Cablefax The Magazine August 2022 - 22

ALLY
AWARD
WICT Network Always
by Industry's Side
By Sara Winegardner
The COVID-19 pandemic made it harder than
ever to connect with family, friends and coworkers,
but it also underscored how important
that human connection is. For an industry
association like The WICT Network, it was
a time to step up to the plate and ensure that
every woman in the industry knew that they
weren't alone.
" We've always been very communicative
with our chapters, stakeholders, sponsors
and our members. We just really doubled
down on that, " WICT Network President/
CEO Maria Brennan says. " We really amped
up our day-to-day communications with our
volunteer leaders. "
Her goal was to keep The WICT Network's
team healthy and confident in the work they
were doing while also keeping the larger
organization healthy. Immediately, the team
saw registration increase fourfold for its webinars
compared to the numbers it would see
for live programs and shifted to try to meet
the demand for those community events.
Monthly calls with the chapter presidents
and vice presidents were used to exchange
information about virtual platforms, what
was resonating with different groups and
more. And while there was plenty of serious
discussion around how to continue supporting
members in their professional development,
there was also a lot of talk about how
to create more social or laidback events that
could bring people together.
" We were intentional to still have fun in
this because that's what kept our members
engaged, " says Terri Rice, WICT Heartland
Chapter President and Cox Senior Marketing
Manager. " We wanted to build unique experiences
for them that perhaps they weren't
getting in other virtual meetings. "
The Heartland Chapter held a Halloween
party where everyone was encouraged to
dress up. It also hosted a makeup artist who
taught members how to use products to look
their best in virtual meetings. The chat box
was blowing up during every event, and more
individuals began turning their video on with
each new gathering. The chapter conducted
surveys after each event, but the biggest vote
of confidence it received was when it hit its
renewal goals throughout the pandemic.
" That's one of the things members strugThe
WICT Network revealed its new name at its Signature Luncheon in October. (LtoR: Maria
Brennan, CAE, President & CEO, The WICT Network; Sandra Howe, Technology Executive
and Chair, The WICT Network; Karen Buchholz, EVP, Administration, Comcast and Board
Member, The WICT Network)
gle with as their departments fund their
membership... What's the value that they're
getting with their WICT membership that
they can't get in some employee resource
group? " Rice says.
The Pacific Northwest Chapter similarly
has an expansive footprint, but it came into
the pandemic with some advantages. With
members in Alaska, the western portions of
Canada and the northwest corner of the U.S.,
it started pivoting to virtual events in 2019
long before the pandemic as a way to connect
folks from some of the more remote
regions of the country.
Pacific Northwest Chapter President Abbie
O'Dell, who serves as Charter Senior Director
of Learning Services: Field Operations,
notes that the Southeast Chapter and others
opened their programs to members from
other chapters. " They quickly realized that
mentorship is a challenge when you can't
be together live. They were like if we can
get other chapters to be part of the mentormentee
pool, we can further cross-pollinate.
Maybe someone from Denver could mentor
someone in Mexico, or vice versa, " she says.
While all this was going on, the global
organization continued to plan for the fu22
August
2022
ture and how it could support more women.
The leadership team first met about a name
change in February 2020. The pandemic put
those discussions on ice for a time, but everybody
came back to the drawing board once
the initial transitionary period to operating from
home was complete.
" It's pretty easy to do a census and see how
they're identifying themselves, and you're hard
pressed to find the word cable in any of them,
even the traditional distribution MSOs... they
consider themselves technology companies,
entertainment companies and media companies, "
Brennan says.
Global leadership wanted to build a larger
umbrella to welcome in more women from
the media, entertainment and technology sectors.
The organization conducted a census of
its member companies, commissioned focus
groups and employed outside firms before
settling on The WICT Network with the tagline
" Empowering Women in Media, Entertainment
and Technology. " It was officially introduced
during the group's Signature Luncheon in October
in New York City.
" It's setting us up for the future, but it's also
an homage to where we are. Not the past, but
where we are, " Brennan says. 
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Cablefax The Magazine August 2022

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