I must say that years ago I would have said a firm no.
I used to find women’s networks difficult to navigate…
I found work environments that were mainly female, difficult. To be honest, I found them unsupportive, cliquey and dare I say it, b****y
By contrast, professional environments which were more male dominated, I found easier. People tended to be more straightforward. Conversations may have been tough at times but they were had, and then everyone moved on.
I’ve alway been a person that thinks out loud. Sometimes those thoughts come out quite coherently 😂 and sometimes they can be a bit of a mess. It also means that I may not always have measured the impact of my words. This was rarely a problem when speaking to my ale colleagues, who would just laugh or tell me exactly what they thought. With my female colleagues it tended to be more complicated, with assumptions being made and not voiced and whispers happening later in corners of the office or outside work.
And then it all changed…
I met a group of women over a number of years who were more like me
Professional career women with ambition and heart who were happy to hear me out and laugh with me, tell me when they disagreed and still go out for lunch or dinner. Women who enjoyed being supported and cheered on by me and who did the same for me. Women who shared the same values of Trust, Kindness, Belonging and Making a Difference, and so much more.
I know it’s overused, but I found my tribe.
I then discovered the conversations that I could have (which I wasn’t even aware of) that somehow I wasn’t having before…
The questions I could ask in a way that was understood and supported.
The extra courage I found knowing that they would be there to support and encourage me even if I didn’t ask for it.
I’ve struggled with this….
I truly believe that for equity to exist in professional environments we need women and men to work together AND I also believe that women need to learn to support each other to grow in ways that only happen when they have their own space to do it in first.
What are your thoughts?
Either reply in the comments here or go to this post and let me know
I really would love to know
Sx
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✨ About Sonia Gavira ✨
Sonia Gavira MBA, PCC is a leadership and executive coach, consultant and Certified Practitioner in Brain and Behaviour Change and Master Practitioner in NLP. Coming from a strong commercial background in marketing to Marketing Director level. Sonia has spent more than 20 years working with Executives, Directors and Managers in organisations helping them lead themselves, their teams and their organisations successfully.
Today Sonia’s interest lies in helping leaders embrace a new style of leadership that allows people to be themselves and embrace compassion, care and kindness as well as strength, power and decisiveness - polarities that too often drive leaders one way or the other. This has lead her to be involved in a number of programmes helping women ask for and progress to senior roles within organisations, and do so in a way that balances all aspects of their life.Sonia is also an expert in motivation, enabling individuals, teams and organisations to tap into what will drive them to peak performance.
