Do We Need a Good Old Girls Network?

Orender quoted Madeleine Albright as saying, “There is a place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”

So let’s just say that we all agree that women in business—and life— should be helping each other out. Exactly what does that mean? Does it mean that women supervisors hire other women as often as we can? That when it comes time to employ an attorney or financial planner or dentist, we only consider female candidates? That we make time to mentor young women in our professions?

Recently, I interviewed Carol Tome, the CFO of Home Depot, for My Mentor: Home Depot CFO Talks About the Women Who Inspired Her. I asked her if it was important for women to mentor other women and she said yes, that’s why she started a group at Home Depot called the Velvet Hammers.

I also know two advertising executives in Atlanta, Margaret Gearing and Susan Frost, who recently struck out on their own. On several occasions, they have told me about the informal network of women who advised them on all things entrepreneurial, including how to negotiate for office space.

Years ago, long before I started working at DivineCaroline, I had the good fortune of eating lunch with Gail Evans, a former Turner Broadcasting executive and the author of a couple of books about women in the workplace. In her book, She Wins, You Win, Evans argues the following point: every time a woman succeeds in business, every other woman’s chance of succeeding increases. Every time a woman fails in business, every other woman’s chance of failing increases.

Evans encourages women to work as a team.

Back at the NAWBO conference, Orender told the audience, “There is the power in this room to change the world.” Indeed, there was a positive energy in that room. Perhaps the vibe of the good old girls network?

Though the conference was packed with business owners from across the country, I had the lucky accident of sitting with a group from Atlanta, where I also live. I plan to learn more about the local chapter, which has about one hundred members. The idea of knowing that many women savvy and brave enough to own their own businesses is exciting.