BOSTON–The Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN) celebrated its 15th anniversary during a reception here, and then was challenged with playing a role in a pretty audacious goal.
In remarks to a reception held ahead of the World Credit Union Conference sponsored by the World Council of Credit Unions, WOCCU CEO Elissa McCarter Laborde said the organization’s objective is to grow global membership from the current 400 million to more than one-billion people, of which 50% are to be female.
And that’s not all.
“We want 50% of our global leadership to be women,” said McCarter Laborde, adding she also wants to see a commitment to the certification of 2,000 women in GWLN training.
McCarter Laborde said WOCCU has been actively soliciting feedback related to the future of the organization.
‘The Most Important Thing’
“The most important thing is we have a blueprint from all these good ideas and comments and the enthusiasm from to chart a course for the future,” McCarter Laborde said.
McCarter Laborde noted she is about to mark her third anniversary as CEO of the World Council, and she shared a personal note about the type of comments she often hears.
“As I mark my third anniversary, I am often asked, ‘How did you decide to take this big job at this time in your life?’ and what they mean is why did I jump from my last job at a time when I also had three young children and take this job and the daunting responsibility of leading an organization of this size and reach,” said McCarter Laborde, who is the first woman to lead WOCCU in its 50-year history. “I share that because the people who asked me that question were women. It symbolized a bit of the self-doubt and second-guessing we often do and it’s often at the risk of the opportunity that will pass you by. If we’re always waiting for when we are ready and when we will have more time or more experience, those opportunities pass you by.
‘The Moment is Right Now’
“My ask to all of you in this bold new vision is that we don’t second-guess ourselves and wait for the right moment, because the moment is right now. If we don’t seize the moment for our global credit union movement, then we just lost the moment.”