I've just had an opportunity to review the proposals that were submitted by the 6 scholarship applicants.  I have to say I am so proud of each and every one of these ladies. The hard work and dedication that is required to not only prepare the proposal but the effort that will be necessary to implement them is a measure of their commitment.

I just wanted to congratulate these women on a job well done.  I wish you all the best of luck!

Sometimes it's hard to believe, but over time society has become a much less violent. In general, murder rates have gone down. One thing that has not changed in some places is the treatment of women. Unbelievably almost, child marriages still take place and bride burnings and acid attacks are nearly as common.

The myriad stories Sheryl WuDunn chronicles in her book, Half the Sky , co-written with her husband, fellow-Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Nicholas Kristof, have helped her to appreciate what she has while still fighting for more for women around the world: More freedom, more healthcare, more food, more respect. Just more.

Following her address at the Global Women's Leadership Network during the World Council of Credit Unions ' Annual Meeting, I had the privilege of sitting down with Sheryl to discuss the book, American women's career advancement issues, life and, yes, credit unions."What I really liked was that the credit union was founded on the principal of microsavings," Sheryl explained about why she was attracted to speak to the credit union group. Half the Sky is fraught will stories of women who gain access to capital and enabled to build a better life for themselves and their families, overcoming conditions unimaginable in the U.S. Take for example, Goretti Nyabenda of Burundi in Africa, who disobeyed her drunken husband to form a CARE group, which brought women together to talk about their circumstances and pool their meager funds to take turns borrowing from the pool of funds. Additionally visiting nurses provide basic healthcare and HIV testing. Goretti bought fertilizer with the money she borrowed from her CARE group to improve her potato crop, which served her very well. She was able to expand her banana beer business and to buy a pregnant goat that brought her another goat a few weeks later and milk. At night the goats come into her family's home to sleep so no one will steal them. This is Goretti's success story.

The tale from halfway around the world certainly puts things into perspective for women in developed countries like the U.S. dealing with workplace challenges. Those are still very important and working women still deserve greater progress, but the story of Goretti and others in Half the Sky helps ground us. Microfinance in developing countries is also an area where WOCCU and credit unions can have a significant impact, and already are.

What Goretti learned and built herself with was a network. Female professionals must do the same. It's time to stop taking pity on Goretti, and take a lesson from her. Sheryl WuDunn emphasized this point with me during our conversation. "You need to be a part of a network and networks only work if there's trust among the network," she emphasized. Women who achieve success also need to realize that they have to help the women below them on the corporate ladder in order to stay on top.

It's a point the Sheryl Sandberg also made in Lean In. Some of the well-established female executive built their careers during a time when it was fashionable to have a token woman among the senior ranks-but only one. That led some to keep other women down.The modern female executive must keep in mind, as Sheryl WuDunn added, "You don't get to stay on the top if you don't build support from the bottom."

She continued, "Everybody's heard of the old boys' network and that was very effective...Women just want other things that they can talk about and build camaraderie around." It's human nature that people feel more comfortable around other people like them, but female managers must be careful to expand their networks beyond other women. Sheryl advised that networks should be co-ed because we can all learn a lot from each other.

 

By Sarah Snell Cooke

Publisher/editor-in-chief of CU Times

The Network is happy to announce that we now have a group profile on LinkedIn. You can search for us under "Global Women's Leadership Network (World Council of Credit Unions)" or click here to see our page. Please join the group and feel free to start discussions on our wall. We also invite you to share the group with other women leaders in the credit union industry. Non-members are welcome!

What did your Credit Union do to celebrate International Women's Day??

 At Servus Credit Union in Alberta Canada, the Servus Women's Network held a lunch and learn for all of our network members to commemorate this occasion. We had approximately 85 employees comprised of Men and Women who attended this event. Our guest speaker was our Chief Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility Officer Gail Stepanik-Keber. The presentation shared valuable information and statistics on how Women reshape the business world. The event was well received and employees are looking forward to many more valuable presentations and networking sessions in the future.

 I also had the opportunity to attend 2 external International Women's Day events in my home town of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The first event I attended was a screening of a Sundance Film Festival documentary called "MissRepresentation". This is a must see film for women and men of all ages. The content is US based however provided thought provoking information on how social media effects the behavior and development of our society. Here is the link to preview the film: missrepresentation.org

The second external event was a fundraiser called "The 1000 Women, A Million Possibilities".  This movement is managed by community members working together to maximize the potential of college students for the benefit of our city, province and world.

I curious to see how other women across the world celebrated this special day. Please share your experiences as the Servus Women's Network would like to explore ideas for events for our organization throughout the year.

Thanks!

The term glass ceiling was coined in the 1980s to illustrate women’s struggle to be seen as equals in senior executive positions. While that metaphor holds true today, fissures are appearing where they hadn’t been before. I’m confident that will continue as women climb the corporate ladder and expand their numbers in the marketplace. A 2007 study in the Journal of Organizational Structure, Communications and Conflict found that it certainly exists. The survey was conducted in 2003 and found three women sitting in the corner offices at Fortune 100 companies. This was up proportionally from just two in the Fortune 500 in 1996. Women comprise more than half of the population yet we occupy a meager 3% of the top spots and the most successful companies. Similarly, non-CEO female executives at the Fortune 100 accounted for 5.8% of executives in 2003, up from 2.6% of female officers at the Fortune 500 companies in 1997.However, an area where women (and the men, generally, who hire them) have made remarkable strides is compensation. Several studies have found, particularly at the upper echelons of the pay scale, the differences are nonexistent when it comes to compensation packages. For 2001-2003, according to the Journal article, female non-CEO execs earned a bit more in the median than their male counterparts with the mean reversing slightly. With a sample size of only three female CEOs, a statistical conclusion could not be reached for that set.The study concluded that the glass ceiling is certainly not shattered but a dramatic shift will occur over the next several years as women earn college degrees at twice the rate of men, and because the economy is no longer manufacturing based, which favored men.The glass ceiling is certainly still there but the more of us who chisel away at it the more quickly it will shatter completely. Or should I use a more appropriately feminine term than shatter? No, we need to annihilate it. Obliterate it!To be fair, until recent history, women have made other choices in life that conflicted with or interrupted their careers, such as education level, stereotypical gender roles and family. Even as you look up the corporate ladder, you’ll see most women are in stereotypical female roles, such as HR or marketing. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with those jobs; they’re great! But they tend not to lead to CEO positions, and that’s fine too. Do what you love and you’ll get what you define as your top spot every time.

If a big office is what you crave, it’s nice to know that with confident negotiation your contributions could be valued every bit as much as a man’s.

 

By Sarah Snell Cooke

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

Credit Union Times

Ladies,

thanks to Network Members Catherine Ford and Sue Mitchell's blog posts you had the chance to have some feedback about our engagement program in Ventura, CA.

If you'd like to participate in the next one in Querétaro, Mexico please note that it will now take place on October 7-13, 2012. For further details, visit the "Upcoming Events" section of the website.

We hope to see many of you there!

PS: Don't forget that we're still accepting registrations for this year Global Women's Leadership Forum in Gdańsk!

We are making a difference!  Global Women's Leadership Network had its first U.S. project engagement in Ventura, Calif. (USA).  The five-day session gave participants an opportunity to see World Council's outreach iPhone program in action.  This progressive mobile application allows the credit union to reach out to current and potential members at remote access points.  The participants visited farms, volunteered at community organizations, toured credit union facilities, had bike rides on the beach with the CEO to engage in discussions and formed lifelong friendships that reinforce that doing the right thing is also good business.  Here are just a few comments:

You can appreciate why I feel “I left my heart in Ventura,” although  I brought all of these shining  stars in my heart – as well as brought back with me some ideas on how to perhaps contribute to the success of SMCU serving the underserved, Barry’s culture, vision, passion and commitment.  I can’t wait to see the pictures and share the experience with our San Francisco “Sisterhood“ at our meeting in August.
- Connie Paniagua, San Mateo Credit Union, San Mateo, Calif. (USA)

We had a wonderful time on our trip.  I met Joe Schroeder, CEO, from VCCU, Brandi  Stankovic of Mitchell, Stankovic, and Associates, and Nicole Bice from World Council. All nice people.  Joe's credit union is really neat.  They know their membership and are working to make sure that they service them in every way possible.  WOCCU put on a very informative and well organized conference.  During our trip to the fields, we observed workers picking celery, which reminded me of going out on my grandfather's farm back home.  Edith from the credit union sets up for business in their break room.  She has programming on an iPhone so she can sign members up and make transactions. This was my first experience with a bilingual group, so it was very interesting to me to observe the interaction. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to go!
- Donita Wendt, Ser Technology, Dallas, Texas (USA).

It was a great time, and I really enjoyed spending time with all these ladies.  It was good and made me feel more connected with GWLN and WOCCU.   I still have a heart for reaching the people in the fields, and I think we can find a way to do that, especially here in Santa Cruz. 
- Beth Carr, Santa Cruz Community Credit Union, Santa Cruz, Calif. (USA)

Ladies,

The agenda for the 2012 Global Women's Leadership Forum in Gdańsk, Poland is now accessible online! Please go to the "Upcoming Events" section of this website and look for the "Global Women's Leadership Forum in Gdańsk, Poland" article.

We hope to see you all there!

-Global Women's Leadership Network

The Canadian Co-Operative Association highlighted International Women's Day in their newsletter today.  Take a look at what they're doing locally and around the world with credit union development.

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=euuattcab&v=001Kq5KIUlW9l3ObCsDer7nd34hjnu9lIjRfSdAESzgMxAwq_4VO_PO_PUfYwOUk5XVumFs_Jm-1O6lxybyFvsooWQjRBmP_7jmxnsIQoCdbkS-y_BSXknxRD4nQbhNjyuq

 

No one has a crystal ball — but we can foresee what credit union regulations might be coming down the pipeline. To better prepare ourselves I’d like to invite you to an exclusive World Council of Credit Unions webinar designed to keep you at the forefront of global regulatory compliance issues. The Basel III Capital Accord and CU Regulation Webinar will be offered on Feb. 1, 2012, from 9 to 11 a.m. Central Standard Time (CST) in English and on Feb. 2, 2012, from 9 to 11 a.m. Central Standard Time (CST) in Spanish. The cost is • US$100 for World Council members with developed CU movements (Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Poland, USA) • US$50 for World Council members with developing CU movements • US$200 for non-members You’ll hear from regulatory expert Glenn Westley and learn about the most influential regulatory guidelines in the world — the Basel III Capital Accord. Find out what changes may be coming and how they could directly or indirectly affect your credit union. Plus, you will have the opportunity to ask your most pressing questions. To sign up visit www.woccu.org/webinars.

International Credit Union (ICU) Day^® is celebrated globally throughout the movement.  This year's ICU Day theme, "Credit Unions Build a Better World", celebrates the important economic and social contributions credit unions make to their communities worldwide. Financial cooperatives around the globe will celebrate their heritage and contributions today, Oct. 20.

CU Currency's Tim McAlpine shared three unique ICU Day videos this morning on his blog "Credit Unions Matter".  You should check it out - http://www.currencymarketing.ca/blog/introducing-three-epic-music-videos-that-all-credit-unions-c.html.

How are you celebrating ICU Day?