STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Four female credit union leaders from around the world shared their journeys to how they have become leaders, what they believe women bring to leadership, how to be better advocates for themselves and more during a Q&A discussion here.

Participating in the discussion as part of the Global Women’s Leadership Network event here—held in conjunction with the World Council of CUs’ World Credit Union Conference–were Carla Decker, president and CEO of Skypoint FCU in Maryland; Denise Garfield, general manager with the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions; Dr. Gisele Gomes, founder of Paronima in Brazil, and Sibongile Prudence Filakati, general manager of Hlalawati Savings and Credit Cooperative in Eswatini.

The session was moderated by Dr. Micheal Summers, EVP-chief culture officer at Velera. 

Here is what was discussed:

Q: Being a woman in a leadership rule comes with its own unique set of challenges. What superpowers do women bring to leadership and how have you utilized these?

Gomes: I am here because other people advocated for me. I think we all have superpowers, but they are not born, they have to be built and developed. They are earned. How do we earn that? Through culture and experiences. If we think of this…we don’t want to reinfornce gender stereotypes. If you are not born with some power you can build that. We can build analystical thinking. One of the most important skills for the future is analytical thinking. Women can cultivate their ability to connect the dots. We have to do lots of things, to see patterns, to simplify complexity and to bridge seemingly unrelated elements. 

Garfield: In Caribbean, we are a little different. We don’t have a problem with women in leadership. Fifty-five percent of credit union leaders are women. On our board, 60% are women. We have come a long way. The shift has occurred in the last 10-15 years in the Caribbean, where 75% of graduates are females. We are task oriented, goal oriented, are proponents for women in leadership. We also ensure that females are educated. We are becoming more entrepreneurial, We are passionate leaders.

Vilakati: My advocates have been men. I am an introvert, but I have been pushed to be confident and speak up. One of our superpowers emanate from our natural traits. Women have a natural ability to empathize with everyone on our teams. When teams feel respected and cared for they strive to perform to their best. Women bring different perspectives and bring everyone to contribute to the organization.

Another superpower of women is determination. We don’t give into failure; we push ourselves until we achieve our goals. Our best-performing SACCOs are led by women.

Q: How do you advocate for women or for yourselves?  What are examples of how you have first advocated for yourself and then for other women?

Decker: I go back to the question about superpowers. We are so multi-dimensional…I’m a Latina immigrant in the United States where Latinos and other immigrants many times just lack access to safe and affordable financial services. We all know those folks are out there who are really struggling and making sure that they’re caring for their familes.

When others are going out to work and being entrepreneurial and that’s the women and at the end of the day it’s the women with all of the traits that were seen in the (GWLN Pink Paper) report.

We do need to advocate. In my second job as the CEO I was literally leading a credit union in the Washington, D.C. metro area that was serving an ethnic minority that wanted to reach out to other ethnic minorities in the city, including Latinos. I think that if it hadn’t been for my care and maybe my representation of the population I probably would not be seated here today.

Valakati: I mentor females in the SACCOs. I encourage other females. In advocating for myself, my story is a bit different. I have seen my performance advocate for me. On two instances at my SACCO the consultant recommended a salary increase and it happened again this year. 

Gomes: I think we talk about advocacy, we talk about structures and individuals. At Sicredi we have almost 100 credit unions and 60 sister societies advocating for more than 5,000 women. We have to build structures around affirmative actions. If we have a better place gender wise, it’s better for everyone. With individuals it’s self-recognition, and you have to voice your ambitions. You have to say it out loud. Don’t be afraid to say what you want. 

Q: Allyship is about constantly learning and taking action. How do you engage more people in your organization to become allies for women”

Decker: It’s a big question. I’m originally from Peru. As part of my credit union journey I was going through the Credit Union Development Education program and it was through that program that I landed in a volunteer opportunity in in Central America. I could speak Spanish and I was going to speak about elections to these to these folks.

What was shocking to me as a young professional at that time was to actually be able to see the role that credit unions had in these very rural communities that have been war-torn that were now agricultural.

The only beacon of hope you saw was the building that was so different from others. It was this green credit union. As we went from town to town speaking about collections…one thing that followed you were these green building credit unions.

I’ve thought about how stark, how poignant that experience was for me. When I came back to the U.S. it was all about how do we take these credit unions and really inject some of that that passion and some of that mission.

I am also on the board of the National Cooperative Business Association. I do believe in shared ownership and I do believe in self-help and I do believe in a business model that provides for inclusion and provides for people to really just take control of their of their futures

Speaking about allyship, one of the things that it means is fellowship. I have been very fortunate being the recipient of just so much support from allies…who have been able to support and mentor me and have been there from an individual perspective and from a business perspective.

Q: Who would you say were your allies and how did they help?

Vilakati: My mentors have reminded me of my strengths when I doubted myself and assured me I am good at what I am doing. Having a mentor helps you unleash capabilities that you are not aware of. My SACCO is one of the best in the country and growing, and the credit goes to my mentors who exposed me to training and mentorship programs. They brought out the best in me.

Gomes: I have had many allies. Networking is about trust. You have to have trustful relationships. Maybe I don’t have the most powerful allies, but I have the bravest, You have to build a network for yourself but for others, as well.