Beginning in FY21, the LCC created a Global Lead position and started providing leadership coaching to Affiliates. We continue to add more Global Coaches and now have 34 Affiliates assigned an LCC Coach who can advise them on Affiliate operation - recruitment, retention and engagement of members; event planning; fundraising, etc. The need is growing and there are still a dozen more Affiliates who have requested a Coach that we haven't yet been able to assign to one. We hope to be able to recruit more Coaches for the coming year and support all our Affiliates.
Many Global Affiliates have been started by ex-pat SWE members or by Companies with strong SWE ties who want to provide benefits and support to their overseas employees. Our Affiliate leaders are smart women who are passionate about the mission of SWE. While they face the same challenges as any SWE Section, they also contend with additional challenges. Without a strong brand recognition outside the US, SWE is less well-known to potential members and sponsors. Finances are a huge challenge as our Global Affiliates do not have the financial autonomy that US Sections have. SWE is working to provide better financial resources to our Affiliates, but for now, those without strong corporate sponsors struggle.
SWE has made great strides in producing materials in common languages: Spanish, Portuguese, and simplified Chinese, but there are many more languages that our Global SWE members speak. SWE has two annual WELocal conferences outside the US: one in India and one in the EU. These events help connect our global members to the greater SWE Community - something that most would say is the best benefit of being a SWE member! It would be worthwhile for all SWE members to learn more about our Global goals and programs and help welcome them into the SWE community. You can check out the full list of Global Affiliates on SWE's global website: https://swe.org/membership/global-programs/affiliates/ and you can connect with them on social media.
If your company sponsors an Affiliate or you have colleagues located globally, there's an opportunity for you to connect with SWE around the world!

Written by: Amy Gelsinger, LCC Global Lead
LCC_Global@swe.org