Partnering for Parity
As our 25th Anniversary Year gets into full swing, I am proud of, and encouraged by, the strides in gender parity our corporate partners are making. It’s a testimony to their commitment to inclusiveness.
The Impact of Partnering for Parity
According to a McKinsey study, Women in the Workplace 2018: “Closing the corporate gender gap isn’t a side issue. It’s an economic necessity. Programs and policies designed to reduce bias and ensure fairness don’t just benefit women. They benefit everyone. In the best workplaces, the most talented people can rise, no matter who they are. That should be the expectation for every workplace, everywhere.”
WOMEN Unlimited and our corporate partners understand these widespread benefits of gender parity and work together to develop initiatives that meet the needs of both individual organizations and their talented women. I’m honored to share two testimonials on the sustainable program results our corporate partners enjoy.
Daniel Marsili, Chief Human Resources Officer, Colgate-Palmolive put it this way: “WOMEN Unlimited is helping us accelerate women into leadership on a global level.”
Michael J. Chamberlain, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Global Brand & Strategic Communications, Catalyst let us know that: “Over the last decade several women on my teams have participated in WOMEN Unlimited’s development programs. Each has emerged as a stronger, more confident leader. Each now values themselves and their potential as they always should have. Women are indeed “unlimited” and the WOMEN Unlimited programs teach us all to see and value this.”
Looking Back – Moving the Needle of Gender Parity
Here are some of the positive outcomes resulting from WOMEN Unlimited and top corporations partnering for parity:
- Over 200 leading organizations including Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, John Deere and Prudential Financial, just to name a few, have addressed and overcome major stumbling blocks that stand in the way of their female talent advancing to corporate leadership
- Over 13,000 women from all career levels have put into practice career-advancing strategies and behaviors as a result of involvement in developmental programs
- Hundreds of corporate leaders have had the opportunity to mentor talented women in our programs, often expanding their own insights about managing high-potential women while helping mentees expand theirs
- Alumnae, through The WUN (The WOMEN Unlimited Alumnae Network) continue to gain leadership insights, while enjoying valuable connections with other cross-functional, cross-industry leaders. Graduates of all three programs, IMpower, LEAD and The FEW benefit from, at no cost, exclusive career-advancing resources including webinars and newsletters on leadership concepts and strategies.
- Corporate partner resources, including interactive webinars and informational presentations, create a platform for sharing best practices, while helping corporate leaders stay apprised of the latest trends in career development and gender parity
- On-going independent research of women, managers, mentors and HR professionals is contributing to the body of knowledge and spearheading progress on gender parity issues and initiatives
Looking Ahead: Building on Our Success
This 25th Anniversary Year will bring with it a number of new initiatives to continue moving the needle of gender parity for our partners. Among them:
- Mentor Development Programs: We know that successful mentoring is about much more than matching. That’s why we are excited to introduce programs that capture our 25 years of expertise in developing mentoring relationships that work. These development programs will provide enhanced benefits to mentors, mentees and to a broader base of women and men in our partner organizations.
- Virtual Peer Mentoring Programs: All new and aimed at our alumnae, these peer mentoring programs will allow our alumnae to easily and conveniently continue their development and expand the experience and critical relationships they gained from their WOMEN Unlimited program. These programs will keep the “power of the room” ongoing.
- Going Global: Most of our corporate partners have a global footprint and are keen on offering programs to ALL their talented women, regardless of location. WOMEN Unlimited will be designing development programs to be offered to high potential women working outside the United States.
As a WOMEN Unlimited team member said during one of our 25th Anniversary celebrations: “Here’s to the relentless expansion of partnerships for parity!” We’re ready. Stay tuned!
Dr. Rosina L. Racioppi
President & CEO
WOMEN Unlimited, Inc.