Enlarge Astrid Chirinos draws the "ultimate" team member at the Women's Inter-Cultural Exchange's event.

Posted: October 28th, 2009 Aleigh Acerni

More than 300 women (and men) of all ages and backgrounds gathered at Johnson C. Smith University on October 20 for the 2009 Multi-cultural Women’s Conference, with a theme of “Bridging the Chasm: Trust – A Business Essential,” featuring speakers Deepika Bajaj and Cherie Blair.

The event was organized by the Women's Inter-Cultural Exchange, a Charlotte group that promotes building social capital.

With a goal of building and strengthening personal and professional relationships among women across race and enthnicity, the half-day conference kicked off with author Deepika Bajaja, founder and president of Invincibelle, dedicated to helping diverse women thrive in a multicultural world, who presented a workshop and table discussions about trust, the theme of the event.

During the workshop, Bajaj led attendees through exercises during which they discussed how trust plays into their daily lives – at work, in our communities, and at home – and then offered ways they could better incorporate trust many different forms, from committing to being better listeners to realizing that, as Bajaj put it, “trust is a two-way street.”

Following Bajaj’s workshop, Cherie Blair, wife of the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, which seeks to promote and support women’s economic empowerment in developing countries, delivered the keynote address via video.

Passionate about championing the cause of women, Blair spoke on the ability to build cross-cultural trust through global mentoring, and referenced the persisting gender gap in businesses across the world, touting improved access to networks, information, and resources for their ability to strengthen women entrepreneurs’ efforts worldwide.

A panel discussion rounded out the event, including Bajaj along with additional speakers Cynthia Marshall, president of AT&T North Carolina, and Susan Patterson, program director for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

“My favorite part was meeting so many multi-faceted women, from different walks of life and experiences, coming together to connect and share,” said attendee Mia Miles. “It was no only enlightening, but refreshing!”

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