This one's for the ladies...

 Tiffany here: (YES - I really am back) I had the pleasure of attending the 6th Annual Diversity Women's Business Leadership Conference (National Harbor, MD). The AIA's department of Diversity and Inclusion was a Bronze sponsor and invited me (along with a few other wonderful women) to participate in the conference as representatives of the design and construction industry. 

Yes - it was a conference full of women (and a few scared men - haha... just kidding), but the message that was sent was WE ALL need to be more diverse in our lives. This message holds true to each of our personal lives as well as the broader landscape of the working environment. 

I sat in a pretty dynamic break out session called, Executive Success: "What Men Aren't Telling Women"... (Presenter - Jeffery Tobias Halter)

(Needless to say, that room was PACKED)

The presenter took us through a myriad of situations that definitely divide the genders and offered advice in terms of how women can overcome some self-imposed challenges in order to play the game.

For example... A group of men and a group of women were asked a series of questions:

1. Who is better at problem solving...Men or Women?

- The group of women said that women were better.

- The group of men said that men were better.

Ultimately, is it said that men and women see the idea of problem solving differently... Men view it as making a decision (regardless if it is right or not) and women view it as a process of research and investigation in order to come up with the right solution...

2. Who is better at networking....Men or Women?

- The group of women said that men were better.

- The group of men said that men were better.

It is always important to network with a purpose. Just be mindful of your surroundings. Men tend to speak in terms of status and when meeting new people find ways of how they can help each other. Women typically do not go into situations like this.  However, study after study has proved that women tend to have larger networks than men, although they may not be using them to their fullest potential. 

- With that said... Ladies, it's time to step out of our shells and start working the room!