Reflecting on 50 Years of Women of AT&T

Lollie Ramirez-Bennett, CEO of Women of AT&T

As we recognize all our AT&T Employee Groups this month, I want to share my perspective on one of our largest Employee Resource Groups, Women of AT&T (WOA). I became an active member with WOA about 10 years ago. I found myself drawn to the thought of driving women’s equality in the workplace and clearing a path for women to follow. Although I am fortunate to have steadfast confidence in believing that I can do whatever I set my mind to — regardless of my gender or race — I recognize that there are still too many women struggling to achieve their personal and professional goals. They are bright, well-educated, and experienced women, yet they still need the encouragement of others to step out and pursue their dreams.

With Women of AT&T, we’re living out that mission every day “to connect and inspire members to achieve their personal and professional goals and to effect change in the community.”

Celebrating 50 Years

For the past 50 years, at work, at schools, and in our local communities, WOA has dedicated its efforts to advocating for gender equality and developing stronger women by building their confidence and leadership skills. We encourage women to make themselves vulnerable so that they can learn to trust each other and, thereby, grow a sisterhood of powerful women. We do all this, of course, with the support of many great male allies.

A Brief WOA History

It was my honor to be able to lead this amazing organization as we hosted a 50th Anniversary Celebration & Leadership Development Conference in Denver, Colorado, earlier this year. The overarching theme for the conference was “Collaborate, Elevate, Educate, Celebrate.” The event was met with complete enthusiasm and energy as the participants were finally able to get together in person again. We exceeded all expectations with three days of impactful professional development, networking, community service, and festivities.

We delivered some carefully curated workshops, including a panel of four AT&T leaders who discussed transparency and authenticity in “Channeling the True Leader in Me.” The workshops offered valuable key learnings from our leaders that we could implement immediately and also take back to our work teams and to all of our WOA chapters.

During the conference, we shared two proclamations. The first one we received from the City of Denver, declaring Saturday, June 25, 2022, “Women of AT&T Day” in recognition of the tremendous community outreach project our conference-goers did that day. We stuffed over 300 backpacks with donated necessitates and cards of encouragement. These bags were then given to various relief organizations to distribute to human trafficking survivors, supporting their success as they break the chains from their captors. We also took the opportunity to create awareness with our conference participants about the dangers of human trafficking and the steps to take if we see anything of concern in our own communities.

The second proclamation was from the great State of Texas for the amazing work WOA has done over the last 50 years to create opportunities for women and for what we have given back to the communities in which we live and work.

In the past year alone we gave over $200,000 worth of scholarships at a national and local level. We’ve changed lives with countless hours of mentoring and community service. We have helped inspire and empower business leaders and we have impacted AT&T by building stronger ties to our communities. As I reflect on all our accomplishments, I think our predecessors would be proud of our achievements as Women of AT&T. There is no doubt that the groundwork laid by them has enabled us to achieve so much. Cheers to 50 years and here’s to continuing our charge to make a difference in the fight for gender equality!!!