Women’s Advancement Takes Center Stage at Qurate Retail Group in March

March 31, 2021:Qurate Retail Group celebrated Women’s History Month with a series of internal events on women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship, hosted by our Women’s Initiative Network (WIN).

Psychiatrist Nina Vasan, Chief Medical Officer of Real, a new company providing a suite of mental health services, and Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, offered science- and research-based tips to boost emotional well-being in “Hacking Your Mental Health,” her presentation on International Women’s Day (March 8). Dr. Vasan noted that, over the past year, women have faced enormous challenges to balance work, children, and household responsibilities during the pandemic.

“We all need to be a lot more proactive with how we think about mental health,” Dr. Vasan said, “so we’re not just addressing things when we’re in crisis or when we’ve hit an all-time low, but we’re actually making mental health a part of our daily life, just like exercise.”

Karen Etzkorn, our Chief Information Officer, shared her journey to becoming an influential leader in the largely male Technology field and discussed her efforts to promote diversity in IT for future generations.

“It’s been a passion of mine to encourage more women to decide that a STEM career could be good for them,” Karen said. “We need to get better at encouraging girls to participate in math and science very early on.”

Leslie Ferraro, President QxH, spoke about how to cultivate an environment of growth in a leadership role. Mary Campbell, Chief Merchandising Officer, Qurate Retail Group, and Chief Commerce Officer, QVC US, shared the importance of balancing her work and home life.

HSN vendors Rhonda Shear, Patricia Nash, Sara Davies, and Marla Wynne told team members about the challenges they overcame as female entrepreneurs and offered tips to aspiring businesswomen.

“As a company that champions women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship across our brands, we were proud to celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day,” said Eve DelSoldo, VP General Counsel – QxH Commerce and Leader of WIN. “The Women’s Initiative Network created meaningful events to build connections and create a greater sense of belonging for our women team members.”

Externally, our brands highlighted accomplished women for customers and supported women in other ways.

• QVC US, HSN, and Zulily featured 10 women-owned small businesses online and on air as part of our Small Business Spotlight, which is offering diverse small businesses increased exposure during 2021. Additionally, all three brands highlighted their current women-owned vendors on their digital platforms.
• Outside of the U.S., QVC Japan, QVC UK, and QVC Italy used their digital and broadcast platforms to celebrate women entrepreneurs and team members who inspire women.
• Frontgate donated $2500 to the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Cincinnati to support a safe shelter for female victims of domestic violence.

To learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, please visit our diversity, equity, and inclusion page.