Allyship Advice Offered at Wnet Chicago Chapter & MWAA Event

By Patti Katzban, Director, CrossCheck Compliance LLC

On Wednesday, July 27, the Chicago Chapter of Wnet sponsored a two-hour session at the annual Midwest Acquirers Association (MWAA) conference in Chicago called: A Guide to Allyship: A discussion on the importance of allyship in the workplace.

The three-person panel consisted of Matt Austin, COO of Payroc, Kim Holmes, Strategy Consultant at Inclusion Nation and Kelly Tufts, Vice President of Field Talent at Discover and current Wnet Board President. Stephanie Zirkle-Puerto, Vice President of Payroc brought everyone and everything together as the moderator.

The diverse panel discussed what they consider allyship to be and how important it is to people, particularly to women. Finding a good ally in their organization or professional group(s) to partner with definitely helps in gaining recognition and advancement in the workplace. And just as importantly – how do we become a good ally to those around us and be able to recognize when and how we can be a positive influence on others' careers.

Finding a good ally in their organization or professional group(s) to partner with definitely helps in gaining recognition and advancement in the workplace.

The session was attended by 100⁺ people, including participants of the MWAA conference event along with several of the local Chicago Wnet members. The audience was also diverse and had a large number of men attending who were very interested in the topic and how they could help others as well as move their own goals forward.

The group was strongly engaged throughout, offering their own anecdotes of what allyship means to them and how they have benefitted from the collaboration it affords to all who partake.

All in all, it was another successful Wnet experience for all attendees!

Want to be part of the Wnet Chicago Chapter? Join here.