The Power of Community – for International Business Women shaping their Career in Munich
I - II
Tamara Osorio + Susanne Nguyen
Publish on: 28 -11-2022
“When we use the term community power, this captures a wide range of different activities, approaches and initiatives. Common to all of these, is the principle that communities have knowledge, skills and assets which mean they are well placed to identify and understand what they need to resolve any challenges they face, and to thrive.” (COMMUNITY POWER: THE EVIDENCE, by Grace Pollard, Jessica Studdert and Luca Tiratelli, ©New Local, February 2021).
Whether you call it the Wisdom of the crowd or the Power of Community – we all have made our experiences with communities related to different topics and on various platforms. However, the core idea is always the same: Bringing people with the same interests, challenges goals together is fun – and so far more than fun! Communities can boost creativity and lead to new solutions and decisions. They have enormous power for the personal situation and wellbeing of individuals as well as for the community and its resilience. Concerning career development that means: Communities can be a crucial driver for your career and have the power to empower you and others within the community.
There are three steps to unleash the community power: 1. Explore different communities and find the one that has a unifying cause with you. 2) Find a specific reason that inspire you to collaborate and 3) contribute to the community!
As amiga alumna and international IT specialist in Munich, I spoke with three amazing international expats who boosted their own careers and even found a great business idea by excellently using community power 
Below you find the part 1 of the interview and part 2 is in a separate blog post.
Interview with Begonia Vazquez Merayo
Entrepreneur in diversity management + innovation consulting
Communities: Working Moms e.V., net4tec, Alegria e.V.
Begonia Vazquez Merayo on LinkedIn
What was your initial motivation to get involved in communities?
Im a networker by nature. After my first child’s birth, I felt the need to create an organization to promote bilingual education in Spanish and German: Alegría e.V. in Düsseldorf. When I arrived in Munich, I also co-founded Working Moms e.V. In this great community, I got a lot of support for my development as a mother and as an executive knowing that I am not the only woman in Germany, who considers reconciliation of family and career as a matter of course. I also met amazing women in similar life situations to mine and we are still friends to this day. My belief, that children are a booster for career, led me to get involved in the network and contribute to the national growth and development of our vision and strategy, also launching the mentoring program, and been involved in the regional chapter as chairman of the executive board in Munich for the last four years.
The community idea also plays an important role for your own business idea – how did that go?
Thanks to my children, I had the courage to start my own company in 2011: a strategy consulting with focus on diversity recruiting, transformation and community building and the aim to leverage the power of diversity in business for more innovation. Moreover, four years ago, I founded net4tec, a curative career network for ambitious women in technology and digital business.
In your opinion: How to unleash the full potential of a community?
The main point of participating in networking communities is to get involved and contribute to the realization of a shared vision. The idea is not to attend some events and then expect to get some connections/benefits from the community. The idea is to contribute to the community actively. This is the only way you can benefit from it and extract its full potential. This is the only way in which you generate real connections. In my experience, your network is what you make out of it!
How do you work with the community idea at net4tect?
net4tec wants to shape the new face of leadership in the technology world, by lifting female careers with the power of the community. Our mission is to create formats for knowledge transfer, personal growth and strategic networking. We see our community as a safe space for authenticity, the joy of experimentation and shared learning. Therefore, we meet on a regular basis for our 60 minutes grow-to-lead sessions, networking lunches and pioneer talks as well as in our net4tec and partner events, online and in-person. In net4tec, women and men are invited to engage with the community and fulfil our mission together. We believe in the power of collaboration.
net4tec belongs to the international ecosystem of my company Why Consult, where you find institutions, networks, initiatives, business schools, companies, and experts with the aim of bringing more diversity and innovation to the workplace. In that context, we even help companies to create internal and external networks to promote female careers.
Could you please share an example about how the power of community also helped your business way?
Thanks to Henkel’s alumni network, I started a partnership with Bianca Overbeck and Susanne Sigmund, with focus on diversity recruitment in the technology environment and we created net4tec together. Also, thanks to the LinkedIn network, I met my Co-Founder and Partner in Crime for net4tec Julia Baumanns. Actually we kicked off live in Germany together with PANDA at their Female Leadership Contest Automotive @ Porsche in Stuttgart 😉 This is real power of community!
>> More about the Career Communities:
Working Moms e.V.
Founded 2007 as regional association and 2009 nationwide
600 Members (in 11 cities in Germany)
Mission + target group: Working Moms e.V. is a network of committed working mothers. The Working Moms stand for the fact that women can of course have both – children and a career. We want to offer working mothers a forum to exchange ideas and support each other.
Offer: There is a wide range of offers for members. In addition to the regular club evenings at the various locations, where topics relevant to the working moms are discussed, there are many different events that enable members to network. At the same time, family and fun are not neglected. Members also benefit from the opportunity to participate in a nationwide mentoring program.
More to read in the interview with Ina Steinle from Working Mums at Fondfrauen.de
net4tec
Founded 2018
500 Members
Mission + target group: We “rock” the technology world and make it more colourful by lifting female careers and shaping a new face of leadership with the power of community. Inspire yourself with an interactive exchange within the community, network online and offline, and learn how to grow and advance in your career. We at net4tec are a powerful, engaged, and relevant network of an international women and men community from the technology world. Everything we do, we do with the goal of making ourselves visible at all career stages and enjoy every opportunity to lift each other up.
Offers: Career development sessions, networking lunches, upskilling trainings, speaker opportunities, professional perspectives, news, workshops, events.
net4tec entre nous: Tailor-made program with a holistic approach & individual support to expand the skills & capabilities required for your growth as a true female leader.
net4tec Role Models: Visibility for ambitious women in STEM & Digital Business who want to move forward in their career.
60’ Grow to Lead Sessions: Knowledge transfer sessions with global experts, career peers and senior executives. Learn how to break through and overcome personal challenges.
net4tec and partner Events: establish company contacts, receive job offers & enjoy every opportunity to become visible, build relationships and support each other.
PANDA – The Women Leadership Network
Founded in 2016
3,100 members
Mission + target group: As women are still significantly underrepresented in management positions in Germany, our aim is to get 50% female leaderships in business
Activities:
PANDA Breakfast/Dinner Club: Informal networking breakfast in a small circle
PANDA Deep Dive Lesson (paid event) -> online format with a focus on a relevant topic around leadership, diversity and organization plus moderated exchange and discussion.
Partnerships with companies also provide valuable contacts and job opportunities in the management sector.
👉 More about Women in Big Data & Female Tech Leaders: see part 2 of this blog post.
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