Jeannie Hebert
September 30, 2019
10 Things
10 Things I Know About ... Women's networks
By Jeannie Hebert
10) Networks for women in the workplace are increasing in both importance and demand. They provide opportunities to pursue growth and learning by sharing experiences, challenges, and wisdom with like-minded professionals.
9) Women who try to network like men to get ahead actually do it less effectively. That’s because they are missing one crucial ingredient, a close inner circle of women, which provides critical information on job opportunities and challenges.
8) Female entrepreneurship is rising. Between 1997 and 2017, the number of women-owned businesses increased by 114%, a rate 2.5 times higher than the national average. Last year, 11.6 million U.S. businesses were women owned.
7) Networks can help female entrepreneurs avoid isolation and tackle the challenges they face by having a group with shared experiences, having a resource focusing on education and making connections, and having a forum to discuss and gain advice without judgment.
6) Participating in a women’s business network is an effective way to find a mentor. According to a LinkedIn study, 82% of women surveyed believe having a mentor is important, yet one out of five women reports lacking this experience.
5) Just 34% of female Baby Boomers (45-66 years old) interviewed for the LinkedIn study have had a woman mentor, while 51% of Gen Y (18-29) women have. At female-only networking events, attendees meet many successful women ready to help.
4) Women spend more time doing and less time networking. In today’s business world, networking has become the lifeblood of a successful professional life. With the demand on women to perform at an equal or better level than their male counterparts, female leaders sometimes assume they don’t have the time for social engagement – yet they should.
3) Joanna Barsh of McKinsey & Co. says “that women’s lack of access to informal networks is a structural obstacle to their career advancement, comparable in impact to lacking a mentor, or appropriate coaching and training.”
2) It has an impact on leadership development. Leadership is increasingly defined not just by how many hours are spent on computers, but the ability to connect to others, how to incorporate outside perspectives, and how to manage time. 67% of women report they learn the most important lessons about leadership from other women.
1) Networking for women in the workplace is not optional anymore; it is a crucial skill to master. It is not a merely exchanging business cards, but it is building relationships on the basis of trust involving a give and take. It is about helping people know who you are, and it is about giving so you can help others.
Jeannie Hebert is president and CEO of the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce in Whitinsville, which has launched a women’s network. Reach her at jhebert@blackstonevalley.org.
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