A week from today, legislative, business and thought leaders – including California Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and SDG&E CEO Caroline Winn – will come together for a legislative summit to discuss how policies can help advance gender parity in leadership positions and how women and men can work together to build more inclusive organizations. 

The All Our Talent Legislative Summit is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 23 from 10:30 a.m. to noon and is open to the public. Registration information is available here. The event is presented by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce Foundation in partnership with SDG&E. 

Winn, who chairs the Chamber’s board of directors, is a leading champion of the organization’s “All Our Talent: Women on Boards and Commissions” initiative. Launched in June with the support of California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, this initiative seeks to increase gender diversity on boards and commissions in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.

Research shows that companies and organizations with gender-diverse boards perform better financially and enjoy a competitive advantage. Research also shows positive correlations between gender-diverse boards and a company’s social responsibility and environmental sustainability.

As part of the All Our Talent initiative, in October, the Chamber will launch a database of women interested in serving on boards and commissions and assist companies and organizations with access to the database. The database will help match women who have particular interests and qualifications with organizations that are seeking candidates with the same attributes.

Those who are interested in submitting their names to the database are urged to fill out an interest form and complete a survey.