From its roots as a networking and support group for senior executive women, The Leadership Investment has grown to encompass a wide range of programs that foster gender equality.
And while it has expanded its reach, the 18-year-old organization continues to focus on empowering women to be leaders in business and the community.
It’s not easy work. Women still hold only 17 percent of corporate board seats and fewer than 15 percent of executive leadership positions. And Colorado ranks 48th in the country for the number of women on public boards of directors.
“The needle is not moving. We still have a typical pyramid for women getting to the C-Suite,” says Robin Heller, the organization’s president and CEO. “We’re 50 percent of the workforce, but as we move up the ranks of leadership – whether it’s corporate or nonprofit – it’s still that pyramid. We want to shift that to a square box where you have 50/50 opportunity at every level.”
To help get women there, The Leadership Investment provides a variety of opportunities.
Networking continues to be as important as it was when Stephanie Allen helped found the organization, originally known as the Women’s Vision Foundation. “Networking is critical,” Heller says. “We haven’t created those networks early in our careers, which you need as you get to the senior ranks. It’s not just credentials. We have to help them build that.”
The organization’s signature event, the Women’s Success Forum, takes networking a step further and offers “the latest and greatest about what’s going on in the leadership arena,” Heller says. The annual event, which will be held on Oct. 23 at the Convention Center, draws between 1,200 and 1,400 women and men from across the Front Range.
Education also is key. Leadership programs, speakers, monthly events and webinars provide members with crucial information. This year, the emphasis will be on a holistic approach for success: members as individuals, their teams, their organizations and their communities.
The annual Mentor’s Walk, scheduled for June 18 at City Park, partners mentees with local business executives to discuss different issues the mentees may be facing.
The group changed its name to The Leadership Investment two years ago to distinguish itself from other nonprofits focused on women. In addition, “we know we need to have men in the conversation and to get where we need to get. We’re very inclusive,” Heller says.
As it looks to the future, The Leadership Investment is stepping up its efforts. An Ignite the Night event, scheduled for March 12, invites government officials, economic development groups, community and nonprofit leaders as well as corporations to join forces to help open those boardrooms and executive doors to women.
“We’re upping our game,” Heller says. “We want to ignite and accelerate the shift to a world where women hold 50 percent of the leadership positions at all levels.”
