Women Empowerment Networks

Women learn, lead, and take risks differently when they are in rooms full of women, and decades of research shows those rooms can change trajectories. This is a small but mighty group of saleswomen in the Reno-Tahoe area that are part of the Reno-Tahoe Women in Sales meetup. We had a wonderful evening solving each other's challenges. Why all women? Well, men are welcome and . . .   In See Jane Win: The Rimm Report on How 1,000 Girls Became Successful Women (1999), psychologist Sylvia Rimm reports that graduates of women’s colleges go on to take more leadership positions in their careers than women who graduate from mixed‑gender colleges. Her work underscores that when girls and young women learn in women‑only environments, they are more likely to build the confidence and aspirations that lead to leadership.   Fast‑forward to today, and the data on women’s peer networks is even clearer. A recent study of MBA graduates by researchers affiliated with Yale School of Management and Opportunity Insights found that just a 4 percentage point increase in female peers in their sections translated into an 8.4% higher probability of women reaching senior management roles, largely because women relied on those peers and alumnae networks for candid insight and guidance. Imagine if there were even more female peers for them.   Networking research on women leaders shows similar patterns. Survey data published by WomenTech Network in 2024 found that over 80% of women leaders use networking to drive their career success, including 90% who say it helped them join a board, 84% who used it to break into the C‑suite, and 81% who used it to secure higher‑paying roles, with professional and women‑only networks cited as especially powerful. This is why groups like Women in Sales, Women in Revenue, Wednesday Women of Pavilion and many others, matter so much. When women in sales and other go‑to‑market roles sit down together, they are more likely to: 😊 Share the hard truths about deals, pipeline pressure, and compensation that they might soften in mixed groups. 😊Exchange concrete strategies for navigating bias, getting promoted, and choosing companies with truly women‑friendly practices. 😊Build the kind of peer network that not only lifts their performance today but also opens doors to future leadership roles.   This is not about excluding men. It is about creating intentional spaces where women, and anyone who identifies with women’s experiences, can be fully candid, fully ambitious, and fully supported as they learn and grow together.   And if you happen to be in the Reno-Tahoe area and want to join us, let me know. There are also meetups all over the country you can join. Just ask me if you need help finding one. And keep an eye out for information about the #SalesDecadesProject by Lori Richardson, which this year will celebrate women who sold in the 80s with an award ceremony and a full day of sales conversations with these women and other experts.

I just published a new piece with the Yale School of Management called: Holding the Door Open, The Working Women’s Network Here is the full article: https://lnkd.in/gVdbKBX5 This is not a feel good reflection about networking. It is about power, access, and responsibility. Too many of us were taught to be grateful we were let in. Not enough of us were taught to widen the entrance once we got there. The Working Women’s Network is not about exchanging business cards. It is about: • Sponsorship, not just mentorship • Strategic visibility, not quiet excellence • Collective leverage, not individual survival If you are rising and not actively creating space for someone else, you are reinforcing the very scarcity you once resented. Doors do not stay open on their own. They close quietly. They narrow subtly. They become selective again. The question is simple. Are you walking through alone, or are you holding it open? I would love to hear how you are building real networks that move influence, opportunity, and capital, not just conversations. Thank you to Paula M. Maguina, MBA for her leadership in organizing the Yale University Working Women's Network Kick-off event with guest speaker Miguel Cardona, Ed. D.

If you are a female founder, chances are the odds are stacked against you. But how do you even the odds? With community, network, mentorship and surrounding yourself with the right people. 👇 I have compiled this resource to highlight available and dedicated support to female founders. 🏛️ 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 & 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 / 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 • Women in Innovation Awards (Innovate UK) • Women TechEU (EU) • EU Prize for Women Innovators • Women's Enterprise Scotland 💵 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐕𝐂 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 & 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 • Female Founders Fund (FFF) • Astia • Alma Angels • Angel Academe - increasing female investment • Fund F • January Ventures • Pink Salt Ventures • Sie Ventures • Investing Women Angels (Scotland) • Women Backing Women (UKBAA)  • Coralus (SheEO) • Lifted Ventures 👯♂️ 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 & 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 • AllBright • Female Founders Rise • WEgate (EU) • Women’s Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) • everywoman  • WeAreNovi • Women In Business Network (WIBN) 🚀 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 & 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 • Barclays Eagle Labs Female Founder Accelerator • Hatch Enterprise UK Female Founders Incubator • Female Founders “Grow F” Accelerator • Women Startup Competition (WSC) • EIT Food EWA (Empowering Women in Agrifood)  • AccelerateHER • Grace - Accelerate Female Entrepreneurship • StepFWD (Romania) (Majority women-focused) 👩🏫 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 • MentorSET • Cherie Blair Foundation for Women Mentoring • AllBright Mentoring • EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women • Vital Voices VV Grow Fellowship • Ellevate Network • Lean In Circles __________________________ 😊 It certainly took me a hot minute to track all of this down, but we hope this helps! ♻️ Please do repost and share if you found this helpful! P.S. Who else have I missed that you would recommend?

Breaking Barriers, Building Futures: Mujeres 2,000 in Argentina 🇦🇷 Meeting Belén Burgstaller from Mujeres 2000 was so inspiring. ✨Their mission? Economic independence for women in vulnerable communities and they’re making it happen in a way that’s both transformative and sustainable. They go into popular barrios, villas, asentamientos, places where opportunities are hard to find but talent and resilience are abundant. Every Saturday morning, they create a space for entrepreneurial women to learn, grow, and build their businesses. Here’s how they do it: 1️⃣ Education: Courses on “How to Start My Business” to equip women with the knowledge to take the first step. 2️⃣ Mentorship & Microcredit: Personalized guidance and financial support to bring their ideas to life. 3️⃣ Visibility & Access: They don’t just teach them how to sell, they open doors, giving them the opportunity to showcase their products in companies across Buenos Aires. This year, they’ll train 200 women, 200 stories of resilience, empowerment, and new possibilities. These women are not just starting businesses; 🌟they’re breaking generational cycles, creating financial freedom, and proving that talent has no zip code🌟 Empowerment is not just about resources, it’s about access, belief, and community. Mujeres 2,000 is not just changing lives; they’re expanding horizons. To every woman pushing past barriers: Your talent deserves the world. Keep building. Keep growing. Keep going 💜 De-Ann Abraham 🌟🚀 #EmpowerWomen #Entrepreneurship #FinancialFreedom #Mujeres2000 #BreakingBarriers

Women’s networking events matter because they quietly rebalance a system that wasn’t originally designed with women in mind. First, they create access. A lot of opportunities (jobs, promotions, partnerships...) don’t come from formal applications. They come from conversations! Historically, many of those informal networks have been male-dominated. Women’s networking spaces open that door wider, making sure information, referrals, and opportunities circulate more equitably. They also build something less visible but just as powerful: confidence. When you’re surrounded by women navigating similar challenges, whether it’s being the only woman in a meeting, negotiating salary, or switching careers, you stop second-guessing your experiences. You start recognizing patterns instead of personalizing obstacles. That shift changes how you show up professionally.

After founding and scaling a women's organization to 15,000+ members, I know one truth: 89% of women's networks fail to deliver real value. This one won't. As the founder and former CEO of the National Association of Women Sales Professionals (NAWSP), I built a community that transformed careers, not just conversations. Three critical elements I learned about building powerful women's networks: • Success depends on curation, not collection. The right 20 connections outperform 2,000 random ones every time. • Women leaders need spaces designed for their actual lives, not idealized versions. Your calendar is already full. • Networks that drive results focus on action and visibility, not just talk and theory. This is why I immediately recognized the power of the Wednesday Women Membership that just launched today. It's not another crowded Slack group with performative networking. It's built for exec-level women who lead with conviction, value authentic connection, and want every woman to rise. No Instagram-perfect corporate masks. No status symbol price tags. No time-wasting activities. Instead: ✅ Hand-curated and AI-powered network connections that actually matter ✅ Value that fits into your actual life ✅ A community rooted in action, generosity, authenticity, and visibility I've built and led organizations that changed the trajectory of women's careers for over a decade. The Wednesday Women approach aligns with everything I know works. Power doesn't come from larger networks. It comes from strategic ones. What would change if you stopped collecting connections and started cultivating the right ones? P.S. For women executives tired of networks that take more than they give: This is your community. https://lnkd.in/epHyq42c #WednesdayWomen #ExecutiveWomen

Success can be isolating - but what if the cure for loneliness lies not in being less ambitious, dimming your light, or settling below your potential, but in connecting with others just as driven as you? We continue from our post yesterday, addressing women in leadership who identify as successful, yet feeling lonely or alone in their leadership journey. Now, for many women leaders, the pressures of leadership can create barriers to meaningful connections. However, research shows that support networks both within and outside of work are powerful antidotes to this isolation. Building these intentional connections provides the emotional support, authentic relationships, shared experiences, and practical support that help women leaders not just survive, but truly thrive. Fostering these networks can be a game-changer for you as a woman in leadership. Research from Harvard Business Review reveals that women in senior leadership roles often find it difficult to form genuine peer networks within their organizations. Thus, it becomes harder to find the emotional safety needed to discuss the unique pressures you face. Intentional networking with other women in leadership, both inside and outside of the organization, is crucial. These networks don’t just provide career advancement opportunities, but they create a space for shared experiences, where women can openly discuss challenges, strategies, and successes without fear of judgment. This area is personal to me because it was part of my experience as a senior leader. I had a couple of false starts as I began looking for help. The initial people I reached out to and ask for support were not able to grasp what it was that I was looking for. That was really disappointing. However, the need was still there. I continued to search and explore possible spaces I could fit in as well as peers who could relate with what I was going through. Step by step out of my comfort zone led me to a thriving support community that continues to this day. Research from HBR shows that leaders who have strong support networks experience higher resilience, better decision-making, and increased job satisfaction, all of which enhance both personal well-being and professional performance. Building a support network isn’t just a way to cope with loneliness. It is a pathway to more fulfilling and impactful leadership. When women leaders invest in authentic connections with friends, peers, mentors, and coaches, they open doors to shared wisdom, mutual encouragement, and new perspectives that empower them to lead with confidence. A supportive network essential for women leaders who want to thrive, inspire others, and create lasting change. Do you have a support network in place? Or, are you searching for one? #leadership #africa #leadershipdevelopment #professionalwomen #personaldevelopment

Everyday, I count myself extremely lucky to be associated with organisations like READ India. Here's a story out of the 100s we hear everyday. Faced with the devastating death of her brother during Covid19, and loss of financial resources, Sandhya Shrikrushna Salte, joined a READ India course on Food Processing in Kathoda village, Yavatmal, India. She soon launched her own home-based business, "Gopi Gruh Udyog", learnt how to use social media to promote her products, earning currently over Rs. 50,000/pm. Her success story is an inspiration to her other colleagues from the same centre. READ India recognises that women often face special barriers to education, formal employment, economic independence, perpetuating gender inequity and inequality. Which is why they have paid special attention to curating their trainings to focus on close-to-home, centre-based ones that can be provided online - the resultant activities can be completed either at the centre or at home. By equipping women with marketable skills and resources, these programs catalyse a process to break the cycle of poverty & empower women to actively participate in economic activities, promoting their social and economic wellbeing. Greater attention has been paid to women from minority communities & differently abled women so that solutions are created for a diverse group of women. READ India's skilling programs empowers women like Sandhya with necessary tools and knowledge to secure gainful employment or start their own micro-enterprises, in sectors with significant opportunities for self-employability. The impact has been profound and multifaceted: - Economic Empowerment: Partners gain skills and knowledge to access sustainable employment or start businesses, leading to increased income and financial independence. - Enhanced Social Status: New skills and economic independence improve the women's social standing, making them role models and leaders in their communities. - Improved Self-Confidence: Acquiring and applying new skills boosts women’s' self-esteem and empowers them to take on challenges. - Community Development: The program fosters self-reliance and economic empowerment, leading to individual success and broader community development initiatives. READ India put this model into practice in 2007, 17 years ago, and have created over 60 Community Library and Resource Centres (CLRCs) nationwide reaching more than 170,000 unique individuals. Lead by Geeta Malhotra and ably assisted by Smita Rai, READ has stood with 50,000+ women. The impact of Read India has been evaluated by their corporate partners, Accenture and Culvar Max. Their evaluation noted that the slow change in economic status or the growth of women’s participation in economic activities is further responsible for more respect for women, both in the community and household. On International Women's Day we stand in solidarity with all the women from READ. #skilling #womenempowerment #genderequality #IWD2025

Working as a National Consultant on Support to Private Sector Partners in Implementing Women's Economic Empowerment Initiatives, I often hear questions from businesses, where to start getting to know Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), where to see case studies, best practices for implementation, etc.? Therefore, I made such a selection of resources to explore #WEPs in more detail: 🌐 Official Resources 🔗 UN Women’s Empowerment Principles Website >> https://www.weps.org ↳ The official site for WEPs provides comprehensive resources, including guides for businesses, case studies, events, and tools for signing and implementing the principles. 🔗 WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool >> https://lnkd.in/eUAaeSE9 ↳ A self-assessment tool to help companies evaluate their performance on gender equality across the workplace, marketplace, and community. 🌐 Implementation Guides 🔗 Empowering Women in the Workplace: Business Case and Action Steps >> https://lnkd.in/etTc_hTe ↳ Offers examples of how companies can use WEPs to promote equality and improve business outcomes. 🔗 United Nations Global Compact: Gender Equality Guidance >> https://lnkd.in/eqBeARF9 ↳ Detailed guidance on integrating WEPs into existing sustainability and corporate social responsibility programs. 🔗 Guide to the training course on implementing the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) >> https://surl.li/gmcmzw ↳ The guide by Ukraine Investment & Trade Facilitation Center (ITFC) to achieve gender equality and support women's economic empowerment during full-scale war in Ukraine and post-war recovery for private sector representatives. 🌐 Reports 🔗 WEPs Tool 2024 Trends Report: Advancing Gender Equality Amidst Global Challenges >> https://lnkd.in/e2BwG4tF ↳ This report presents findings from the WEPs Gender Gap Analysis Tool, highlighting trends and opportunities for advancing gender equality in the workplace, marketplace, and community. 🔗 Women’s Empowerment Principles: A Snapshot of 350 Companies in the G7 >> https://surl.li/jutpcz ↳ This report provides an overview of how companies in the G7 are implementing the WEPs, offering insights into best practices and areas for improvement. 🌐 Academic and Advocacy Resources 🔗 International Labour Organization and UN Women Collaboration on Gender Equality >> https://www.ilo.org ↳ Resources exploring synergies between WEPs and other international frameworks for gender equality at work. 🔗 Catalyst Inc. Resources on Women in Leadership >> https://www.catalyst.org ↳ Practical tools and research that complement the principles of WEPs. 🌐 Workshops and Webinars 🔗 WEPs Learning Sessions >> https://lnkd.in/eYzmGpSf ↳ Many WEPs events and training sessions are hosted by UN Women and partners. #GenderEquality #WomensEmpowerment #WomenInBusiness

Why did it take me three months to design a two-day training program??? In mid-2025, we started developing the EmpowHER Women Empowerment Leadership Program for Telenor Pakistan. The idea was that we wanted to create a program that facilitates women to be more empowered in the work that they do, that sets them to become leaders in their domains. This is something that’s very close to my heart and we wanted to get it right. - Beyond the buzzwords, what does empowerment *really* mean? - What’s the actual lived context of the participants who attend this program? - What is our positionality in the context of our learners? - How can our participants equip themselves for impact and change on Day 0 after the program? - And most importantly, how do we create an experience that doesn’t gaslight women with hollow words, whilst not doing anything in reality for them? In this quest to curate and deliver a meaningful experience, Saima Rana, Ali Nomani, Amna Usman and I worked with the Telenor team over three months to really get it right. The thoughts that went into this program: - Adults learn not from dictated knowledge but from building on top of what they already have. How do we leverage that? - We need a lot of reflection for mindset work, but one that really pushes people, and not just motivational speeches - How do we foster a community where women learn from each other? - How do we simulate real life? - How do we get out of our rooms, out in the open!!!! - What does privilege mean and how does this conversation weave into the program? - How do women who’re still early into their careers learn and emulate those who’re further ahead of them? - What does our own positionality mean when we speak or facilitate from our own positions? After plenty of back and forth, the EmpowHER program was delivered in Islamabad - at the Telenor Headquarters. This was difficult but fascinating work. We utilised the beautiful Islamabadi outdoors for some deeper reflective work. No motivational speeches in this program. The themes included: - How do we take up space - What are gender specific dynamics that show up in what we do. - What does Allyship truly mean? - How do we feedback - speak up? - How do we lean-in to listen and empathise? - What does perseverance mean especially as we set the path for others to follow… Conversations that moved beyond just scratching the surface. Uncomfortable perhaps, but not triggering. Moving beyond the notion of us vs. them and more about personal and structural growth and change. The next time we do this program, we’d like to delve in few topics with a lot (and lots!) of depth instead of touching of many topics at once. It is a privilege to be able to learn from perspectives and lived experiences so rich - and to be in rooms where growth is not seen through competition but via collective action. Thank you to all who made this journey possible. The Learning Group