I can’t tell you how great of a time I had at the DinnerGrrls.org-NYC August Dinner & PowerPlay fundraiser at the lovely SoHo restaurant Parigot a month or so ago. It was perfectly intimate — seven of us, which is basically the dinner attendee sweet spot IMHO — and we had a great opportunity to enjoy not only tasty food but also nourishing conversation. Some of the topics:
- Sports, athleticism, and being female
- Suits vs. dresses, femininity, and the office
- Not making partner
Attendees included the Executive Director of PowerPlay, Beth Rasin — whose additional contributions to the universe have included running the big annual squash tournament at Grand Central and creating a documentary about a Pakistani ball boy turned squash champion — as well as the woman in charge of New York City’s swine flu plan, among others.
One of the reasons I’ve always preferred sit-down ‘networking’ dinners to stand-up cocktail hours is that some of us skew towards introversion, and are happy to sit back and listen to a conversation but don’t necessarily feel like leading one. Cocktail hours, which force you to stand around with drink in hand and make oftentimes awkward small talk, come more naturally to the extroverted. Dinners offer up a more balanced mix of personality types and allow women who aren’t interested in “pushy” networking events to meet others in a more relaxed, friendly environment.
But you don’t have to take my word on it that the dinner was rock-on. Attendee feedback included this from a woman about to start her career:
This was a fabulous dinner! It was wonderful to hear stories from professional women of all ages about their experience in the workplace as a women. I really felt like I got to know the women who attended, and I truly enjoyed the conversation.
Word to that.
I’m looking forward to meeting other women intrigued by the idea of career nirvana — while also raising awareness and money for mentoring program The TEAK Fellowship — at our next event on Wednesday, September 30th. For those of you who have worried about the cost of our events thus far, I think you’ll like the way I’ve structured this one :) You can learn more about our next event by clicking here.
Thanks to everyone who attended for creating such a great evening for all, and also raising a few bucks for a nonprofit that helps empower urban girls through competitive sports. Yay!!
