Each topic comes with it’s own unique objectives, but these benefits of a women’s initiative workshop are consistent. Before you plan your next event, ask yourself: Will it create bonds? Will it work? And will it last?
Three Reasons to Get Creative with your Women’s Initiative
At Gild, we are notorious for loving to get our hands dirty with a creative project. Although our business has changed and grown a lot over the past few years, we have always had a mission at the heart of what we do that centers around confidence, creativity, and community. And while our central focus has shifted from craft projects to women’s issues (in the form of workshops, strategy, and training), creativity is still at the heart of what we do. We often get questions about why we are so passionate about the benefits of being creative with your women’s initiative participants, so we thought we’d share a few of those benefits here.
Responding to Women’s Initiative Pushback
We’ve heard just about everything when it comes to the perceptions of women’s initiatives within organizations. We’ve seen organizations where all employees are bought-in—they see the value, and they have both men and women participating in driving equality in the workplace. But, we’ve also seen organizations where there is women’s initiative pushback, or a lack of understanding on what the purpose of the initiative is and the goals it is trying to reach.
Before Convincing Employees that Women’s Initiatives are Worth Their Time, Convince Their Leaders
Busy. Overwhelmed. Buried under work. Treading water. Barely surviving.
These are phrases that we hear our friends (and ourselves) use on a regular basis when we discuss our jobs. When we combine the stress we feel at work with our personal responsibilities outside of the office, it can often feel like too much to juggle. More organizations than ever are trying to serve their female employees through women’s initiatives, many of which aim to help tackle the constant state of “overwhelmed” that many women are stuck in. These initiatives have the best intentions, and even call in outside resources to plan amazing programming for their female workforce. However, organizers still tell us that one of their biggest challenges in getting women engaged is convincing them that women’s initiatives are worth their time– time that, as we know, is a precious and limited resource.
Three Signs it is Time to Break Up With Your Mentor
If you are developing purposeful mentor relationships and giving a bit of structure to them, there should also be a structure in place for knowing when it is time to wrap up the ‘formal’ part of your agreement. We know this person has become important to you over time, and they certainly don’t drop out of your life—it may just be time to free up your time (and theirs) for a more beneficial relationship for your next challenge.
Goal Update: Time Management
I believe goal updates like this one are so important. Sometimes we fall into a pattern of seeing someone else’s posts or goals and assume that the road to achieving them is easy. The reality for me is that something that seems small—taking control of my time—has a huge impact on my well-being and sanity, but it doesn’t come without its own bumps in the road. Whatever your challenge is… keep going!
Women's Initiatives: How to Start A Women's Initiative
If you’re new to this series, you may want to check out our recent posts about women’s initiatives: What Are They? and When Do You Need a Women’s Initiative? before digging in here. If you already know that your organization needs to…
What Matters to Women in the Workplace: Communication, Leadership Development, and Unconscious Bias
Xavier University Alumni
Bringing Passion Together: The Women’s Initiative Roundtable
Women’s Initiatives: When do you need a women’s initiative?
Bizwomen Cabinet
Women’s Initiatives: What are they?
A women’s initiative can go by many names—a women’s group, a women’s network, a women’s employee resource group, affinity group, or a company-branded network name. While different names may mean slight variations in structure, they all have the goal of bringing together individuals (yes! both women and men) in an organization.
YWCA Women's Leadership Boot Camp
What I'm Reading: Feminist Fight Club
Women in Digital (Cincinnati)
Late Night Miami
Mentorship Ground Rules for Eradicating Eye Rolls
I strongly believe in the power of having key mentors to guide and support you through this crazy life. By following these ground rules, we can show the impact that purposeful, time-sensitive, sometimes unexpected, but overall done-right mentorship relationships can have. Maybe we’ll even win over a few eye-rollers in the process!