Ripple effects of advancing women in business

For the past eight years I’ve been a proud volunteer for NextUp, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing women in business with one of the largest chapters right here in Northwest Arkansas.

Formerly Network of Executive Women, NextUp has a 20-year history of empowering its members through career development, learning events, and training programs to put diversity, inclusion, and allyship into practice in workplaces across America. Here in Northwest Arkansas, this mission has manifested into a community of over 1,300 members, a year-round calendar of events, and support from sponsors that include Walmart, Kimberly-Clark, Mars, General Mills and Procter & Gamble.

You may be reading this and question the need for our cause. You’re not alone. According to a recent study conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value in partnership with NextUp, optimism is on the rise. Equality is increasingly part of the conversation, and by all accounts, that feels good. But according to the same study, the pace of progress doesn’t match the mood.

At this rate, it will be another 32 years before women are equal to men in the C-suite. Roughly 80% of men hold executive-level positions in large part because not enough women are in the middle management pipeline. It’s a problem more companies are recognizing as costly.

According to IBM and similar studies, investing in gender equality is good for business. Proactive companies see better performance and 19% higher revenue growth. The model examples are those that offer leadership development opportunities, provide flexible work environments supportive of mothers — and the many other life demands placed on women — and confront even our most subconscious biases.

Through NextUp, we want to create awareness and meaningful conversation to move the needle on equality. It’s good for our membership. It’s good for our companies. It’s good for Arkansas. But most important to me and my fellow board leaders, we want to provide our members with the connections and experiences to help each realize their full potential — and to be in the driver’s seat of their own dreams. As a small-town girl with little to no push to pursue anything outside the home, that statement isn’t fluff to me.

For some, being part of NextUp means attending events, like our upcoming Walmart Women’s Empowerment Summit, which will pack the Rogers Convention Center with over 1,000 professionals from across the region. For others, NextUp is about learning. Our programming tackles tactical subjects like smart investing to loftier matters like personal branding and bold leadership. An interesting recent topic: Asking for what you want with an emphasis on how to have those tough conversations about your paycheck.

But one of my absolute favorite things I hear from our volunteers is simply the value of volunteering in and of itself. Our volunteers are given a safe and encouraging space to flex skills they may not be practicing yet in their day jobs.

Volunteering is also good for the soul. We crave connection and a sense of self-worth that comes not really from ourselves but from what we’re able to share with others. A NextUp member shared that the enrichment of volunteering comes from the diversification of our personal circles. It broadens our horizons, which strengthens the whole person and the communities around us.

Throughout my career, in NextUp and beyond, I have generally found the most compelling leaders to be those both empathetic and shrewd, both people- and results-oriented. It’s a balance I see perfected in so many women. If we can only give her the runway, she will fly.

Editor’s note: Tina Winham is the Walmart team lead for Conair and the 2024 co-chair for NextUp Northwest Arkansas. The opinions expressed are those of the author.