Women will learn key negotiating skills which they can use at all walks of life at an empowerment conference taking place on June 6.

It's being organised by the Centre for Leadership, an organisation founded in 2008 by five women with the goal of assisting other women professionally.

The conference is titled "Ask for it: How women can use the power of negotiation to get what they really want," and will be held at the Elbow Beach Hotel.

Author Sara Laschever, whose latest book the conference was named after, will be the key note speaker. A panel discussion featuring local business leaders will also be showcased.

Kendaree Burgess-Fairn, secretary to the Centre for Leadership, said the upcoming conference was a result of issues raised during the Centre's December event.

She explained: "The topic for this conference is a direct request from our December conference, 'Women in Business' where women identified negotiation skills as an area they would most like assistance with.

"We think that this session will teach participants to identify what they're really worth, to develop negotiation strategies, to mange their emotions and reactions and reach agreements that benefit all parties."

The three panellists will be Sarah Farrington, Andrea Wilson and Neville Grant.

Adding the panellists represent several sectors of the business community, Jenny Smatt-Adkins said: "It will allow our attendees to walk away with tangible experience."

Ms Smatt-Adkins, the Centre's treasurer, continued: "We feel the panel represents the formal corporate environment and the entrepreneurial aspect.

"We're looking at where negotiation skills can be applied not only in the organisational setting but for entrepreneurs and consultants as they learn to establish rates for themselves and ensure success."

One third of tickets to the event have already been sold. There are 110 tickets available in total, which are $125 each and can be purchased from the Centre for Leadership by calling 535-6903 or emailing caroyln.myers@bm.ey.com">caroyln.myers@bm.ey.com.

Ms Laschever, an author, editor and cultural critic is known for her "enlightening, unsettling and ultimately inspiring ideas," according to a news release.

Her byline has appeared in The New York Times, The Harvard Business Review, The New York Review of Books, The Boston Globe, Vogue and numerous mainstream publications based in the US.