March 07, 2024

DEI women learning and development

A year has passed since our last post on the Elevate Women’s ERG, and March being International Women’s Month, it’s a good time to review how much our ERG has flourished in the past year. 

From the earliest days of this ERG, a guiding principle has been that its programming is driven by our membership. When we asked our colleagues what they were missing at Elevate, what they were searching for, and what they sought in a Women’s ERG, the resounding themes in our answers were connections and development. 

With that as our guide, we developed three core initiatives, all of which have continued to drive interest, learning, and engagement: ‘The Pressure to Do it All’ Roundtables, the ‘HerStory’ series, and monthly Coffee Bars. For all these, we tailored our scheduling to drive global participation and see regular attendance from our Elevate colleagues in Asia, Europe, and North America. 

‘The Pressure to Do It All’ Roundtables 

Our Roundtables continue to be meaningful times to come together to have honest and authentic conversations about the challenges we face at work and home and share tools and insights that have helped us navigate these challenges more effectively. Our discussions are consistently stimulating and productive, with the Roundtables creating a safe space for ERG members to be validated, connected, and inspired by fellow participants. 

The ‘HerStory’ Series 

The HerStory Series remains a prized jewel of the Women’s ERG. Featuring female Elevate leaders sharing their personal and professional journeys, the presenters included Brinda Kotian (Managing Director, Legal Operations – APAC), Megan Heltemes (Vice President, Sales), and Joyce Thorne (Chief People Office and Co-Founder). Each brought their own approach and energy to these discussions. We are grateful to all the women who presented for being so open and authentic in combining advice from a personal and professional perspective. 

Monthly Coffee Bars 

Open to all members of the ERG, we host Coffee Bars in two different time zones to support accessibility for those wanting to connect socially. These events are a virtual monthly social time to connect and get to know our ERG colleagues. Creating the space for those connections is especially important as most of our workforce works remotely. Without in-person opportunities to cross paths in the hallway or chat on the way to coffee, the Coffee Bars are a virtual equivalent for the kinds of unstructured social interactions with colleagues that so many of us crave in today’s remote and WFH world. 

The Year Ahead 

Our successes and accomplishments in 2023 leave us excited for the coming year. In addition to continuing our existing triad of programming, we will launch an initiative to incorporate a new approach to bring male and non-binary colleagues into the mix. We know the conversations we’re having will provide ample learning opportunities for all genders.  

Meanwhile – to echo our feelings a year ago –we remain beyond impressed by and appreciative of the collective brain power of the ERG’s members and the connections we have together fostered.