MADISON, Wis.–A diverse panel of leaders have shared their thoughts on what the credit union community has to do to ensure women take their rightful place in the leadership ranks.
A separate discussion focused on the importance of the “empathy muscle.”
The insights were shared during a virtual Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN) Forum that was part of the 2021 Virtual World Credit Union Conference hosted by the World Council of Credit Unions. The session was one of three promoting the “SheforShe” initiative, which organizers described as a continuing effort to encourage leaders to become active in promoting women to leadership roles in the credit union industry.
"I think, often times, some of our structures are antiquated," said Marsha Major, president and CEO of U.S. Eagle FCU. "What I mean by that is, we have to consciously create more opportunities for what they have to offer—the value of what women can bring to an organization."
Added Teresa Freeborn, GWLN chair and president of Kinecta Credit Union, "Of the people who work in our industry more than 70% are women. So why can't we carry that forward to say, 'Why can't 70% of our managers be women?’ What's important now is to start thinking about those strategies. Men need to be at the table. They need to help us and they need to be emotional about it."
The Empathy Muscle
The third GWLN Forum session of the day, titled "Strengthen Your Leadership Empathy Muscle,” was hosted by Keri Schwebius, founder and president of Ellevate Executive Coaching.
According to Schwebius, studies show high-performing leaders tend to have higher emotional intelligence (EQ) than their peers. Schwebius delved into how organizations can help their leaders excel in EQ by talking about using empathy, the art of listening and other factors in the process of making intelligent decisions for credit unions, WOCCU reported.
“When people feel disconnected, they feel less motivated, they are less willing to share information with each other,” said Schwebius. “People with high EQ are more likely to have increased performance in effectiveness, relationships, wellbeing and overall quality of life. When you are empathetic and you really care about the people you’re leading, you’ll want to share constructive feedback, you’ll want to see them succeed.”
2021 GWLN Scholarship Recipients Named
Recipients of the 2021 GWLN Scholarship were also on hand for the GWLN Forum and were also recognized at a celebration event afterwards. Each year, GWLN noted awards scholarships to female leaders within the credit union industry so they may acquire new skills, tools and resources to make an impact and further their professional development.
The scholars received:
- A complimentary registration to the 2021 World Credit Union Conference (WCUC)
- A complimentary one-year membership to the Global Women’s Leadership Network
- A complimentary registration to the 2021 Virtual Executive Readiness Summit (October 27-29)
GWLN strategic partners CO-OP Financial Services, CUNA Mutual Group and PSCU sponsored the day’s sessions.