Organizations with less flexible management and work-flow structures face losing female meeting professionals to organizations that have adopted more flexible structures, according to the study "Aspiring to Lead in Europe," from the MPI Women's Leadership Initiative and IMEX.

The study reveals perceived opportunities and challenges facing European women who aspire to positions of leadership in the meeting industry. Results show that while women who desire to be leaders today still face barriers in some organizations, there are broad future opportunities, as social and cultural shifts continue to drive organizational changes in business.

The results from a group diverse in age, gender, company structures, and the various countries of Europe include:

* Organizations with less flexible environments are losing talent as women are increasingly willing to form their own companies with more desirable work environments.

* Key elements appearing to influence women becoming meeting industry leaders are their own desire to succeed and the life decisions they make along the way.

* Women and men disagree appreciably as to whether or not women earn as much as men.

* Despite individual country cultures, it is generally agreed that European cultures currently favor leadership opportunities for men over women.

* Because leadership is defined differently by each gender, discussions between women and men must take place to ensure organizational leadership opportunities are attractive to both.

* There is disagreement between the genders about leadership opportunities for males and females resulting from company policies. The full report can be downloaded from www.mpiwe.org/resources.