This is the third in a series of 12 PBN articles focusing on the backgrounds, challenges and successes of some of the area’s most influential and interesting business women. The series began Sept. 12.
Being the spouse of a public figure can be an opportunity or a curse. Thankfully for the women of southern New England, Kati Machtley has chosen the former, using her role as wife of Bryant University President Ronald K. Machtley to help her blaze trails over the last decade for them, particularly in the workplace.
Since she came to the university – then Bryant College – in 1997, she has taken over the school’s yearly Women’s Summit and turned it into one of the hottest tickets in the region. The event is designed to help women gain skills to succeed in their workplace, while at the same time provide them with networking opportunities.
With a wide range of workshops and speeches, Machtley said, attendees should come out of the summit with positive feelings about the direction they have taken in their careers. Or, conversely, they could be come away with a commitment to take a different path, either in their current work situation or as an entrepreneur.
“I think people feel inspired,” Machtley said. “I think they feel better about themselves after having attended.”
The summit got its start in 1997, when her husband suggested that the college create an event showcasing the different opportunities offered for women at Bryant. The half-day event, attended by 400 people, received such a strong response that the school decided to expand it, using a day’s worth of workshops and speakers to reach out to women in the business community.
And with that, the scope of the event expanded, growing from a showcase for the university’s services into an event aimed at helping women throughout the region succeed in business.
“It really turned into a type of resource for women in southeastern New England,” Machtley said.
This year’s event, which marked the summit’s 10th anniversary, drew nearly 1,000 attendees and tackled topics ranging from workplace satisfaction, to making global connections, to finance, to using Feng Shui to create a work environment that breeds positive feelings.
It featured keynote addresses by successful women such as Tory Johnson, the founder of career-advancement service company Women for Hire, and Liz Murray, a formerly homeless woman who rose from poverty and aimlessness to attend Harvard University.
“It was very inspirational to hear her,” Machtley said. “When you hear somebody like that speak, you think, ‘Maybe I can overcome some of my own obstacles.’ ”
Machtley is currently in the process of rounding out the itinerary for next year’s summit. Featured workshop hosts will include Vicki Donlan, co-author of the book “Her Turn: Why it’s Time for Women to Lead in America,” and Former Mass. Lt. Gov. Evelyn Murphy, who heads the Wage Project, aimed at eliminating the discrepancy in pay between men and women. Other topics will include investing and saving, diversity, entrepreneurship, customer service and negotiation.
It’s a full-time job for Machtley at Bryant. As a member of the school’s administration, she also teaches a class with her husband and organizes interfaith prayer breakfasts. However, she says, from connecting with sponsors and developing the event’s program, the summit takes up the vast majority of her time.
The event aims to attract women from across the business community, she said. Workshops are aimed at people at all different experience levels, from entry-level all the way up to executives, with some programs aimed at entrepreneurs. It also gives attendees the opportunity to network with women in similar positions, hopefully making connections that will aid their professional advancement.
“Not only does it help them to get new ideas, but it helps them to connect and to hopefully move on,” Machtley said.
Affordably priced – roughly $150 for the all-day program – the summit also provides scholarships for people that can’t afford to attend, such as students.
Machtley’s interest in women’s issues was first piqued during her 23-year-long career as a professor of nursing. Machtley – who received a B.S. from the University of Maryland and completed graduate work at the University of Rhode Island – taught at several schools, including Salve Regina University.
She said that she noticed that she felt that women weren’t treated with the equity as their male counterparts, a problem she came to realize existed in most businesses.
While women have made strides in the workplace since she first began teaching in 1974, problems still persist.
Even though the wage gap is improving, women still earn, on average, 25 cents per dollar less than men do. And she sees a severe lack of women in leading executive positions.
“I think it’s better than it was,” she said. “But women can’t stop trying to advance themselves. They have to continue to work harder than men to get to the top positions.”
But still, at a time when America could see Hillary Clinton instead of Bill occupying the Oval Office, improvements have been made. And much of that change is coming from the women themselves.
From Title IX, which dramatically expanded collegiate athletics for women, to cultural changes, there’s been a societal transformation, and women now see they have a wealth of opportunities, she said.
“They just seem to be taking more of a leadership role in every area,” Machtley said. “They haven’t really been told that they can’t do anything.” •
