A quick note before we start. On February 26th,
2026, we're bringing together podcasters and
learning professionals at St Mary's Sumner House
in London for the Podcast Learning Festival.
It's a chance to explore how audio storytelling
is changing the way organisations learn, share
knowledge and build capability. Early bird tickets
are on sale at podcastlearningfest .live. The
link is in the show notes. Right, let's get into
it. Hello everyone and welcome to this episode,
the Women Networks one of the Women Talking About
Learning podcast. I'm Andrew Jacobs. When our
audience suggested this topic, we knew immediately
who we needed to ask to be on it. For an episode
which explores people's apprehension of networking,
setting up their own networks and finding the
right tribe, we needed some excellent guests.
And we have them. Our first guest is Sharon Green.
Sharon is a professional interim, qualified coach
and consultant at Kiara Consultancy. She runs
projects that focus on people change, people
technology and people experience. Sharon's main
Pay It Forward passion project is running the
HR Interim Networking Group, a global LinkedIn
community providing peer -to -peer support for
people professionals working as interims, coaches,
consultants, contractors, solo entrepreneurs
and freelancers. Our next guest is Helen Marshall.
Helen is Head of Learning at Thrive and it is
multifaceted. She leads the team of content designers
and oversees the content they create as they
strive to be responsive to the needs of their
clients. Helen also works very closely with their
content club and platform customers to figure
out exactly how the content, campaigns and pathways
can be used in the flow of customers' work to
support their people. Helen created WomenIn,
a WhatsApp community for women in L &D, HR, and
people teams. Our third guest is Rhonda Martin.
Rhonda's work sits across talent development,
mentoring, coaching, and inclusive leadership.
She leads on client relationships and stakeholder
management, and she uses that commercial grounding
to design and run mentoring, coaching, and senior
leadership programs that actually work inside
organizations, not just on paper. Alongside her
consultancy work, Rhonda serves on the board
of City Women Network as chair for corporate
relationships. Before that, she chaired the mentoring
programme for women in telecommunications, building
a cross -industry network for the telecoms, media
and technology sectors. Recorded in early November
of 2025, this is Women Talking About Learning.
This is Sharon, Helen and Rhonda talking about
women networks. Wow, lovely to see you, Rhonda
and Helen. I'm so excited for this conversation.
How are you doing today? Oh, I'm really well.
Thank you. I'm really happy to be here. My first
one with yourself. So really good. Thank you.
Yeah, also really good. And Rhonda, Sharon, lovely
to see you both or meet you both. Obviously,
Sharon, you and I have met online virtually previously,
but Rhonda, you and I have only met for the first
time today. So very excited to get into networking
and what it means and what it means to us. And
yeah, I suppose that's a great place to start.
isn't it? What does it mean? Why did we want
to come and talk about it today? And maybe we
have different perceptions or very similar perceptions
of networking. Yeah, it can mean different things
to different people, can't it? So should we think
about answering that question then, what it means
to us? Yeah, I think that would be a great place
to start. Rhonda, what's your feeling about the
word network or networking? I love the word networking.
And I think it means different things to meet
different people. But I see a network and networking
as just an extension of my life. So I look at
them broadly into sort of two areas. The way
I think about being in a network and wanting
to join a network in my personal life. And then
I look at networks from a business perspective.
And in my role, in my day job. working for the
pipeline. We do a lot of work developing women's
careers and jobs, etc. But I know, and through
my pro bono work as well, that being part of
a community and a forum for all the people and
myself is where people get a lot of support.
So I'm going to pause there. So I see the world
and word of networks as something... that looks
very different for lots of different people.
So businesses have ERGs, people have volunteer
groups. So I think it's worth sort of unpicking
a little bit about what a network means to different
people at different times for different reasons.
So that's my sort of opening reflection. And
Helen, what does it mean for you and kind of
why coming to this conversation? I'm curious.
Yeah, and I think Rhonda, you're exactly right.
That kind of... There's a lot of different nuances,
I think, when it comes to what a network is or
then people's perception of what that is and
also the impact that they can have. So my perspective
on this is I see real value in the types of conversations
that you have with people and have done throughout
my career. It's the foundation of any... good
L &D professional I think is the ability to make
strong relationships with people and so in my
work when I've been doing that I've been thinking
well actually it's not only useful from a that
personal professional perspective within the
I suppose confines of an organization but as
you start to step outside of of that bubble the
the value starts to amplify in terms of how you're
networking who you're networking with the conversations
you have the perspectives you can bring into
your own work or then even your own business
as well so it's that kind of amplification of
knowledge and information um that can serve you
as an individual in terms of your career but
then also the perspectives that you can bring
to those people um and I suppose my my real interest
in this particular topic was because I'm founder
of a particular network for women called Women
In which is for women in L &D, HR and associated
people spaces or anything associated with women
in that space and so it's really important for
me to recognise that actually this kind of opportunity
for people to connect and to share ideas, to
learn from each other, to grow together. is it
was really needed when i set it up and it's clearly
still needed now because we've escalated to over
a thousand members and it's continuing to grow
so there's a need there and so for me it's yes
that personal professional angle but it's also
the how can we contribute more to um lifting
each other up to creating space for people and
for sharing knowledge and for that diversity
of thought that all of that brings there's probably
even more that I could say but I'll stop there
because I'm conscious I've been talking a while
and Sharon I'd love to hear your thoughts on
this as well well I mean so much of what you
kind of both said kind of resonated really what
a surprise that's why I'm here I think I think
I probably had in maybe way back I probably had
quite like a negative perception of networking
I think And I think I probably felt that it was
a certain type of thing and that I felt quite
nervous about the thought of networking, if I'm
honest. And I know that a lot of people who come
to my network feel similarly. And so I think
there is a little bit of a thing about the word
and the connotations. But I think over time and
over the course of my career, permanent being
in a permanent world, but also being independent,
I think I've come to kind of reframe it. And
for me, it's kind of like when I break it down
as. like making connections one conversation
at a time, that feels slightly more manageable,
a little less scary. I don't really feel that
kind of dread like, you know, how you imagine
going into a room full of people you don't know
and that you're somehow meant to work the room.
And there's these things that I think that can
become attached to the words that I don't necessarily
feel are helpful and facilitative. So for me,
I'd probably say that calling it my community
that I run. I've always been networked. I've
always liked meeting people, a bit like you were
saying, both Helen and Rhonda. For me, it's about
an extension. I don't really see barriers between
community and work. I just feel like it's always
on. I had an interesting chat in the coffee shop
yesterday with somebody, and we then connected
on LinkedIn, which is completely random. For
me, it's kind of a bit like just meeting people,
basically. And I run a network, and I've got
the words... network is called the HR intro networking
community it's for people who are independent
in a people space basically whatever they're
doing coaching contracting freelancing solo entrepreneur
whatever but for me the community and networking
point is really important because for me it's
a community vibe rather than a networking vibe
but the two are connected so I'm here because
it's personal and um whatever we call it I guess
I think I see the benefits of amplification,
connectivity, learning. For me, feeling a little
bit less alone, I guess, when I'm on my own working
independently, which is really important. And
so, yes, those things are the reasons why I think
they're so valuable. And particularly for women,
I think. I think there's something about... Thinking
about the way I know we're here on a sort of
podcast thinking about the networks in the context
of women. But if we think about what's happening
in the world and, you know, the challenges that
organizations are facing around D .E. and I and,
you know, all the headwinds coming from the USA,
the Trump executive orders, etc. I think the
role of. Being in a forum or a community, and
we're using the phrase ERG in businesses, is
becoming more and more important. I see that
with my clients in the last few months because
people need to be able to, you know, maybe six
months ago, people could talk more freely about
DE &I and inclusion. But I think the need for
communities in business world has become even
greater. They have a bigger role to play as networks
in business life now than perhaps they did before
because they need to be a safe space. that people
can share, people can bring leaders in, you know,
communities that people can bring leaders in
to talk about. So I think the role of networks
in tradition, you know, in corporate life, which
I'm referring to here specifically, is really,
really important, probably more important than
ever before. And as an individual, you can grow
your social capital. And I really like that word
social capital when thinking about the networks
that you belong to as well. Because if an organisation
is struggling at the moment with many business
issues, If the ERGs and the networks no longer
exist, how are organisations going to know what
communities and populations think? So I think
there needs to continue and be more energy put
around keeping the networks in the business life
going and thriving. And I think there's a key
critical piece that people don't talk about enough
is networks, which is how they are led and managed.
And that's another piece. Because I belong to
the City Women's Network. I'm on the board of
them. And I'm just mentioning that, that people,
I've been on the board for many years there.
But I know that as our leadership has changed
and our style has changed and our focus has changed,
our membership and outputs and outcomes change.
So I'm just going to pause there. I think being
part of a network is also part of, you know,
looking at the leadership as well. You know,
who's leading it and how well is it being led
and what role can you play as an individual in
that? yeah it's a really it's a really important
aspect i think of i think historically and this
is maybe a bit of a sweeping statement but when
we when it comes to ergs and i'm particularly
talking from my perspective of seeing ergs run
across a variety of different customers and sectors
industries that they're often seen as kind of
a nice to have and they're there you create that
space for people but there's no real strategy
behind them and i would say that's that that's
historically that's been the perspective but
i'm totally with you ronda that now there seems
to be a change in conversation and i and i wonder
if that is being driven by that lack of i don't
know community essentially for want of a better
word that we're experiencing in the in the world
in general and all of the bad stuff that's going
on how is that impacting us and what maybe not
even all the bad stuff but the the change in
technology with thinking about AI and the fact
that we're now leaning more into the human -ness
of people, then actually we're seeing that value
of bringing people together around particular
topics and subjects in order to drive change.
But we need visionary leaders and people who
are going to be accountable for driving the strategy
of those ERGs or community groups within an organisation
to make sure that they're having an impact. And
I think that kind of social capital angle you
were talking about is definitely right. And I
always remember Fiona Barron, who is one of the
original members of the women in community who
works for a company called T -minus currently,
which is focused on equality in the workplace,
saying that your network is your net worth. And
I always love that phrase because it is that
kind of. building a network amplifies the opportunities
that you'll you'll have because you never know
who you're going to meet if we're thinking about
lnd specifically it's a very small it can suddenly
feel like a very small place to be and you never
know who you're talking to and the impact that
that person's going to have so yeah we're touching
a few points there but it whilst we're talking
it also reminded me of time when a very anecdotal
story but i was headed to a training session
when i was i think this is when i was a phd student
i was headed to a training session on a train
it was a very busy train and as you do when the
train stops everyone got up and tried to get
off all at once instead of you know waiting like
you should do on an airplane for all the lines
in front of you to get off before you and it
really annoys me when people do that so I stopped
and then left let a lady off and she was like
oh thank you so much she got off and then 10
minutes later we ended up in the same training
room together and she was actually the person
delivering the training session and we were like
oh hi and it was that kind of you never know
the impact that you're going to have on someone
and she was I really appreciated you letting
me off the train and that had a real impact and
it's a very small moment but it's things like
that that you don't know who you're going to
meet what impact you're going to have and how
that person is going to amplify your journey,
your story or vice versa that can also feed into
that. So, yeah, lots of different different ideas
that I think are worth unpicking. Sharon, I'd
be keen to hear your perspective. Well, yeah,
I was kind of I'm going to declare that I feel
slightly uncomfortable with the word social capital
and also the net. working network for me I guess
and that's to do with me you know my kind of
I guess my background you know my driver for
running a community and also for what I think
sometimes networking can be particularly I think
for women I am going to gender it because we
are on the women in learning podcast so so I
think that there's something where that feels
quite whilst I recognize that you can that it
is about social capital on one level I think
if I think if I personally viewed it through
that lens all the time I think there's an element
of avoiding the systemic you know challenges,
I think, that women have, particularly networking
within corporate organisations, where they might
have an underrepresentation at board level, for
example, where networking might be seen as a
way of gaining career advancement, which is real,
but also it doesn't necessarily facilitate some
of the barriers to entry that I think are very
real, not just for women, but for other underrepresented
groups. etc so I think there's an element that
makes me feel quite uncomfortable talking about
it even though I recognize by the fact that I
mean I run an unpaid network it started a very
long time ago I saw it change during Covid particularly
when I think people valued the connectivity even
virtually rather than in real life so much more
I think there's something in some of the words
that we might use around it that feels quite
transactional and almost like you get something
from me Helen or you get something from me Rhonda
and then I take back whereas I think that a community
or a network is probably a bit more for me about
connecting other people to other people for which
I get a benefit which I might not necessarily
be able to tangibly realize but it's just magic
you know in a sense so I think there's an element
of community building for me as opposed to and
once I realized that I guess it freed me from
some of the constraints I think that networking
events have for me personally or my view of networking
had for me personally so and there can be Yeah,
I'm going to stop there, really, because for
me, some of the things that are really intrinsic
to my value on my brand, I guess, are around
paying it forward. So when I invite people into
my community or I talk about it, I don't really
talk about it very much. But from here, people
recommend people to join and then I give them
some community blurb. And one of the words is
like, you know, we have a pay it forward ethos.
If that's your jam, come along. And it isn't
everybody's jam, right? And that's OK, because
there's tons of other networks that I'm really
happy to publicise and share so that somebody
will find their people, even if I'm not their
people. So for me, it's about that, I guess.
And so I'm wondering if you see any differences
for women networking over, I mean, obviously
we're all women, so we can talk from our perspective,
but do you see any kind of gender differences
there? Yeah, because there's a question that,
yeah, there's a question which is coming in the
chat and I don't know whether you'd seen that.
And it's a good link into this, which is, you
know, is, you know, is networking hard or different,
easier for women? So I think we could build,
let's think about that as well, because in my
experience, I think women in, as a massive generalisation
though, will be more open about seeking support.
And I observe. I observe my own experience that
women might be sometimes feeling more. What's
the word? In a male dominated culture, say in
the workplace, they might historically in the
years previously might have been less comfortable
speaking up. There might be challenges in a male
dominated culture, for example. So I think a
lot of women will. find it easier to perhaps
ask for support if there's a network specifically
set up for themselves. I don't have the neuroscience
data at my fingertips, but I continue to read
that women respond differently under pressure
and that we therefore might need to seek out
the company of others to share those problems
with. So is it different and easier for women?
I find that quite difficult to be scientific
in my evaluation of, but I know there's neuroscience
to support the men and women learn and process
communications and emotions differently. I guess
the networks have been set up specifically for
women in response to a need. You know, I think
men, I think an answer could be, well, men and
women learn and communicate differently. So actually
that could be part of a more... That could lead
to a more thorough answer to that question. I
think maybe monocultures are at play when you're
looking about how people communicate in organisations.
If there's a very male -dominated culture, a
women's network might appeal for obvious reasons
because the women might want to be able to speak
more freely. But I'm going to pause there. What
do you, Helen, think, and Sharon, on that specific
question about how much easier or different is
networking for women? Yeah, well, what I've seen
and what I've heard, certainly in the network,
the community that I run, but also the communities
that I know others run as well, is that the conversations
wouldn't evolve or happen in the same way if
they weren't women only. And I think that there's
something around the safety that's created in
those environments for people to say things,
to surface things and not... have an element
of fear hanging over them and I don't I don't
necessarily like you Rhonda I don't necessarily
know exactly what that is or why that is just
that there is a need there to create a safe space
for people I have faced personal challenge from
people saying well if a man set up a male network
everyone would be up in arms about it and I I
actually really disagree on that. I think networking
spaces for men are really needed and community
groups to help men have the right conversations
and talk more openly. Because to your point,
Rhonda, women tend to be able to. have open and
upfront and honest conversations about the depths
of people's lives and the feelings and emotions
that go along with that. And my perception is
that men can sometimes struggle more to do that
because of the societal pressures that have been
put on them historically. So creating spaces
for both is, I think, is required. when when
it comes to I mean think I wonder or Sharon I
can't remember whether it was which one of you
it was but you mentioned about the nervousness
that comes I think Sharon it was you talking
about women in your community there's a nervousness
that comes when you say the word networking I
think that nervousness is the same for men and
women and we we we have the perspective of because
we run um female communities we see it more often
that it is a women that are having that conversation
but I've spoken to many male colleagues and they
have the same concerns about I don't really like
networking I don't want to do it but I don't
know I don't know what what whether there's any
differences that you've seen Sharon but I think
it's really interesting it's really interesting
to think about those female spaces are definitely
needed and but the male spaces are as well and
then those cross groups it just depends what
the purpose of what you start for I run a cross
-group, so my group is for anybody who works
independently. But what I do notice is, and I
do completely acknowledge the nervousness or
the view of networking or the idea of it being
a club that's quite closed and where you might
be in an out -group rather than an in -group.
I think all of those things are kind of probably
gender mutual. And when I was asking my community
their thoughts on networking ahead of this, because
I thought, oh, I'd be really curious to know
what they think. There was lots of, oh, you know,
I feel nervous coming into a room of people,
you know, a stereotypical networking event, a
big room of people I don't know, you know, and
tips that they would share to kind of facilitate
that, get over the nerves, etc. I mean, there
was no difference in gender. And I get interesting
feedback from both the men and the women that
are in my community. But I do think that, I mean,
I was reading some research ahead of our chat
today because I thought, oh, well, I should really
look at proper research, not just my anecdotal
research of running a community for the last
16 years or whatever. And there was some interesting
stuff about how we group together, like similar
people group together. And I can definitely see
that in my... network i see more women probably
than men and that's probably to do with the fact
that i'm a woman you know um so there's this
concept of you know us seeking out like like
-minded people and so i think there's a responsibility
when we run a community or a network or we bring
people together about creating that safe space
that allows people who may have varying feelings
about coming together to feel safe um i do think
there's probably some specific things particularly
networking in real life that i was thinking about
around safety that might be more women orientated
than men just because of psychological not just
psychological safety but actual physical safety
you know like feeling safe within a network with
a group of you know other people maybe a lot
of men for example which I have felt myself and
do notice but I do think there's an onus on when
we build communities whether it's in the work
or out to create that psychological safety and
that safe space where everybody feels welcome
yeah particularly people from out groups or underrepresented
groups etc yeah I'm not sure where that leads
us in the conversation Well, I think there's
something that I think is important to, as we
think about the impact or the role of networks
and particularly women's networks, thinking about
post -COVID and the fact that many of us had
different experiences of working and being remote.
And then looking at the intergenerational landscape,
I see a lot of... let's call it the Gen Zs and
the millennials, really, really just working
very naturally with technology. And they were
already talking, they looked at their networks
differently than perhaps other generations and
other population families might look at. So I
think that's a consideration when you're thinking
about the impact of women's networks, you know,
the power of technology to connect people quickly
might be more, might be easier for some age groups
more than others, or might be more second nature.
I see that a lot and particularly around the
use of WhatsApp and that kind of thing. So I
think if I was setting up a network now, I would
be mindful of how people like to communicate
and how people like to receive information, go
to events and be streaming. And I think from
an organisational perspective. running ERGs now
so many I know from the work I do my clients
will say well actually we want to stream this
we want to download this we want to in a way
that you might not have done maybe 10 years ago
so I think that's a consideration as well and
then the neurodiversity aspect to overlay over
that as well which is another conversation but
Yeah, I definitely agree with that, Rhonda, in
terms of the type of technology or channels that
are useful for people to interact with and what's
going to work for different audiences and how
you can also think about that from a networking
perspective. I think I actually think a lot of
L &D events specifically, obviously, because
that's where I spend most of my time, are not
doing a great job of that cross -generational
gap filling. And we're still quite... old school
when it comes to events come and if you look
at kind of the actual events sector itself doing
really great interactive experience driven conferences
as an example and then it it it's it's not meeting
people where they are so it has this kind of
perception of it always almost causes that friction
of what i mean i talk about this quite a lot
in my own work but that friction between what
people are expecting and what they're actually
experiencing and so I definitely think channel
matters particularly for engaging younger younger
generations in in the right conversations and
we've never been more globally connected as as
a pop as populations and I think we we can potentially
take that for granted a little bit that actually
um it taking for take it for granted that we're
not we're even more the possibilities of connection
are even more at our fingertips but it's also
that disadvantage of How do you know how to leverage
that or utilize it and get the right information
from those places as well? I think channel, I
think it's kind of multi -channel for me. Multi
-channel is about, is where it's at really. So
some people I know in my network. So I've got
like over 3 ,000 people in the network globally.
The majority are in the UK, then the Netherlands
is the next biggest audience and then it spreads
out plus Europe and then some kind of outliers
both in US, Canada, South America and then the
Far East. What I see is that people want a mix.
So virtual in real life. So everything went virtual
during COVID. The WhatsApp chats channels that
I run connected to the community. Some people
join them. Some people don't want that. They
feel overwhelmed with information. Some people
feel less tech savvy about using WhatsApp and
searching on it. formulate tips to try and help
people navigate it but some people just don't
want it they're overwhelmed and they don't want
it and then linkedin being a community area but
then some people are having i guess second thoughts
about that as a platform and so one of the consistent
challenges i think is finding the light space
and creating yeah whatever the space is whatever
the tool is for me it's about creating that the
safety the values the purpose and trying even
as it grows so we started off as a pub group
right very small meeting in real life and so
even as it grows keeping the purpose the intent
and the feeling i guess behind it to keep it
going and sustaining it yeah and i think that
if we bring it back to say learning because obviously
this is a women talking about learning podcast
then i guess um you know do we think And, you
know, what do we think about networks for L &D?
I mean, I'm going to declare my hand. I mean,
I learn so much from listening to other people
chatting about stuff I have no idea about. Right.
And I benefit so much. So when people ask me,
why do I run this network for free? I kind of
like I'm getting all of this wisdom. from all
of these people about stuff that I had no idea
about. And it really makes me think about if
I was back in house again, how my community building
experience and expertise would really help internally,
particularly around building communities of practice,
for example, or getting people to connect across
organisation, build skills together, learn from
each other. So what do you think? But I think
building on what you were saying, that bringing
it back to skills specifically inside an organisation
is a really interesting angle from the particular
challenges. So I see that particularly smaller
scale L &D teams, even individuals, because headcount
and budgets have been cut so much, who are acting
as individuals now, really crave that network
to... challenge their best practice to challenge
their ideas and to um think like to to say actually
am i doing the right stuff for my organization
and then when you come into the into a business
and you're internal you can then say well actually
that the the networks that people build and the
opportunities we afford to our own employees
internally can actually increase the chances
of talent mobility and therefore filling skills
gaps if we have that awareness of knowledge of
depth of understanding of enhancing skills in
certain ways across an organization through community
and i think that's where the real impact comes
certainly sharon for both you and i from that
perspective of and ronda you might be included
in this forgive me but that kind of building
of We have that perspective of external community
building and actually thinking about that internal
perspective is hugely powerful and has so much
potential, I think. Do you agree, Rhonda? Yes,
I do. And I do agree with that. But I think I
would just add to that that what I'm seeing is
from the thinking about the learning community,
you know, people in organisations looking at
L &D and HR is they are, I think they are. They're
bandwidth. They have less bandwidth. They've
got to be really operational. Budgets are reduced.
Everything, you know, everything is under increasing,
you know, the challenges of transformation with
performance. HR departments are really looking
at how do I transform the organisation? But then
we've also got to manage performance. I see all
these tensions and then specifically they don't
have access. always to have that strategic sounding
board. So I think that would be, you know, thinking
about what I think learning departments are facing,
but that's a real sort of, I say it's a dilemma
really, or polarity is managing that. So how
can we help some of these people? I wonder what
ways can we share them between us about maybe
how networks can support these people? My advice
is definitely join a network and that doesn't
have to be a professional network. I think any
sort of network or community group that resonates
with you either personally or professionally
is a great place to start because you have that
ability to. As we said right at the beginning,
to bring it full circle, to challenge your perspectives,
to increase the connections you have with people
and really kind of challenge your own thinking
and your own ideas. And so if you haven't done
that, that would be my first point of call. And
then I think from an organizational perspective,
a lot of particularly larger organizations are
running ERGs and they're often side of desk projects.
So how can you leverage the network that you
have around you to help you? to be strategic
in what you're trying to deliver and really understand
the business problems that exist within your
particular environment and dig into. I know people
will be trying to do that. So I'm not trying
to be dismissive and suggesting that no one's
doing that. But how can we make sure we're having
an impact and communicating that impact effectively
and leveraging the right relationships internally
to amplify that perspective and that shift that
might be happening? Rhonda, what about you? What
are your top tips? So I'm just going to share
networks that I think can be helpful when you're
working in the kind of learning world. So I think
finding out about trade associations, membership
bodies, which are aligned to the work you do.
And it could be functions or it could be sectors,
you know, the Institute of Direct Marketing,
the CIPD, the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
They all run fantastic events for non -members,
even if you're not a member. I would look at
some of the LinkedIn groups. It's a nice place
to start if you're feeling. more reticent about
joining something actively in person. I think
Eventbrite, which has found me, is a fantastic
place where if you show interest in learning
events in Manchester or D &I events in London,
the algorithm finds things for you. I think it's
incredibly effective. And I think there's nothing
like good old -fashioned, the proverbial grapevine,
reaching out, where do your colleagues go? Where
do the people you want to... do business with?
Where do they hang out? And where would you like
to be? It's like, which communities would you
like to belong to, even if you don't belong to
them yet? And there is something also about why
not set up your own? So I'm very much an intrapreneur.
I'm always focusing about creating communities
within businesses as well. Create your own network.
And that could be another topic. So I think it's
about taking some initiative. and just trying
a few things. And it's always quite nice to go
with someone, or it can be a good way to build
relationships. If you wanted to say to someone,
would you like to come with me to join this particular
club or network? And I think it's all about,
lastly, you put in, you get out what you put
in. Yeah, that's such good advice, Rhonda. I
completely agree with you. And yeah, I really
also like that perspective of just try it, just
experiment, just see what happens. And that's
why Women In was formed, essentially, is that
I picked up on a pattern and conversations that
were happening and said, you know what, we're
going to have to do something about this and
just put something out there. And it's grown
and amplified over time, but it was just that,
let's just try something and see if it solves
the problem. And you never know where it's going
to lead. Great to speak with you, Helen and Sharon,
and good to be exploring this topic more and
look forward to continuing at another time. Yeah,
it's been a great conversation. Rhonda, it's
been lovely to meet you, Sharon. Great to reconnect
again. And I hope this has resonated with some
people and people find value from the conversation
we've had. I certainly have. Great to be involved
in this conversation, Helen and Rhonda, and see
you on screen. I'm really looking forward to
hearing the recording myself. What a great episode
to finish this year on. We've recorded some awesome
episodes this year and we have lots more to come.
A massive thank you to Sharon, Helen and Rhonda
for their insight into this topic and for their
time in making this a brilliant recording. We're
sure you want to connect with them afterwards
and their details are in the show notes, along
with information about how to connect with us
here at Women Talking About Learning. Please
do remember to like and subscribe to the podcast
on your podcast player. It really does make a
difference in helping people find and recommend
us. As this is the last episode of 2025, we'd
like to wish you a very happy Christmas and a
successful and peaceful new year. We're back
on January 6th, 2026, and next time it's the
third sector one. As always, thank you for listening,
and we'll see you again soon.