Credit - Emmanuelle Delmas-Glass
A Year in Review
One year ago today, Yale University launched their fifth affinity group, Working Women’s Network, with an overwhelming positive response. In the last 12 months, WWN has organized 10 events and sponsored 26 other events with themes ranging from work-life balance to women’s rights and financial planning.
In the past year, WWN has hosted many distinguished Yale and non-Yale speakers. For example, Linda Lorimer, Vice President for Global and Strategic Initiatives and Executive Sponsor of WWN and Deborah Stanley-McAulay, Chief Diversity Officer both introduced WWN during its launch event. Additionally, Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International, delivered the Gruber Distinguished Lecture in Women’s Rights at the Yale Law School. Shauna King, Vice President of Finance & Business Operations and Len Peters, Chief Information Officer, lead a conversation about finding one’s leadership path in IT professions. Dr. Kathleen McGinn, the Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Chair of Harvard Business School’s Doctoral Programs, lectured on how to close the gender gap on earnings. Hugh Penney, Senior Director of Compensation and Benefits, highlighted Yale’s retirement plans, health & welfare plans, as well as staff compensations. Shana Schneider, founder of FITWEEK, advised her audience on how to incorporate fitness into their busy lives.
Many of the events offered through WWN were hands-on workshops related to specific work-life issues, such as “Flextime in the Workplace”, organized by the WorkLife Program. Others were geared toward offering professional advice to working women, such as the Career Exploration workshops organized by the Office of Diversity & Inclusion. Additional events offered financial guidance, such as the “Financial Planning Seminar” organized by the Yale LGBTQ Affinity Group, and the “Woman’s Guide to Financially Ever After” workshop co-sponsored by HR’s Benefits Planning. These economic workshops have had a tremendous impact on women at Yale. TIAA-CREF reports that it has reached a milestone within its Woman2Woman program. According to their calculations, over 10,000 women have received financial guidance through their programs, and WWN has been seminal in furthering benefits planning education for women employees at the University.
In an effort to further its reach and impact, WWN has collaborated with the other Yale affinity groups as well as organizations outside of Yale this past year. WWN considers these collaborations crucial because they allow for the creation of ties between parties interested in supporting and advancing the same causes. Following this holistic model, WWN participated in the Walk in Her Shoes event with the Rape Crisis Center of Milford. WWN strives to call attention to issues which affect women at Yale on professional as well as personal levels.
Not all events were held in auditoriums and lecture halls. In celebration of the Association of Yale Alumni’s Day of Service, WWN joined the Yale LGBTQ Affinity Group at the Common Ground High School Urban Farm to help plant the farm’s organic garden. Cheering on the Yale Women’s sports teams was also a popular and fun way to let more people know about WWN. This summer, WWN offered two walking tours of the Yale campus, highlighting the illustrious women who helped shape its history. The groups met at Maya Lin’s Women’s Table and learned about Yale Law School’s first female student, Alice Rufie Jordan, who registered using only her initials. Other influential women highlighted on the tour were Anne Allen, Yale’s first female dining hall staff member (Davenport College) and Florence Bingham Kinne, Yale’s first female instructor (Pathology Department) .
“This was a great tour. We are really glad we took it and I learned a lot in a very short time. Lunch was an extra bonus – Delicious and much appreciated” said one of the participants.
Since its inception, WWN has had extremely positive feedback on its activities. Women who have come to the presentations offered throughout the past year have found the speakers to be engaging experts in their fields.
“Laura was great. I really learned a lot. A lot of insight & humor, very practical workshop” said one attendee of Laura Freebairn-Smith’s workshop on work-life balance.
The variety of programs and resources highlighted by WWN furthered its goal of providing opportunities for women to develop their careers at Yale while balancing other aspects of their lives. The WWN leadership committee is very proud of this network of ambitious and creative women. The affinity group takes its role of advocate for policy improvements at Yale very seriously and it looks forward to continued success in the coming years. If you would like to learn more about WWN events and leadership opportunities, please visit our website or email wwn@yale.edu.