On the Cusp of Change

ELFA’s Women’s Council gets down to business

If you want to know what change in the equipment finance industry looks like, talk to anyone who attended the Women in Leasing Reception at the ELFA Annual Convention last fall. Instead of the small, sedate gathering typical of this event a couple of years ago, more than 100 people crowded into a room designed for about 50 and lit the place up with energy and excitement. The reception was the first event following the official startup of the ELFA Women’s Council, and it set the tone for a series of activities designed to help women advance their careers and increase their participation in the association.

Lori Frasier is Senior Vice President of Strategy and Performance Management at Key Equipment Finance in Superior, Colorado, and Chair of the Women’s Council. The Council is a 16-member steering committee whose mission is to help achieve gender balance in leadership across all levels of the equipment finance industry and the association. “We hope not to need this Council five to 10 years from now,” says Frasier. “Having an inclusive and diverse industry overall is our long-term vision.

“We’re at a point in our nation where women’s issues of all kinds are in the headlines, and we believe the time is ripe for change.”

—Lori Frasier, Key Equipment Finance





It is a vision that includes men, two of whom are members of the Women’s Council. “Although our primary focus is on women, the Council values men as partners,” says Frasier. “Our goal is to raise awareness among all members of the industry about the challenges women face and the obstacles that can prevent their rise to leadership, and men are an important part of that conversation. Just as we invited men to our reception at last year’s convention, we will continue to involve them in dialogue and request their attendance at events that can benefit from their input.”

“Organizations with gender-balanced leadership are better positioned to be high-performing,” says David Schaefer, ELFA Chairman. “The ELFA Board has made this a priority and established the Women’s Council as a way to promote and showcase the talents of the female leaders in our industry.” Schaefer says the board is not only focused on gender, but also looks for strategies to increase all facets of diversity. Another example is the Emerging Talent Advisory Council. Says Schaefer, “I personally believe that having diverse leadership teams in our companies and our association will bring about significant value.”

“I personally believe that having diverse leadership teams in our companies and our association will bring about significant value.”

—David Schaefer, ELFA Chairman

A Force for the Future

Next up on the Council’s agenda is “Be a Force for the Future,” the Women’s Leadership Forum scheduled for April 23–24 at DLL’s North American headquarters in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Registration is open to 80 women, who will spend the two days focusing on networking, negotiation and communication skills. The conference will also include time for attendee interaction and networking with other industry leaders. “Women who attend should gain new insights and leave with action steps to implement when they return to their offices,” says Frasier.

Deb Baker, Senior Director, Global Portfolio Services, for Cisco Systems Capital Corporation in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and a Women’s Council member, explains why networking is so important: “Networking is a prime opportunity to build professional capital, and women don’t do enough of it,” she says. She then admits that she could improve her own skills in this area. “In the past if someone asked me about networking, I’d always say I’m pretty good at it,” she recalls, chuckling. “But then I started reading about networking and learned that women often leave conferences immediately after a session and return to their rooms to catch up on email. Women also tend to take lunch at their desks instead of going to the cafeteria. I’ve done both of those things myself! It makes me realize that we women need to network more and work a little less. Because, at times, relationships are more important than anything else.”

“Networking is a prime opportunity to build professional capital, and women don’t do enough of it.”

—Deb Baker, Cisco Systems Capital Corporation

Baker joined the Council to support an industry she has belonged to for her entire career. She’s also eager to increase the number of women in industry leadership positions. “I’m lucky to work for a company that has an incredibly diverse leadership team, and it’s not something new,” she says. “Cisco’s Office of Inclusion and Collaboration thinks about all aspects of diversity, whether that’s gender, age or ethnicity. Its work has made a difference in supporting a diverse workplace, maximizing innovation and collaboration and creating a culture where everyone is welcomed, respected, valued and heard.”

Jennifer Fanz, U.S. Country Sales Manager for Healthcare at DLL and a Women’s Council member, gives a presentation to all new hires at DLL on personal communication styles. “We women tend not to be as vocal, as commanding or as sure of ourselves as men, and this is often perceived in a negative way,” she says. “It’s important to realize how our words, mannerisms and nonverbal cues come across. Laughing while we talk, for example, can undermine our message and give others a poor impression.”

“Feedback that we received from women at the convention tells us there are a lot more women who are ready to step forward.”

—Jennifer Fanz, DLL

Fanz heads the Women’s Network at DLL and credits one of her mentors, DLL President of Global Healthcare & Clean Technology Amy Nelson, for placing Fanz in the position. “Our company started the network and Amy told me I was going to run it,” she recalls. “I was hesitant, but in less than four years what we’ve done is unbelievable. We’ve created a space where women feel comfortable, enjoy networking, bounce ideas off each other and participate in learning and social events. I’ve been afforded opportunities that helped me navigate through my own peaks and valleys, and I want to share the same opportunity with other women.”

Groups organized to help female employees connect and advance exist at a number of equipment finance companies. Stryker Flex Financial, based in Portage, Michigan, has such a group in which James Cress acts as one of its local executive advisors. He is also one of two male members of ELFA’s Women’s Council. “I’m married and have two daughters, and my team at the finance company is about 50% women,” says Cress, Vice President and General Manager. “I was eager to join the Women’s Council because of my positive experiences with the Stryker Women’s Network.”

“I think the Women’s Council can create awareness and education… and develop tools for member companies to use to effect change in their own companies.”

—James Cress, Stryker Flex Financial

Cress says the group has informed policy changes at Stryker, including improved parental leave, more flexible work culture and training and development specific to women who aspire to leadership. “I realize now that women have different challenges and needs when it comes to their career development, and before, this was a blind spot for me,” he says. “I think the Women’s Council can create awareness and education on the topic at ELFA and develop tools for member companies to use to effect change in their own companies.”

Cress looks forward to helping plan Women’s Council events that will be warm and inclusive and attract different kinds of people. “There has been feedback that events could be more welcoming and inclusive for women and others,” he says. “People want to see others who look like them when they attend events and network within the industry. I joined the ELFA Board for the opportunity to work on initiatives like this. As we seek out and compete for talent, we need to develop new leaders. And it’s proven that gender-balanced leadership creates better business results.”

The Challenges Ahead

The Women’s Leadership Forum is the first Council event planned for 2018 but won’t be the last. “We have a lot of work to do,” says Frasier. “We’re at a point in our nation where women’s issues of all kinds are in the headlines, and we believe the time is ripe for change. The equipment finance industry has not achieved gender-balanced leadership, and building awareness is important to get companies to think about this issue. It’s not about pointing fingers; it’s about getting people to think differently, and it starts by increasing awareness.”

Caroline Turner couldn’t have said it better. Turner is Principal of Difference WORKS, LLC, a Colorado-based consultancy that helps leaders improve productivity by cracking the code on diversity, particularly gender diversity. She led the breakout session “Better Leaders, Better Results: Striking a Balance in Individuals, Teams and Organizations” at the ELFA Annual Convention last October and shed light on masculine and feminine ways of communicating and the strengths of each.

“When I did my workshop, the #MeToo Movement had just gotten noisy, and I began by saying that’s not our focus,” Turner remembers. “I said that we wanted to stay in the attic, to deal with higher-level issues of gender-balanced leadership. But you know, the #MeToo Movement tells us that the basement’s not clean yet.”

Turner noted in her session that although nearly 47% of the current U.S. workforce is female, just 5% of CEO positions at Standard & Poor’s 500 companies are held by women. At the same time, 51% of management, professional and related positions are held by women, according to Catalyst, a global nonprofit that works with leading organizations to build companies that work well for women. “The question is, if 47% of the total workforce is women, where are they going?” asks Turner. “The answer many give is that they leave to have and raise children, but that’s not true. Research shows that many women leave because they don’t feel valued or heard. They leave to start their own businesses or find a culture where they feel included. Or they stall in their career and so aren’t in the leadership pipeline.”

Turner herself left a senior-level corporate job to start her own business. “The situation now is that companies want and need women, but often leaders don’t know how to attract, develop and retain them,” she says. “So what can companies do to create a culture that allows women to stay and do their best work?”

One step is to create a women’s network that brings female employees together to discuss issues, support each other and bring potential solutions to management. Another is holding workshops so men and women can learn about masculine and feminine styles of communicating, working and leading and the value of each. Says Turner, “We can all become more gender-intelligent by learning to recognize and appreciate these differences. Men can feel free to be inclusive and collegial when it’s appropriate, and women can feel free to be dominant and declarative when appropriate. By appreciating these differences, we all become inclusive and more powerful as leaders.”

In that vein, planning is already under way on new content to be featured at this year’s ELFA Annual Convention, and more women’s events are being discussed. “Feedback that we received from women at the convention tells us there are a lot more women who are ready to step forward,” says Fanz. “We want to build a support system that offers them education, networking and opportunities for development.”

Frasier says themes and goals from the Women’s Council were part of the discussion at the Executive Roundtable in March. “We’re really starting to influence a lot of activities and forums in ELFA, and we’ll continue to look for ways to do this,” she says. “We have to own our careers and development and realize that this is an opportune time for women to raise their voices and look to play bigger roles in their organizations without worrying about how they are viewed.” If women in ELFA and throughout the equipment finance industry can leverage the heightened awareness brought about by the #MeToo Movement, “it can benefit all of us as we experience a groundswell of interest in women’s issues,” says Frasier, who adds, “It’s wonderful that ELFA was already focusing on women’s issues before this movement came about.”