The Annual HIGHER Ground Women's Leadership Conference provides high-quality education and networking opportunities for women. Each year, more than 300 women come together to share ideas, illuminate innovative leadership practices and explore factors that influence their effectiveness at work, at home, and in their communities. This conference provides women with a tremendous opportunity to grow, develop, and learn with practical solutions for success in their personal and professional lives. 

In this panel, you will learn more about gender diversity and inclusion: Diversity and inclusion initiatives often focus on diversity, at the expense of achieving real inclusion. In this session, we'll explore what inclusion is, what the barriers to inclusion, and how each of us can work to overcome those barriers. We'll look at what it takes to recognize and overcome unconscious bias, how stereotypes and expectations affect our interactions, how to be an ally and an active bystander, and what leaders can do to change workplace culture in the direction of greater inclusion. 

Panelists include: Bethany M Coston, Ted Lewis and Bedelia Nicola Richards.

This year's conference will focus on: The Power of Collective Action: Shifting the Leadership Culture. Most leadership journeys begin with an emphasis on self—self-discovery, self-development, self-mastering, and self-actualization. When we shift our focus to link with others, our scope of influence expands outward. In that effort, we reorient ourselves towards a dynamic network of leaders emboldened by a shared purpose.