Do women need their own leadership conference? Mike Welchannounced his “no” vote quite strongly in his Sept. 28th column.But judging from the feedback I heard from attendees at CUNA'sWomen's Leadership Summit in June, most would agree with me thatthe opportunity to network with other female executives offeredexchanges and discussions that probably wouldn't take place in amixed group. No, we did not spend our time bashing men. But we didspend some time discussing our insecurities with risk-taking, howto approach a male-dominated leadership team or board about apromotion or higher salary, and how to prepare ourselves for movingout of the world of smaller credit unions into the much smallerring – but with much greater potential – of larger credit unions.While I'm sure men could have offered substance to the discussionsand would have been sensitive to any private disclosures made, thefact is that women feel much more comfortable discussing (andrevealing) their strengths and weaknesses before their own gender.When I was the CEO of Mazuma Credit Union, we were preparing forstaff diversity training and asked employees to complete a surveyregarding attitudes and perceptions of the work environment. Onequestion asked whether they perceived differences in how men versuswomen employees were treated. In an organization that was 85%female, including the executive team, I expected to find the malestaff felt some discrimination. However, it was the female staffwho expressed that the men were treated more favorably. This reallysurprised me and after probing more deeply, I realized that men aregenerally more assertive than women and ask for the things theyneed or desire – like more money, a promotion, a new computer, etc.Women, in contrast, are more apt to remain quiet and to take whatthey are given, even if they are disappointed with the results. Inour organization, if someone indicated an interest in a position wewould try to outline a path to help her or him attain success. Ifthe person could justify a new computer, he or she would probablyget one. But often times these things began with a request and themen were more apt to do the asking. Women are afraid of beingturned down and often won't take the risk. A fear of taking risksis an issue we women need to overcome and was a common theme fordiscussion at the summit. I laugh when I hear new fathers of babygirls announce they are going to get a gun to keep evil prey awayfrom their precious offspring, at least until she turns 21. Butwhile I applaud their safekeeping intentions, I also realize thatgirls learn early on that they are the more vulnerable sex and cometo rely on being protected by fathers, brothers, husbands, and evenbosses. I am not suggesting this protectionism is necessarily a badthing, but it does make it more difficult for women to shed theirfeelings of vulnerability and to take on the confidence that isneeded to lead an organization that requires her to be the“protector” instead of the “protected.” A women's conference likeCUNA's Leadership Summit can help women assess their strengths andweaknesses that come with being female and help them capitalize onthe strengths and overcome the weaknesses. If the result is abetter credit union leader, then the industry as a whole hasgained. And it shouldn't matter to anyone if the leadership growthcame from a women's conference. As long as there are sufficientwomen who wish to attend such a conference to make it financiallyviable to provide it, I vote for its continuance. Nancy PierceRetired CEO Mazuma Credit Union Kansas City, Mo.