Shelley Zalis: Reimagining Leadership and Changing the Equation for Everyone at Work
Shelley Zalis is the founder and CEO of The Female Quotient, an organization committed to changing the equation for everyone in the workplace. With a background in market research and a long-standing commitment to inclusion, Zalis has built global communities and sparked transformative conversations around equal opportunity at work.
Before launching The Female Quotient, she founded Online Testing Exchange (OTX), a pioneering company that helped move market research from traditional methods to online platforms. OTX was later acquired by Ipsos. Zalis also co-created #SeeHer with the ANA, a movement dedicated to improving the representation of women and girls in media.
Under her leadership, The Female Quotient has grown into the largest global community of women in business, with over 7 million women across 30 industries in 100 countries. Its signature FQ Lounge, a pop-up experience at major conferences, is known for convening professional women and conscious leaders to tackle workplace challenges and advance more equitable and forward-thinking business practices.
Zalis is a regular contributor to publications like TIME, Forbes, and IMD, and has been recognized with honors, including the Matrix Award, Mosaic Award, and EY Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2024, The Female Quotient was named one of Fast Company’s Brands That Matter, and Zalis was recognized as one of LinkedIn’s Top 10 Voices.
The Continuum sat down with Shelley to talk about her leadership journey, her philosophy on change, and how she continues to create space for more people to thrive at work.
You started OTX, Online Testing Exchange, in the very early days of the internet. It was the first online marketing research company. What made you think it would work?
I was working at ASI, a market research company, around 2000. Brands had started running online ads, but no one knew how to test them. I didn’t have a business model or even a competitive set because no one else was doing it yet. But I knew billions of dollars were being spent on research, and that it would need to move from mall intercepts and phone calls to online.
I started building a web-based survey tool and had to figure out how to create a representative online sample in a world where mostly wealthy older men had broadband. I pulled together the few sample companies experimenting online and developed a workable methodology. But when I brought it to my bosses, they said, “It’s not the right time. No one’s online.”
Then I found myself on a panel with the Chief Research Officer at Procter & Gamble, and asked him when it would be the right time to move research online. He said, “How about next week?” I brought that back to my company and they said, “Amazing! John, Paul, George, and Ringo will go.” I said, “If I’m not going, I’ll cancel the meeting. You can wait for your right time.”
That was my turning point. Why was I waiting for someone else to tell me when it was time? I left, started OTX, and became the first in the world to do online market research. If I had waited, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
You’ve talked about being an early adopter. What was the industry’s initial reaction?
Most people told me it wouldn’t work. They said online surveys wouldn’t be credible and that consumers would lie. I said, “Consumers lie in mall and phone surveys, too; have you seen all the pencil eraser marks?”
There are two types of people in business: those who stick to what’s been done, and those who see what’s possible. The second group takes risks. You might not get it right at first, but if you don’t try, you’ll never know what’s possible.
People told me I’d fail. That it wasn’t the right time. That I wasn’t the right person. But who decides who the right person is if it’s never been done before?
You ran OTX for 10 years, then sold it to Ipsos and stayed for five more. What was that transition like?
Selling my startup to a multinational was like trading a motorboat for a steamship. Everything changed: the speed, the systems, the captains.
At OTX, we had 250 employees generating $60 million in profitable revenue with offices in six cities. At Ipsos, there were 16,000 employees, $2.6 billion in revenue, and 83 countries in operation. It was an incredible opportunity to work at that scale.
I sold because it was the right move for the company to grow. Like any founder, you do what’s best for your baby. But I always knew I liked to move fast and think bigger.
You started The Girls’ Lounge at Ipsos. Did you know it would become your next chapter?
Not at all. I just wanted to stop feeling alone at conferences. Professionally, I was thriving, but I was often the only woman in the room, and I knew I thought and led differently. I wanted to create a space where women could connect, embrace their differences, and have real conversations. I wanted girlfriends in business.
I never planned for it to become a company or movement. I simply wanted to give back what I wish I had throughout my career.
When my five-year contract at Ipsos was up, I asked to include The Girls’ Lounge in the new agreement. We’d already hosted three lounges branded with Ipsos. But when the new contract came back, the lounge wasn’t included. I was told the company liked the idea, but couldn’t guarantee it would continue.
If something isn’t in writing, it’s not a real commitment. I decided to follow my heart. I left, took The Girls’ Lounge with me, and Ipsos became our first partner.
“I wanted to create a space where women could connect, embrace their differences, and have real conversations.”
Today, The Female Quotient is far bigger than The Girls’ Lounge. How has it evolved?
It started as a pop-up space at CES, where only 3% of attendees were women. I created a safe, welcoming space for them to connect. Now, we call it the FQ Lounge, and we host 60 to 70 activations each year at events around the world.
These lounges are for conscious leaders, regardless of gender, who want to use their power to lift others up. That’s what The Female Quotient is all about: collaboration, shared purpose, and impact at scale.
We now have more than 200 partners, including AWS, JPMorgan Chase, Google, P&G, Meta, NBCUniversal, Lenovo, IPG, Cisco, Wells Fargo, Diageo, UBS, Deloitte, LinkedIn, and more. Our community includes over 7 million women in 30 industries across 100 countries. I call it the power of the pack. A woman alone has power. Collectively, we drive impact.
Beyond the lounges, we host summits by theme. This year, we hosted an AI Summit and are gearing up for a Health Summit. We’ve also expanded our media business, producing and amplifying branded content, social series, and creator campaigns.
And we’ve built a growing transformation practice. We work with Fortune 500 CEOs on integrating conscious leadership and representation into the DNA of their businesses. We’re not in the business of DE&I. We’re in the business of opportunity: economic growth, innovation, and transforming companies that reflect and serve today’s diverse world.
“We believe that to build better products and services, you need diverse lived experiences at the table. Representation drives innovation.”
Let’s talk about DE&I. With the backlash, are you seeing pushback?
Not really. That’s because we’ve never framed our work as DE&I in the traditional sense. We’re not in HR; we work directly with the C-suite on integrating representation into their business strategy.
Too many companies treat DE&I as a reaction to headlines or a box to check. But the moment calls for more than that. This is an opportunity to ask, “Why are we doing this in the first place?”
We believe that to build better products and services, you need diverse lived experiences at the table. Representation drives innovation.
Take seat belts. They weren’t designed for women, and they don’t fit our bodies. Or escalators. My heels have gotten stuck in the slats too many times. Clearly, no one wearing heels was consulted.
This is why lived experience matters. It informs design. It informs leadership. And once you have diversity, you must create cultures of belonging. That doesn’t come from a policy manual. It comes from making people feel seen, heard, and valued.
“And once you have diversity, you must create cultures of belonging. That doesn’t come from a policy manual. It comes from making people feel seen, heard, and valued.”
If you had to give one piece of advice to business leaders today, what would it be?
Everyone knows the Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. But what works for you might not work for someone else.
The Platinum Rule is better: treat others the way they want to be treated. That requires empathy and reflection.
But the rule I live by is this: treat others the way the collective minority needs to be treated. If you design for those who are least considered, you’ll build a workplace and a world that works better for everyone.
“But the rule I live by is this: treat others the way the collective minority needs to be treated.”
