The Big Announcement: Women’s Advancement Compact Needs A New Name!
When I set out to launch Women’s Advancement Compact, I gave it a name that would unmistakably attach it to its mission: to guide women through the all phases of their careers, and help them gain the skills needed to get promoted to leadership positions. I made sure my new company lived up to that name, remaining focused on a holistic approach to addressing busy professionals’ lives. We supported women who wanted to advance in soft skills, business development, personal health & well being, and the integration of work with personal life. Everything was falling nicely into place, and the only hiccup was our name’s inadvertently-deprecating acronym, which I hadn’t noticed until it was too late.
A Big Decision
Despite the WACronym factor, it wasn’t long before our community and I began to notice that we may have outgrown our name. It clearly wasn’t telling the whole story about our mission. Staring me straight in the eye was the reality that not every woman was chasing a C Suite, while not every man wished to squeeze women out of the corporate sphere. Plain and simple: Our goals cannot not be accomplished in the gender vacuum that our name implies. In supporting motivated, professional women in accelerating their advancement and living richer lives, we need to acknowledge their diverse ideas about what that is. Moreover, the whole process requires the help and inclusion of men. Indeed, many of these men had been an active part of our events and discussions from the start. It is clear that a rebranding, via a name change, is in order. Stat!
A Meeting Of The Minds
Both men and women greatly benefit from WAC's community events, which usually focus on actively developing corporate emotional intelligence. This is intellectually specific, not gender specific. Additionally, our workshops shine a light on effective career success qualities. Studies have shown that these traits are actually fundamental to being a good leader. Socially evolved men understand that they, in addition to women, can benefit from such qualities. But the name Women’s Advancement Compact, by implication, omits these men from the conversation. We need to remind men that they have been an integral part of the evolution into our 21st century professional model; those among them who truly want to help women advance need to be encouraged to, and shown how.
Calling On You
In renaming WAC, we aim to keep our mission in place, while not being pigeonholed as strictly a women’s group or a feminist movement. The new name should intrigue any professional who hears it, male or female. It should shout to the world that we’ve arrived, standing at the ready to address the challenges and realities that may be holding people back in their careers, both because of and in spite of their gender. With these truths as our guideline, the campaign begins now to choose the appropriate new name for WAC. And get ready, as this process will require YOUR help! We are asking our community for your new name suggestions. Please submit your ideas on our Facebook page by voting in the Comments Section on the pinned post. If you’re less familiar with Facebook, below is a picture of what to look for. You can also email your name suggestions to Deborah at info@drivenpros.com.
The person who's new name idea wins the final vote will receive a free 1-year membership to our newly-named company! Welcome to our big moment, and thank you for sharing in the excitement!