Taraji P. Henson and Bevy Smith have something in common. They both know what it feels like to fight their way to the top.
With that, the entertainment industry staples are helping to amplify Black women making strides as sales professionals and breaking barriers everyday. Sistas In Sales (SIS), an organization serving women of color in the sales sector will host its 5th Annual Summit on Thursday, September 21st – 23rd 2022 and feature keynotes by both Henson and Smith.
“Microsoft is excited to sponsor and partner with SIS to bring Ms. Henson’s keynote to the Summit. We also want to congratulate SIS on celebrating its 5-year anniversary!” Rashida Hodge, VP, Customer Success, Data & AI.
The Oscar-nominated actress has established herself as a savvy business woman, having launched her production company, TPH Entertainment, and haircare line, TPH by Taraji.
Smith also joins Henson as a keynote. Before pivoting into entertainment and fashion commentating, the author, host of Sirius XM’s “Bevelations,” and recent TED speaker built her career as a leader in fashion advertising. According to a press release, Smith will take the stage on day two of the three-day summit, and Henson will culminate the event on day three.
ESSENCE’s very own Chief Revenue Officer Pauline Malcolm-Thornton will be joining the roundup of featured speakers to weigh in on the importance of amplifying diverse networks in sales, entrepreneurship, and marketing.
The conference was created to recognize, celebrate and connect Black women in sales and business since the group is largely underrepresented in both the corporate and entrepreneurial sectors. Despite them being the fastest-growing group to launch new businesses, they are the least funded.
Additionally, McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org, pointed out the Black women are underrepresented in corporate leadership, with SVP roles only increasing from 23 percent to 28 percent between 2015 and 2020. BIPOC women only made up 3 percent, while white women stood at 19 percent.
Sistas in Sales aim to shift that chasm.
This year, they have partnered with with Google, Walmart Connect, Amazon, Microsoft, Workday Salesforce, TikTok, Dataminr, Unilever, Videoamp, Paloalto, Spotify, Oracle, Chili Piper, Twilio, Skaled, Braze, Salesloft, Motive, DocuSign, Pandora, Samsara, Postal.io, and Liveperson.
