The Global Women’s Leadership Network Celebrates its 15th Anniversary

17/05/2024

Last week, the Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) celebrated the 15^th Anniversary of the Global Women’s Leadership Network. The Network was established in 2009 and “aims to provide women with the opportunity and resources to make a measurable difference in the lives of each other, in the lives of credit union members and in their communities”.

“So very proud of our work at the Global Women’s Leadership Network, our growth and the impact on the lives of women as they advance in leadership!” said Director of the GWLN at the WFCU, Eleni Giakoumopoulos. Eleni continued, “Gratitude to our past chairs, advisory committee, volunteers, Sister Societies, industry champions and World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions boards for being part of our journey and the tremendous support! Excited for the future of GWLN”

Since its inception, 162 Sister Societies have been established in 28 countries and these groups serve as a platform to elevate voices in credit unions to narrow inequality gaps. Great Britain has a Sister Society which recently celebrated one year since its re-launch at the ABCUL Annual Conference 2023.

Eleni attended the 2023 ABCUL Annual Conference to re-launch the network with the GB Steering Committee and said: “I was truly honoured to represent GWLN and our work in the global credit union movement as part of the GWLN GB Sister Society relaunch […] It’s exciting to see the opportunities which can arise from the growing system in Britain. More importantly, it was inspirational to hear from many women and emerging leaders about wanting to get more engaged and actively be part of the growth of the international credit union arena.”

Ciara Davies, CEO of Metro Moneywise Credit Union and member of the GWLN Steering Committee said: “The British chapter of the GWLN is just over a year old and in this time, we have offered two successful sessions on female resilience, collaborated with the Young Professionals Network and hosted sessions at ABCUL’s annual conference.”

Ciara continued: “The Network is growing steadily and we are soon to host our first AGM. The group is also pleased to announce that we are climbing the hill Mam Tor in the Peak District on Saturday 28^th September to raise money for The Hygiene Bank and we encourage anybody to get involved. It is exciting to know that although the British Sister Society is still young, the global network is celebrating its 15^th year of success and we look forward to reaching this milestone.”