The majority of large companies in corporate America recognize that Employee Resource Groups (ERGs, also sometimes called Affinity Networks) are crucial components to creating inclusive workplaces. Yet while ERGs exist at companies across industries, the efforts of these groups are disparate and uncoordinated. If ERGs continue to exist in isolation from one another, there’s a missed opportunity to leverage them as a means of driving gender parity.
That’s why Fairygodboss created our signature event GALVANIZE: Making Women’s Resource Groups Powerful. To help identify and discuss possible paths for expedited progress, Fairygodboss annually convenes hundreds of top executives, diversity professionals and women’s ERG leaders to facilitate collaboration. At the 2018 event, held Oct. 15-16 in New York City, more than 250 speakers and attendees gathered and identified five imperatives at that every business leader should consider to increase the effectiveness of women’s networks and drive equality in the workplace:
1. Create a Sense of Urgency
2. Use Data To Power The Conversation
3. Promote More Women Into Positions of Power
4. Address Unconscious Bias Head On
5. Be Adaptable: One Size Does Not Fit All