Women’s Leadership Forum fosters increased diversity in equipment finance

The event, held at DLL’s US headquarters in Wayne, focused on leadership development for women in equipment finance, with Dr. Terri Boyer highlighting that a Google search of the term “leader” tends to pull up images of men.

Alta Group recently provided a summary of the event.

Dave Schaefer, the CEO of Mintaka Financial and ELFA chairman provided opening comments, stressing the importance of diversity in the workplace and the association’s commitment to it. The group was welcomed by Ralph Petta, ELFA’s president and CEO. The forum was held at DLL’s US headquarters in Wayne, Pennsylvania and included a welcome from its CEO Bill Stephenson.

At the event, Robbie Samuels, author of the book Croissants vs. Bagels, provided guidance on networking, which included 10 networking tips for making conference connections, while Dr. Terri Boyer and Tanya Menon spoke to delegates about effective communication.

The event included a session led by Amanda Dooley on how to extract the greatest benefit from LinkedIn, while table discussions were led by Women’s Council committee members including Valerie L. Gerard, managing director and leader of Alta’s management consulting practice.

Following the success of the inaugural event, planning has started for the 2019 forum.

The event reflects a global movement to recognise the business benefits of leadership and workforce diversity.

In the UK last year, The Leasing Foundation launched a diversity and inclusion programme to coincide with National Inclusion Week.

The Leasing Foundation already organised a Women in Leasing group, but executives said it was clear that gender is only one small part of diversity.

In addition, while diversity may encourage employers to create opportunities for individuals, it is vital to focus on inclusivity to promote acceptance and help individuals to thrive within organisations.

As a recent Harvard Business Review article explained: “Diversity is being asked to the party; Inclusion is being asked to dance.”

The Leasing Foundation says having a diverse workforce is not just about being a responsible employer, it is also about talent management.

Organisations which tap into the diverse workforce pool tend to be more innovative and creative because employees with different backgrounds, experiences and ways of thinking can bring a broader perspective and fresh ideas to support business development.