糖心vlog

While sitting through work meetings recently, Rebecca Franklin 鈥�20 couldn鈥檛 help notice something. 鈥淚 was the only female in 99% of (the meetings),鈥� she said.听

It鈥檚 something she鈥檚 working to change. Franklin is teaching leadership skills in 鈥淲omen Empowered to Rise,鈥� a program she created as a doctoral student in 糖心vlog鈥檚 Benerd College.听

鈥淲omen tend to hold themselves back,鈥� said Franklin, an executive with California Housing Finance Agency. 鈥淗ow do we get women to feel comfortable?鈥澨�

The graduate level, credit-bearing program is a collaboration between Benerd and Junior League of Sacramento and is intended for any woman who wants to advance in leadership roles.

Addressing the need听

While the number of women in leadership positions is growing, it still lags behind men. 听

According to research by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org, 41% of managers in the U.S. are women and only 24% in senior executive roles are women.

Franklin wants to 鈥渇lood the candidate pool鈥� by making women feel more confident and qualified to take on leadership positions.

鈥淲e're multitaskers, we have really good interpersonal skills, we're caring. Not to say that men aren鈥檛, but I think women naturally excel in those things, and I think those are qualities of a great leader,鈥� said Franklin.

The course is already working.

Heather Beckner, a senior environmental scientist at CalRecycle, directly attributes her recent promotion to being part of the first cohort of Women Empowered to Rise.听

鈥淥ne thing I struggled with is imposter syndrome,鈥� Beckner said, an experience in which people doubt their achievements and ability. 鈥淭here were skills I learned from each of the modules, but for me, the most important thing was it built my confidence.鈥�

鈥淚 think that that's a very clear indicator of exactly the type of skills that we hope to build over the course of the nine modules,鈥� said Robyn Stiles, executive vice president-elect for Junior League of Sacramento, which aims to develop women鈥檚 potential. 鈥淗aving these conversations in a facilitated, small-group setting, you're able to really more richly learn from each other.鈥�

A new perspective

When designing the course, Franklin wanted to approach it from a different angle that considers the female perspective and focuses on each person鈥檚 strengths.听

鈥淵ou are naturally gifted at certain things, and you're not as naturally gifted at other things, so how do we promote your talents?鈥� Franklin said.听

Each module focuses on a different topic such as budgeting, innovation and diversity.听

They鈥檙e taught with what Franklin calls a 鈥淏enerd-unique鈥� approach, presenting real-life problems and having participants actively work through them.听

Despite having years of leadership experience, Georgette Hunefeld 鈥�90, senior director of strategic philanthropic initiatives at Pacific, says she鈥檚 found immense value looking at leadership through a new lens.

鈥淚 learned so much because our community is evolving. The way in which we look at leadership is evolving,鈥� said Hunefeld. The module that covered diversity, equity, and inclusion especially had an impact. 鈥淚t was just so incredibly powerful because it allowed us to take a perspective that we might not have looked at before.鈥�

That new perspective is leading to new opportunities; the women are building a network.

鈥淗aving a support system and having women leaders to look up to is really important,鈥� said Franklin, 鈥渆specially now when we鈥檙e so dispersed and virtual.鈥澨�

鈥淚n my cohort we had women from Southern California all the way to New Orleans, and we have already set up a network where we will continue to work together,鈥� Hunefeld said.听

Making it accessible

There are two classes a month from January to November with a break in the summer.听

The course is held virtually on nights and weekends to make it accessible, something that was important to Franklin.

鈥淲e did a lot of research when building the program on what the barriers of access would be, and it was time and money,鈥� she said. 听

Stiles said women should feel comfortable no matter what their background.听

鈥淭here's no such thing as having a wrong perspective or wrong experience that you're bringing to the table,鈥� said Stiles. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely formatted to be very accessible.鈥�

Women who go through the course receive a certificate of completion as well as three units of credit that can be applied to a program within Benerd College if they want to further their education.听

It鈥檚 now enrolling its third cohort.

for the 2022 session are being accepted through Dec. 20. 听
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