Creating Better, More Beneficial Networking Opportunities for Women in Finance
March 8, 2018 by Melanie Franke
At BISA’s 2018 Annual Convention, women in the BISA community came together for a networking lunch, as they have in previous years, to connect, network and share stories of how they got to where they are, and how they can help other women looking to expand career opportunities.
Why is it important for women in finance to meet up at the convention every year? According to 2017 research from Catalyst.org, at S&P 500 companies in the financial services industry, women make up 54 percent of the labor force but are only 29 percent of executive– and senior-level managers and only two percent of CEOs. Although half of the industry is female, that ratio is not represented at the top, and women need to support one another to make it to those leadership levels.
At the 2017 women’s networking session, Betty Moon of SAP collected responses and feedback from the women in the room at the event. She shared some of that feedback at this year’s lunch, and the responses showed the need for this group of women to continue connecting and growing in the future. Coming out of the 2017 session, Moon identified about seven trends based on the comment cards, and found three to be particularly impactful:
- Being bold and fearless. One woman wrote in her comment card, “I always expected that if I just work hard that someone would notice me; I unfortunately now know that is not the case.” Many more shared the importance of self-promotion and self-branding to increase their awareness of their work within their companies early on — and before they were looked over for a promotion.
- Being more strategic in career development. One woman wrote that, “Hoping is not a strategy,” while another commented on the need to actively shape your career and not just let the waves take you.
- The power of networking. Many commenters expressed their wish to be involved with organizations that helped them network earlier on in their career. Moon stressed the importance to “seek out and surround yourself with strong, smart women because they never let you down.”
It is this last larger trend — networking — that became the focus of the 2018 Women’s Networking Lunch. Moon posed the question to the larger group: When it comes to networking, what is a good practice that you have used in the past?
Over lunch, the room was filled with conversations, but one thing was certain: Events are the cornerstone for creating networking opportunities for women in finance. Here were some of the insights from one table’s conversation surrounding creating more and better networking opportunities for women in the finance industry:
- Attend the same networking events regularly. One attendee expressed the importance of recurring events and attending month-after-month or year-after-year to make sure you reconnect with the people you met at the last event while also meeting new people.
- Keep women’s networking events for women. Although much can be gained by having both genders in the same room discussing gender issues in the workplace, many attendees also noted that keeping certain events for just for women has its benefits because it facilitates more honest, open conversations. One attendee noted, “Empowerment starts with women being able to have these conversations.”
- Continuously reach out to other women. Many attendees shared an experience of reaching out to partner colleagues at other organizations when attending women’s networking events. One person commented, “We’re their clients or they’re our clients in different circumstances,” and these are all opportunities to reach out and bring them along to foster stronger connections.
- Bring younger women — and even daughters — with you. One attendee mentioned that she went to a networking event recently where some of the other women had brought their high-school-aged daughters to the event. This isn’t often considered when attending women’s networking events, but it is such a powerful message to show daughters and young women what their career could actually look like.
What started as an idea to create a space for women to come together as a community has now become a robust event for the women of BISA. Many walked away with new friends, rekindled connections and new ideas to bring back to their organizations.
