Executive Women's Networking Blog : Women Executive News & Information : Epstein Becker Green Law Firm : Business Development, Women Lawyers, Female Business Leaders

Wanted to give a “shout out” to the wonderful work of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL). On July 20, 2011, the EpsteinBeckerGreen Women’s Initiative was privileged to sponsor a “Night of Giving” in conjunction with NAWL's Annual Meeting. For those professional women who read this blog and who are lawyers, NAWL is an organization that is about us and for us and – another good and professional way to network with successful women! The “Night of Giving” is a way that women attorneys, all of whom are members of NAWL, assist women and girls in various projects and organizations around the country that espouse the cause and champion the efforts of women in various academic and professional disciplines.

This most recent NAWL event was dedicated to benefitting the work of the Young Women’s Leadership Network (YWLN), a nonprofit organization that supports programs focused on helping urban youth break the cycle of poverty through college readiness and college access. Attendees at the event, who had been asked to bring various school supplies – from pens and pencils to thumb drives and phone cards – chatted, laughed, and listened to speakers as they wrapped journals to which they added their personal words of encouragement for the recipients. Speaking at the event, EBG partner Amy J. Traub, expressed the firm’s appreciation for the strong partnership that exists between NAWL and the EpsteinBeckerGreen Women’s Initiative:

It is through the efforts of the Women’s Initiative that EpsteinBeckerGreen was first introduced to NAWL. We stand behind NAWL and have formed our own internal EBG-NAWL Committee to help promote and foster the professional empowerment of women in the law and in the boardroom. We continue to look for ways to support NAWL’s efforts, and tonight is just one way that we can do that.

While some of us demonstrated better-honed wrapping skills than others, there was certainly no disparity when it came to generosity of spirit – just a group of women all giving of their time and energy to help smooth the path for the next generation of professional women – and having a really good time in the process!

Because of today's unstable job climate, it's not unusual for professional women to develop a "me vs. them" attitude towards co-workers in an effort to defend their turf and opportunities.

While our troubled times may breed such negativity and competition, Sylvia Ann Hewlett has seen the opposite--professional women lending a helping hand to each other. In the Forbes.com article "Ding, Dong, The Witch Is Dead," Hewlett writes that some professional women are participating in a new way of networking by forming "personal boards of directors" or networking peer groups that offer advice and support to help colleagues weather the recessionary storm and find new jobs.

Hewlett's article spotlights Subha Barry, Merrill Lynch's former head of global diversity. When Subha felt that her career would be jeopardized by Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch, she "convened a personal board of directors: a diverse group of eight professional women from banking, accounting, human resources and the law." As the article notes, the board members weren't Subha's best friends, but people who knew her from prior jobs and professional associations. The board identified Subha's "strengths, values, goals, options and next steps," offered advice on which job fields to pursue, and put her in touch with others who could provide further assistance. Subha noted that her personal board gave her a feeling that she always had people to turn to.

The article also provides examples of other peer groups, including Lehman Brothers' alumnae, who recently created a network that provides women with "emotional support, practical assistance, and professional development."

I highly recommend that you read Hewlett's inspiring article, as well as the accompanying slideshow "In Pictures: Seven Tips for Great Networking," which contains more useful networking advice.

Have professional women formed networking groups at your company or have you encountered such groups outside your work? If yes, please let us know your experiences with them.