The truth about the new business women’s networks

Written by Valerie Khoo

The future of women's business networksThis week, I went to lunch with Ray Martin. Okay, I’ll confess. It wasn’t just me and Ray have an intimate tete-a-tete. There were about 150 other women in the room too. I was at a lunch organised by Network Central, sitting with my friend Jen Dalitz from Sphinxx. Ray is promoting his latest book Ray Martin’s Favourites: The Stories behind the Legends and he regaled us with stories about interviewing the likes of Dustin Hoffman, Audrey Hepburn and Al Pacino.

Network Central is one of many business women’s networks in Australia. And I’ve noticed an increasing number of them popping up around the country. Some are spearheaded by keen individuals who are operating them as businesses. Others are being hosted by major corporations keen to tap into the business women’s market.

This inspired today’s Enterprise post on “The truth about the new business women’s networks”.

Every week, my inbox is laden with an invitation from a new women’s business networking group promising me connections, great speakers, door prizes and an online community that can help my business thrive.

Over the past five years, I’ve seen a sharp increase in the number of women’s networking groups that have sprung up around the country. A mere 15 years ago, there were barely a handful to choose from. Now, it seems that every time I turn around, there’s a new business women’s networking group being launched.

The big three
In a previous post, I’ve talked about three national business women’s networks: Women’s Network Australia, Business Chicks and the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

While these three national networks dominate the market, there are other dynamic networks such as Network Central (which has events in Sydney and Melbourne); and also smaller networks that operate on a more suburban or regional level.

The new players
However, in the last couple of years, there have been new players in the mix. And these networks have been spearheaded by corporations keen to tap into the influential and powerful business women’s market.

Think Westpac’s Ruby Connection; Commonwealth Bank’s Women in Focus program; and the Dell Women Entrepreneurs’ Network.

But do these networks really work? Or are they just vehicles to push more home loans or sell more computers?

You can read the full post here.

Posted on 25 November 2011

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About Valerie Khoo

Valerie Khoo is founder of the Sydney Writers' Centre. She is an author and journalist in Australia. Valerie is passionate about helping people write with confidence and occasionally goes nuts when she sees a misused apostrophe.

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  • http://sheepleliberator.wordpress.com/ Sheeple Liberator

    I’m a bit skeptical of women’s networking events. Partly for the reasons you refer to (ie, they’re often just marketing opportunities) but also for ideological reasons. I would rather participate in non-gender specific networks relevant to my industry and interests.

    I’m in favour of promoting women’s interests (and raising awareness where things are lacking), but in many cases I think we achieve more when we just get down to using our talents and hard work to actually do our jobs, rather than sitting around analysing the situation. I know I’m not the only professional woman who feels this way.

    • Anonymous

      Sheeple, yes and I also do feel that men have drawn the short straw on this one. There are so many dynamic women-focused networks that men don’t seem to have the same kind of opportunity. Having said that, I do know that most of the women’s networks mentioned do welcome men as members.