From around the globe, employees flocked to Redmond for the 2006 Women’s Conference. They came to learn and grow, to find answers and provide them. They laughed, they connected, they were inspired and, ultimately, many attendees said, they were empowered.

The conference kicked off Jan. 9 with an evening reception, networking opportunity and awards ceremony. Three award-winners, culled from more than 100 nominees, were announced. Sandra Jacobson, senior program manager for WW PSMG Partner Segment Planning and the longest-tenured woman at Microsoft, was given a separate Resilience Award.

“At times, women at Microsoft go unrecognized for the work they accomplish, the passion for the company, and the impact they have on the company,” Jacobson said. “Looking back [to] when the company had fewer than 300 employees worldwide, to now when we have nearly 5,000 women at a Microsoft Women’s Conference, I am proud to say: Women at Microsoft play an important role, we accomplished a lot, and we’re making a difference!”

Lynn Kepl, senior director, Technology Integration and Planning, received the Women’s Empowerment Award for setting an example for work-life balance and management style.

“It’s exhilarating to know that the time spent in mentoring and championing areas like diversity and work-life balance make a difference to others across the company,” Kepl said.

The Women’s Inspiration Award went to Margo Day, vice president, U.S. Partner Group, whose substantial volume of nominations from co-workers cited her infectious passion for technology and business, and her promotion of organization diversity. Kim Daly, general manager, OEM Operations, received the Women’s Leadership Award for leading women by example and for her passion for people’s development.

The opening panel discussion generated very high interest among participants. It included Debra Chrapaty, Mich Mathews, Tanya Clemons, Tami Reller and Kathleen Hogan, and Kathy O’Driscoll was moderator. The witty, informative dialogue was peppered with humorous anecdotes about first jobs, brushes with greatness, lessons learned and how to achieve work-life balance.

The panelists stressed how important it is for women at Microsoft to gain and exude confidence. It was a common theme throughout the conference.

“You gotta get in the game. You can’t just sit in a meeting and be quiet,” Hogan said.

They stressed the need for effective confrontation and of being very deliberate in all actions and interactions – from being prepared at meetings to standing up straight and using powerful language.

“Always go above and beyond …you never know who’s watching,” Clemons said.

They also discussed the value of mentors throughout their lives, many of which have come through informal relationships.

To achieve work-life balance, panel members' suggestions included defining your priorities, making them known, and having the confidence to say no. Mathews said her priorities have changed since having children. She said she used to be on e-mail 24/7 and work long hours, which is often seen as a badge of honor, but then “you realize you can’t run your life that like.”

She has since reset her priorities. For example, because she values taking her children to school in the morning and eating dinner together at night, she has set work hours outside of which she generally won’t take meetings. To accommodate that design, she said, she makes her office time more productive.

Reller said that women are great multi-taskers, and that with three kids, she has learned to embrace that skill – often cooking dinner, returning e-mails and changing diapers almost simultaneously.

Lisa Brummel, corporate vice president of Human Resources, spoke Wednesday about her nontraditional career and how, by many textbook standards, she took a lot of “wrong jobs.” But on her path, she gained valuable skills, learned from a lot of people and took on responsibility that might not have come with the “right jobs.” Being broadly networked and finding sponsorship within the company have been keys to her success, she said.

Brummel also described several pillars on which she has built her career – one called “I love what we do here.” She said loving Microsoft's products and realizing how they change people’s lives is what keeps her here. Another pillar, she said, is confidence – where she sees the biggest difference between women and men at Microsoft.

“Too often I see women come into the company with all of the right answers, and then they get in a meeting and only half of that comes out", Brummel said. “You have to have the confidence in what you know. …Come on, step up. Even if you’re wrong, it’s OK.”

She said the most important thing that women at Microsoft can do is to be the best example of what they want others to be. She said that if women did one thing different every day – whether running a meeting differently, hiring a diverse team or giving each other positive feedback – we’d be a better company tomorrow than we are today.

“Every single person can set an example of what we want,” Brummel said.

Other sessions throughout the week covered a range of topics; titles included "Forget Balance: Embrace Comfortable Chaos,” “Build Trust and Improve Your Performance” and “Body for Life for Women.” While final attendance numbers weren’t available at press time, organizers say more than 4,800 employees registered, and attendance almost doubled that of last year’s conference.

Early reviews: Worthwhile, inspirational