their journey and broke down the struggles they’ve faced. But just as importantly, they shared how to create better workplaces for women.
Keys to helping women in the workplace they shared with us were:
- Flexible hours
- Acknowledging individual circumstances
- Being present for employees through life stages
Professional Development
This group of accomplished women shared the power of mentors, sponsors, and coaches. But they also emphasized that you don’t have to just be on one side of the equation. You can be a mentee at one time. Then, in the future, pay it forward by being a mentor.
Overall
We had an excellent time and learned so much about creating better health solutions for women and men. As a women-owned company, it was inspiring to meet with other female leaders to share challenges and ways to navigate and even get ahead of them.