I attended a meeting today given by the CEO of my company, a FTSE 250 company. The CEO is a brilliant speaker and the audience was captivated. But I couldn’t help but notice that almost all of the people at the front of the audience were men. Somehow the women had been positioned or positioned themselves towards the back of the room. That saddened me. Unfortunately, I was one of those women. Unintentional, but guilty nonetheless. I vowed next time I will correct that and ensure I have a front facing position so that they will have no choice but to notice me. I hope my female colleagues do the same.

Sheryl Sandberg called it correctly when she said that as a woman, we need to have seat at the table and be a part of the debate. And it starts with not hiding ourselves in the back corner of the office, but stepping out in front. None gets to the corner table by sitting in the background. We’ve got to get more women sitting at the table.

Personally, I want to work for companies that have the power to affect the lives of millions around the globe, and I want to be at the table when those hugely impactful decisions are being made.

“Next time, I won’t be at the back of the room.”

Ellen Brunsbeg, GE; Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook; Vicky FRee, Viacom; Marissa Mayer, Yahoo; Rosena Allin-Khan, MP; Ursula Burns, Xerox; Pam El, National Basket Association