In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Kristina Stidham and Ashley Chiaradio discuss Women in Retail Leadership Circle's (WIRLC) 2020 Top Women in Retail resource. (WIRLC is the sister brand of Total Retail.) This is WIRLC’s 10th annual list highlighting the leading female executives in retail, and, like in prior years, it features a who’s who in the industry. Honorees were chosen based on several criteria, including position within a retail organization, scope of responsibility within that position, career achievements, and involvement within the retail industry. Some honorees were nominated via a survey of our WIRLC members and Inner Circle e-newsletter subscribers.

The 2020 Top Women in Retail list features 26 incredible women executives, including Ruth Hartman, president of Lord + Taylor; Michelle Buck, president and CEO of The Hershey Company; Allie Egan, president and CEO of Cynthia Rowley, and so many more! To celebrate this being the 10th year of the report, the 2020 issue also features a new Women on the Rise section. The 10 Women on the Rise honorees are women who are on their way to becoming tomorrow’s industry leaders. These honorees are helping to shape the future of retail organizations. The issue can be used as a resource to learn more about these leaders, from why they love working in retail to who their favorite leader is to the technology or trends they believe will have the biggest impact on their businesses in 2020.

We’re also excited because so many of this year's Top Women and Women on the Rise honorees will be attending the 2020 Women in Retail Leadership Summit! The event is WIRLC’s seventh annual Summit, and is taking place April 27-29 at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami. You can still register to attend by clicking here!

We hope you can leverage the wisdom of these women leaders to help YOU move forward in your career. To access the full 2020 Top Women in Retail list and the exclusive interviews with all honorees, click here.