Meet Carla Jenkins: Sales Manager and Inclusion Advocate in Events
Carla Jenkins has spent the last eight years working in sales for conferences and tradeshows, with the past four focused on building teams that reflect diversity beyond just quotas. She’s led multiple International Women’s Day campaigns within her company’s event sales team, blending practical initiatives with real results. I sat down with Carla to unpack what mid-level sales pros can actually do when it comes to diversity and inclusion (D&I) in their teams, specifically through the lens of International Women’s Day (IWD) campaigns.
Why Should Mid-Level Sales Care About Diversity in Conferences and Tradeshows?
Q: Carla, why should someone in sales for events care about D&I beyond it being a “nice to have”?
A: Honestly, sales is about connection, right? When your team looks and thinks differently, you naturally tap into a wider range of client needs and perspectives. For conferences and tradeshows, which are all about people and relationships, that diversity directly impacts your pipeline.
One of my teams saw a 35% uptick in winning women-led business after we focused on inclusive hiring and launched an IWD-centric campaign spotlighting women presenters and sponsors. It’s not just feel-good stuff; it’s business ROI.
Practical Hiring Tactics for Building Diverse Sales Teams
Q: How can someone mid-level, who’s often not the final hiring decision-maker, influence more diverse hiring?
A: Great question. You might not control budgets or final offers, but you can influence the process.
Review Job Descriptions: Look for unconscious bias like gender-coded words that might scare off women or minorities. Tools like Textio can help, but a quick pass yourself usually catches “dominant” or “aggressive” language.
Suggest Blind Screening: If your company allows it, advocate for anonymized resumes during early screening. It helps reduce bias toward names or schools.
Diverse Interview Panels: Push for interview panels that include women and underrepresented folks. This avoids a “one type fits all” evaluation.
Referral Programs: Encourage team members to refer diverse candidates. Personal outreach often yields better pipelines for underrepresented groups.
Structuring Your Team to Support Inclusion
Q: Once someone is hired, what team structures help keep inclusion alive?
A: Structure goes beyond org charts. Here’s what I’ve learned:
Mentorship Circles: Create small groups that mix senior and mid-level salespeople with diverse backgrounds. On our last IWD campaign, we paired women from different regions to share sales tips and cultural insights. The payoff? Increased confidence in pitch calls that reflected global nuances.
Rotating Leadership: Instead of one sales lead always running calls or meetings, rotate that role among team members. It prevents dominance by one voice and encourages different leadership styles.
Flexible Scheduling: Events sales often means odd hours around global conferences. Flexible working hours and remote options help women and parents or caregivers stay engaged without burnout.
Onboarding: Setting Inclusion From Day One
Q: How does onboarding play into D&I for event sales teams?
A: Onboarding is your chance to set the tone. If you wait six months to talk about inclusion, it feels like an afterthought.
Welcome Packages: Include resources about your company’s D&I values, employee resource groups, and training opportunities explicitly.
Shadowing Diverse Colleagues: Pair new hires with team members who have different backgrounds or roles. It exposes them to varied perspectives early.
Regular Check-Ins: Use tools like Zigpoll or CultureAmp to anonymously gather feedback on inclusion during the first 90 days. If you hear someone feeling excluded, act fast.
Running International Women’s Day Campaigns That Build Teams
Q: Your company runs IWD campaigns. What are the practical ways these campaigns can build inclusion rather than just be symbolic?
A: This is where many teams trip up — turning a one-day event into a ripple effect.
Women-Centric Speaker Panels: For conferences, help curate more women speakers not just for IWD, but for the whole year. This raises visibility and opens networking doors for women on your team.
Highlight Internal Stories: Showcase success stories of women from your sales team on social media and internal newsletters. It sends a message that achievement is recognized.
Skill-Building Workshops: Organize sales workshops led by women leaders or allies focused on negotiation, closing deals with clients, or digital event tech. This isn’t fluff — it’s about filling skill gaps that can hamper career growth.
Sales Challenges: Run team contests on IWD that emphasize collaboration over competition. For example, one team I worked with went from 2% to 11% conversion on women-owned business accounts after a month-long challenge rewarding joint efforts.
Handling Pushback and Limitations
Q: What if your company culture isn’t ready or resistant? Any advice?
A: This isn’t a silver bullet. Some environments are stuck in old-school sales cultures. You’ll face pushback like “We only care about numbers” or “This isn’t the time for politics.”
Data Speaks: Use hard numbers to back your case. A 2024 Forrester study found that sales teams with diverse gender representation outperform homogenous teams by 20% in quota achievement.
Small Wins: Start small. Run a low-key IWD event or pilot a mentorship circle to avoid overwhelming management.
Build Allies: Find other mid-level champions across functions — marketing or event operations — who care about D&I. There’s strength in numbers.
Measuring Impact: How Can Sales Track Inclusion Progress?
Q: How do you measure if D&I efforts are actually working in sales teams?
A: Measurement is tricky but necessary.
Qualitative Feedback: Use anonymous tools like Zigpoll, SurveyMonkey, or CultureAmp to get honest feedback on team climate and inclusion feelings.
Diversity Metrics: Track hiring, retention, and promotion rates by gender and race. Note: privacy considerations are a must here.
Pipeline Analysis: Look for shifts in the types of clients won — are you landing more women-led companies or diverse industries?
Engagement Metrics: Monitor participation rates in IWD events, workshops, or mentorship programs.
What Should a Mid-Level Salesperson Start With Tomorrow?
Q: If you could recommend three practical actions a mid-level sales pro could take immediately, what would they be?
A: First, review your next job posting or LinkedIn description with a fresh eye for biased language. Next, propose a small mentorship or peer group focused on inclusion — even informal coffee chats help. Finally, champion visibility for women on your team by nominating them for speaker slots or spotlight stories during IWD and beyond.
Quick Comparison Table: Common IWD Campaign Ideas and Their Team-Building Impact
| Initiative | Practical Impact on Team Building | Potential Pitfall |
|---|---|---|
| Panel Discussions | Raises visibility, encourages diverse ideas | Can be tokenistic if one-off |
| Skill Workshops | Builds tangible skills, boosts confidence | May require budget/time |
| Social Media Spotlights | Highlights internal role models | Risk of performative gestures |
| Sales Challenges | Encourages collaboration on real outcomes | Can fuel competition if not careful |
| Mentorship Circles | Deepens relationships, sustained support | Requires ongoing commitment |
Final Thoughts on Building Diverse Sales Teams Around IWD
Remember, diversity and inclusion aren’t boxes to check once a year. For mid-level sales pros in the events industry, the work is in the details — crafting hiring processes, team structures, and onboarding experiences that stick. International Women’s Day campaigns give you a powerful, visible starting point but embedding inclusion means following through every day, in every deal and interaction.
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel; small, consistent efforts add up. As Carla says, “It’s about showing up for your colleagues, your clients, and the future you want to sell to.”
If you want to dig deeper on specific tools or scripts for inclusive hiring or IWD campaign planning, I’ve got some resources to share. Just ask!
