Network Logic - Index of

Network logic
needs of individuals for professional development and community.
Second, by developing women’s talent, they contribute to diversity
within workplaces and promote the progression of women across
sectors and, through this, women’s networks have the potential to
strengthen the overall performance of an organisation or sector.
Emerging questions
This initial exploration of women’s networks points to a cluster of
questions that warrant further consideration. The first centres on the
processes of change within organisations, and the sort of
contribution that diversity networks, with their dynamic, peer-topeer
structures, can make to learning and managing knowledge,
capacity-building and developing trust within communities of
practice. The second focuses on the interface between women’s
networks and other social institutions. Viewed through the lens of
their campaigning and voluntary work and, in many cases, their
strong grassroots presence in local communities, to what extent are
women’s networks agents of ‘social capital’ and civic participation?
And what do they tell us about the role of gender in communitybuilding
processes? The final set of questions concerns the nature of
the policy challenge: how can we identify a role for policy-makers in
supporting and nurturing women’s networks as part of a wider,
‘adaptive’ approach to gender equality? As such, this essay represents
an overture to a much richer, ongoing conversation about the
contribution of diversity networks in creating inclusive workplaces
for all.
Helen McCarthy is a researcher at Demos, and is co-founder of women’s
network thinkingwomen. She is also author of the forthcoming Demos
publication Girlfriends in High Places, which will be published in April
2004.
Notes
1 M Scott Welch, Networking: the great new way for women to get ahead (New
York:Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980).
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