Recommendations for credit unions included:

Offering "leader connectedness sessions" to build networking opportunities between senior executives and managerial staff that enable women to understand pathways to leadership, and offering growth assignments to help women gain more skills and experience.
Intentionally setting human resource strategies that specifically prioritize diversity and women's advancement, and featuring the achievements of women and other diverse leaders in onboarding trainings, annual meetings and outreach events.
Creating sessions and services that promote well-being, and investing in flexible and remote work arrangements.
Destigmatizing mental health, and organizing self-esteem-building activities such as counseling, mindfulness meditation, yoga and martial arts.
Building and promoting a culture that embraces diversity, equity and inclusion, including promoting people of diverse backgrounds to leadership positions.

Recommendations for female credit union professionals included:

Building and utilizing strong professional networks, and setting up a personal board of advisors to receive feedback and support.
Creating a personal strategic plan for career growth, mapping out specific steps to reach goals and evaluating their performance regularly.
Challenging assumptions about gender and leadership that may have been formed early in life, such as that men are more "natural" leaders.
Advocating for themselves first, then advocating for other women.
Setting and maintaining work/life boundaries.
Identifying challenging activities outside of work that can translate to bringing confidence back to the workplace, and exploring services such as therapy and spiritual counseling.
Educating themselves about racism, white privilege and sexual/racialized trauma, and making a personal commitment to speak up and act against injustice.

The full report can be accessed here.

Instant Insights /

Over Half of Female CU Professionals Experience Gender Bias: GWLN Report