Fair360’s “Networks that Work for Women” session at the 7th annual Women of Color and Their Allies (WOCA) event featured Marla Willner, SVP, Head of Commercial Credit Management at TD Bank (No. 20 on the 2024 Top 50 list). The event took place virtually on Oct. 8, 2024.
Willner discussed the importance of networks for women’s career growth and leadership. Additionally, she highlighted TD’s initiatives, including its Connected Leadership Academy and Women at TD group.
Women at TD
In addition to her role as SVP and head of commercial credit management, Willner is also the executive sponsor of the Women at TD Employee Resource Group (ERG). The group is the company’s largest ERG in the United States. It serves as a place for women and allies within the company to “encourage, develop and mentor each other,” Willner said.
“We try to make it a safe space where women at all levels across the organization have access to valuable learning experiences, ongoing support for their career goals and powerful network of like-minded colleagues,” she said.
Recently, Women at TD has focused on intersectionality “as women are engaged across all TD’s ERGs,” she added.
Connected Leadership Academy
On top of Women at TD, the company has several other initiatives to support women and their career goals. One that Willner is particularly proud of is the Connected Leadership Academy, which was recently launched by the company. It was developed in partnership with McKinsey.
“McKinsey had developed a number of programs specifically focused on advancing racial equity, and we took their program and created wraparound TD content to provide exposure to senior leaders at the bank and speed mentoring and fireside chats and other engagements,” she said.
The academy created a safe space for women of color within the organization. Willner said it allowed them to “work together and make long, lasting connections.”
Through the program, women of color also heard experiences from employees at other companies. For the McKinsey piece of the academy, participants were on the phone with approximately 1,000 men and women to learn key skills for development.
“[It’s a program] to make people feel more confident, increase retention, feel like TD is actually investing in them and encouraging them to take the time to invest in themselves,” Willner said.
Building a Personal Brand and Network
According to Willner, personal growth and resilience is needed for women of color to advance in their careers. To help women do this, she encouraged them to “proactively seek out professional development opportunities.”
“Take advantage of training programs, conferences, networking events in and outside of your company,” she said. “Joining your company’s ERG is an easy step to connect with colleagues across different locations, levels and lines of business.”
Furthermore, Willner said women should look for peer-to-peer opportunities and stretch assignments.
“You should unabashedly build your personal brand,” she said. “Showcase your expertise through speaking engagements and networking and creating visibility for yourself and influence within the organization.”
In addition to building a personal brand, women of color must also form a personal board of directors. These could be people inside your organization and outside of it.
Willner shared how she has her own personal board of directors made up of friends and acquaintances. They meet once a month to talk through challenges they are going through and to get advice.
“A lot of the advice is transferable,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in publishing or banking; some of the things you come up against, they are really all the same when it comes down to it.”
Additionally, women should become allies for others. Support women and foster an environment where women feel supported.
“Lift others up as you climb and champion diverse voices because we’re stronger together,” she said. “We can help break down those barriers.”
Watch the full session recording and check back to our event page to read other article recaps from WOCA 2024!
