Annual Meeting Celebrates the WISE 10-Year Anniversary
On November 14, WISE held its 10th Annual Meeting. While the meeting was virtual, the connection created through the speakers and content made the event feel personal and communal.
WISE Chair Jen Linke opened the meeting with a review of the programs and events that have evolved since WISE began. “It’s been an incredible 10 years,” reflects Jen. “WISE has created a safe space not just for women, but for everyone, to come together to talk openly about issues that they’re facing on both a professional and personal level and talk about solutions.” WISE webinars, networking events, mentor circles and annual meetings have impacted hundreds of private label professionals over the years. One of the most beloved programs, Top Women in Storebrands, was also featured during the meeting with the recognition of nine amazing women contributing to the success of private brands. This year, a new award was presented by WISE and Storebrands Magazine for DEI Company of the Year with Lowe’s Companies Inc. being its first recipient.
A special anniversary year meeting needed a powerhouse feature presentation. For this, WISE enlisted the Band of Sisters. The Band of Sisters is a group of C-suite women from PepsiCo who are leading and coaching organizations in practicing inclusive leadership and developing inclusive work culture. Lori Tauber Marcus, Katie Lacey, Angelique Bellmer Krembs, Mitzi Short and Ce Nicholson taught the audience about how the micro moments add up to big barriers for championing diversity in an organization. The group introduced the audience to concepts coined Great Idea Greg, Be Like Bill and Mancentives to provide context to how language, preconception and staying quiet all lead to continued barriers to organizational change especially for women.
While there were numerous “ah-ha moments” listening to the Sisters’ discussion, perhaps the most impactful message was that of the importance of allyship. Katie highlighted the fact that through their many conversations with leaders there’s an appetite to learn. She noted, “There’s a large group of men who want to be allies; they just don’t know how.” Katie emphasized the importance of sponsors and mentors in being allies. “It’s hard to just put it on your to do list, to just go out, and get a sponsor,” she said. And generally for women, it’s harder. The Sisters contend that women are hurt by a number of things when it comes to finding sponsors: 1) they are not always as aware of the power structure within the organization, 2) if you tend to want to work with a woman as a sponsor, you’re less likely find someone with access to power by simple numbers, 3) being sponsored means being noticed and recognized by other people; its more self- promotion that than some women like and 4) men can be less comfortable in doing the same kind of sponsorship activities that they might be comfortable doing with a man for fear of misconstrued attention or me-too backlash. To overcome some of these issues, Ce suggested that women look for people within the organization who are natural at bringing people along. “If they’re good at sponsoring one person, they’ll be good about sponsoring more than one.” Mitzi also encouraged women to ask for what they want. You can trust in your competencies and in the people planning process in an organization, but that’s not enough. “Trust the process and ask for what you want,” she said.
During the discussion with the Band of Sisters, the chat field was full of comments describing the micro-moments that many had been through or witnessed, and a call to action for all of us to be better allies in 2023. It felt like a fitting way to not only wind down the annual meeting discussion, but to also march into 2023 with renewed purpose. As we celebrate how far WISE has come in the last 10 years, it’s thrilling to think about where WISE will be in the next 10 years.