• by Jess Nelson , June 5, 2017

Women of Email, a professional association promoting female leadership in email marketing, announced a new membership milestone as the organization reached its first anniversary. 

Founded on June 3, 2016, Women of Email was established to address gender diversity in email conference speakers. The organization was co-founded by four female leaders in the email marketing industry: Jen Capstraw, a consultant at Adobe Marketing Cloud; Kristin Bond, senior email marketing manager at Girl Scouts of the USA; April Mullen, head of North American client strategy and innovation at Selligent; and Laura Atkins, owner at Word to the Wise and a deliverability consultant.

“At 47%, women make up nearly half of those employed as email marketers,” states Capstraw, the president of Women of Email. “Yet we noticed women generally account for 20–40% of speakers at email conferences. We launched our mentoring program and speakers bureau to help cultivate the next generation of industry thought leaders and connect conference organizers with fresh voices.”

Over the past year, Women of Email has grown to over 800 members from 23 countries across five continents. The organization’s speakers bureau has filled 17 speaker slots so far, including two panels discussions curated and moderated by Women of Email.

Conference organizers can contact the Women of Email speakers bureau at speakers@womenofemail.org. Women interested in joining the organization can do so online, and male allies are encouraged to collaborate with Women of Email by joining its mailing list. 

In the coming year, Women of Email plans to finalize its incorporation and apply for 501(c)3 non-profit status. The organization has also launched a mentorship program, manages an active online community, and hosts meet-up events.

Women of Email gave MediaPost a shout-out on social media last week, as 17 of 35 speakers at the Email Insider Summit on Amelia Island were women.