Networking as a Young Female Professional

Networking can be tougher for women than it is for men. Research shows that humans relate more easily to people who are like them,¹ which can make networking difficult for those who are in the minority. Because there are fewer women in higher education IT—especially millennial women and younger—networking can be a challenge. The EDUCAUSE workforce report shows that the majority of managers and CIOs in the field are older and male.² As the Wall Street Journal article "How Women Can Build Their Professional Networks" points out, there are fewer women in positions of power, making it difficult for women to get introductions, receive referrals, and find sponsors.³ Because there are so few young female professionals in the higher education IT community, it can be more difficult for them to build relationships.

In order to build strong momentum for sustained career growth, young women need to network. Women fall behind in their careers early on. A report by McKinsey and Lean In shows that women occupy up to 48% of entry-level positions; that percentage falls to 38% at the managerial level, just one step up.⁴ Reports show that women most commonly leave tech jobs due to lack of career growth and poor management.⁵ Issues related to work-life balance and parenting responsibilities were much less common.

The EDUCAUSE Annual Conference provides opportunities to make introductions and begin building professional relationships with other women. Following are some of the things that have helped me to receive rewarding opportunities, earn promotions, and build a stronger network.

Quality over Quantity

When I first started my career, I used to think I had to speak with as many people in the room as possible. You don't need to speak with everyone in the room. Be strategic in your networking. Invest your time in talking with people you can help and people who can help you. One or two conversations are great so long as the discussions are fruitful. Exchange information if you see potential for long-term benefits, and follow up by email soon after you return from the conference.

Network Outside of Your Field

If you want to network with other women, you may have to go outside of your area of specialty or even industry. I have found brilliant and wonderful women in the field of research computing and data with whom I regularly connect, and yet I still have women in my network who work in teaching and learning, desktop support, information security, and even as CIOs. I have learned many of my professional (or soft) skills from women outside of my specialty, and I've gained new perspectives on hiring methods, managing and coaching individuals, developing processes, and leading initiatives.

Recent reports show that both women and men benefit from a traditional hub-and-spoke networking model, where the individual is the "hub" connected to many people or "spokes." However, while men generally are able to do well with the hub-and-spoke model alone, women tend to need a traditional network and a close inner circle of women contacts to achieve career advancement opportunities.⁶ By leveraging your network outside of your specialty, you can also speak a little more candidly, get fresh ideas, and break into new career paths more easily.

You Don't Need a Female-Only Network

Frankly, there just aren't enough women—especially in positions of power—to make up the entirety of your network. Male colleagues can provide a different perspective. While women may be able to more easily relate to certain experiences, you should also strive to include male colleagues and men in leadership positions in your professional network.

In my conversations with younger female professionals, a few have mentioned that networking with men one-on-one might feel like a date because networking often happens in more informal settings (i.e., not in a conference room or an office). Please do not let the informal setting deter you. However, if a more formal setting is preferable, you might consider scheduling the meeting in a conference room. Once you start talking, it feels very much like a meeting. If someone is acting inappropriately or making you feel uncomfortable, excuse yourself and leave. You do not have to go along with anything that makes you feel uneasy.

For the men reading this, thanks for being interested in this topic! Women need to continue to have men involved in their careers, and men will likely benefit from including women in their networks. I am excited that Karen Catlin, author of the book Better Allies: Everyday Actions to Create Inclusive, Engaging Workplaces, will be speaking on Tuesday at the Annual Conference and again at Women Advance IT, a conference held in partnership between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and EDUCAUSE. I have found her to have great advice about getting started and being successful in mentoring people who are different from yourself.

For men who are networking with women, make sure that you are providing equitable opportunities for all genders in your network. If you are uncomfortable networking with women, perhaps reassess the venues in which you build relationships.

Use Existing Venues

At the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, there are many opportunities to meet new colleagues! Let the conference do the work for you.

Get started by joining one or more of the EDUCAUSE Community Groups. I recommend IT Women and Young Professionals. You can start reading through messages to understand what people talk about before the conference. Once you are comfortable with the conversation, please consider joining discussions on the listserv. New voices are welcome, and our communities need your input. You can also look up past ELive! Webinars and articles through EDUCAUSE to learn more about recent trends in higher education IT.

Once you get to the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, consider signing up for a braindate. This networking opportunity provides an effective way to propose a conversation topic or find someone who is interested in talking about a certain subject. I had three braindates at EDUCAUSE 2018, and all were great conversations where I either helped someone learn more about research computing, professional development opportunities, or working toward an inclusive work environment or learned more about research computing needs at other institutions and professional development opportunities. I met with both men and women one-on-one. If you have something you would like to discuss, teach others, or learn more about, I recommend scheduling a braindate at EDUCAUSE 2019. If you prefer to meet in a group, there is an option to do so.

I also suggest taking advantage of the Meet and Mingle session during the Annual Conference. You can find the schedule for Meet and Mingle topics in the Mobile App and in the conference agenda. There are several opportunities for young professionals and a meeting for the IT Women Community Group. You can learn from others about professional organizations that have helped them build networks and advance their knowledge for their careers.

If nothing seems like a fit, feel free to organize and create your own opportunities. You can use existing Community Groups within EDUCAUSE, interact via social media, or reach out to the Young Professionals Advisory Committee to set up an informal get-together. There are many avenues to create networking opportunities.

Notes

1. Herminia Ibarra, "Why Strategic Networking Is Harder for Women," World Economic Forum, April 7, 2016; Avner Ben-Ner and Amit Kramer, "Do We Prefer People Who Are Similar to Us? Experimental Evidence on Giving and Work Behavior" [http://conf.som.yale.edu/obsummer07/PaperBen-NerKramer.pdf], University of Minnesota, 2007. ↩
2. Joe Galanek, Dana Gierdowski, and D. Christopher Brooks, The Higher Education IT Workforce Landscape, 2019, research report, (Louisville, CO: ECAR, February 2019). ↩
3. Herminia Ibarra, "How Women Can Build Their Professional Networks," The Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2018. ↩
4. Rachel Thomas, Marianne Cooper, Ellen Konar, et al., Women in the Workplace 2018, research report (New York, NY: McKinsey & Company; Palo Alto, CA: Lean In, 2018). ↩
5. Kim Williams, "Women in Tech: How to Attract and Retain Top Talent," Indeed (blog), November 6, 2018. ↩
6. Brian Uzzi, "Research: Men and Women Need Different Kinds of Networks to Succeed," Harvard Business Review, February 25, 2019. ↩

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Jackie Milhans is Manager of Research Computing at Northwestern University.