Creating Women's Networks

If your company doesn't have a women's network, it should. Such networks have proven invaluable to women looking to get ahead at work and to companies looking to enlist, retain, and advance the most talented people possible. But exactly how can you go about starting a women's network or improving one already in existence? Working with women's networks from all regions and industries for fifteen years, Catalyst has become the nation's premier clearinghouse for information and advice on the subject. And with this book, Catalyst makes its much-sought-after expertise available to people everywhere. Here, individuals will find step-by-step, hands-on instructions for creating a network of their own and for increasing the success of networks already in place. Companies will discover what women's networks are all about, how they improve the working environment, and how they contribute to the bottom line. Women with front-line network experience lend their voices to this work and serve as your guides. Relating their own personal experiences and insights, they provide a living, breathing sense of what networks are like in action. Their stories follow the life cycle of a typical network from gestation to adulthood, even to termination once its mission is accomplished, providing best practices for every stage of development. The illuminating questions, useful checklists, and summaries of key points and common pitfalls that accompany every chapter enhance learning and help ensure your success. In all kinds of companies of all sizes, women's networks have had an enormous impact on company culture and policy. They are an ideal way to build the relationships, skills, and knowledge that allow their members an equitable shot at the top and their companies the benefits of a head start in the race for talent.