Here Come the Girls! - Business Women’s Networks in Edinburgh and Scotland

Business Women’s Networks in Scotland – Here Come the Girls!

It’s official.  Business women’s networks are changing the face of workplaces up and down Scotland.  Tods Murray LLP commissioned Strathclyde University to report on this growing phenomenon and the results make interesting reading.

The Growth of Business Women’s Networks

The growth appears to be  in response to the perceived dominance of ‘old boy’ networks that are believed to hinder women’s career advancement.   So women have set up networks to share their own experience and access work-related information and opportunities on their own terms. 

A total of 220 business women replied to the survey, of whom 70% belonged to women’s networks and 59% to both women-only and mixed gender.  Of those who didn’t attend women-only groups the main reason given was the belief that the membership was ‘not at a senior enough level’.  But is this true?

Who Attends Business Women’s Networks?

Actually, survey results showed that 149 respondents classified themselves as Director/Partner/CEO or Manager level.  Even so, it’s possible that the actual level of seniority is understated since some respondents were reluctant to classify themselves as Director or CEO even when they own their own business!  There is no doubt, however, that the respondents were senior in their chosen professions and industries.

So What do They Get Out of Women-Only Networking?

There was very strong agreement from respondents that women only networks helped women to become more confident in sharing ideas and opinions.  They believed that men have traditionally had more networking opportunities than women and they therefore see great value in accessing the type of informal networks men have traditionally used.

Most Popular Discussion Topics

The most popular topics were self-presentation and networking skills, followed by profession or industry related topics and work/life balance issues. 

What About Virtual Networking?

It was interesting to note that although the development of online communities and virtual networking continues to grow, the women surveyed still saw greater value in face-to-face events.  
 

Have YOUR Say

Are YOU a member of a women-only network?  Have you found it useful? 

Networking Groups in Edinburgh

Click here for the full list of all networking groups in Edinburgh, including women-only.