CailinA growing organization of empowered women running smaller credit unions are looking for new members in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
The Credit Union Women’s Leadership Alliance (CUWLA) offers an important support system that allows women running small-asset-size credit unions to share best practices, provide mentorship and better support the communities they serve.
This is an important initiative in the credit union space. According to a CUNA Policy Analysis Issue Brief, 52% of credit union CEOs are women. And the majority of those women lead smaller credit unions. The study showed that women serve as CEO at 57.7% of all credit unions with less than $250 in assets. That’s compared to 14.2% at credit unions with between $1 billion and $3 billion in assets.
“It’s common knowledge that CEOs of smaller credit unions face unique challenges,” said Jan Page, CEO of Community South Credit Union and a founding member of CUWLA. “Smaller credit unions have all the same pressures and compliance mandates of larger credit unions — but with the added burden of having fewer hands on deck. What’s often overlooked is that many smaller credit unions are led by women, who must overcome their own set of challenges working in the financial sector.”
CUWLA works to preserve and sustain smaller credit unions while empowering the women who run them by:
- Creating a mutual support system of trust and accountability
- Providing challenging opportunities for professional growth through networking and mentorship
- Developing best practices and innovative ideas for building relevance and creating credit union growth
