NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Wall Street Journal will bring together nearly 200 influential women and men, including CEOs, industry leaders and subject-matter experts, for the second annual meeting of the Task Force for Women in the Economy. The invitation-only conference will take place April 30-May 2 at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, Fla.
The mission of the Task Force is to create an action plan to address an urgent economic issue: improving opportunities for women in the workforce can promote economic growth and competitiveness in the U.S. and worldwide. The 2012 group will build upon last year's work by creating a set of actionable strategies to enable organizations across industries – as well as individuals – to drive change successfully. Their deliberations will spring from new research on Fortune 500 companies conducted by McKinsey & Company and released at the conference. Complementing the research and the discussions will be on-stage interviews with celebrated leaders and specialists.
Featured participants include:
- Madeleine K. Albright, former United States Secretary of State;
- Daniel Akerson, chairman and chief executive officer, General Motors;
- Dominic Barton, global managing director, McKinsey & Company;
- Geena Davis, academy award winning actor, founder, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media;
- George Halvorson, chairman and chief executive officer, Kaiser Permanente;
- Debra Lee, chairman and chief executive officer, BET Networks;
- Sheri McCoy, vice chair, Johnson & Johnson;
- Beth Mooney, chief executive officer, KeyCorp;
- Denise Morrison, president and chief executive officer, The Campbell Soup Company;
- Jane Shaw, chairman of the board of directors, Intel;
- Jim Turley, chairman and chief executive officer, Ernst & Young;
- Venus Williams, world champion tennis player, founding ambassador, WTA-UNESCO Gender Equality Program.
The meeting of the Task Force for Women in the Economy will be hosted by deputy managing editors of the Wall Street Journal, Rebecca Blumenstein and Alan Murray, as well as Julia Angwin, senior technology editor; John Bussey, assistant managing editor and executive business editor; Laura Landro, assistant managing editor; Sue Shellenbarger, senior writer and "Work & Family" columnist; and Kimberly Strassel, editorial board member and columnist. The findings and original research will be published in a special worldwide report in The Wall Street Journal and on WSJ.com. For more information please visit http://www.womeninecon.wsj.com.
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