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Everyone talks about power, but what is important is to have influence, according to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Denise Cobb, PhD. Cobb gave the welcome during Tea and Talk, on Tuesday, March 3, to kick off Women History Month. 

“Being a woman in any room is sometimes complicated,” said Cobb. “Then being a woman in a leadership role is particularly complicated, but it’s worth it. When it comes to having influence, think about how to build support for change, how to think about the world differently, how to build a different culture, and how to enact policies that make women’s, men’s and everyone’s lives better.” 

Making positive and innovative change will result in having a good network, the provost emphasized. 

“I challenge you to think about your networks, and how you build them,” added Cobb. “There is a social tendency toward building networks with people who are most like yourself. Those are not the ones that help us be better thinkers or confront issues differently. You have to develop diverse networks that can affect change.” 

Finally, Cobb encouraged women to nominate other women for awards and positions. “Women are not going to self-nominate,” she noted. “They might think they’re not ready, because they think they have to be perfect.” 

SIUE alumna Sarah Rankin, co-founder of 100+ Women Who Care from the 618 with founder Denise Arendell, inspired the audience with her story of the women’s collective giving group that is making an impact with local non-profit organizations in the 618 area code. Rankin earned her master’s in clinical adult psychology in 2010 from SIUE.  

The concept involves women meeting four times a year and each giving $100. Each woman can nominate a non-profit of her choice. Three agency names are pulled, and those who nominated the group give a short presentation. Afterwards, the group votes, and the non-profit receiving the most ballots gets the pool of money. 

“What started with one woman and then four, has grown to more than 1,700,” said Rankin. 

The 100 Who Care Alliance was started in 2006 by Karen Dunigan, who died a few years later. Her legacy lives on through the expansion of more than 100 chapters throughout the world. 

The 618-area-code group formed in May 2019 and held its first meeting in July 2019. The local group has raised more than $113,000 and has given three impact awards to not-for-profit agencies, according to Rankin. 

“There is nothing like the feeling of working together to impact the community,” said Rankin. “Women are working collectively, making connections and making a difference in our own community.” 

Photos:
SIUE Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Denise Cobb, PhD, welcomes the audience at SIUE’s Tea and Talk on Tuesday, March 3. 

SIUE alumna Sarah Rankin, co-founder of 100+ Women Who Care from the 618 with founder Denise Arendell, talks about the collective power of women and their responsibility to contribute to the community. 

Women broke into groups to discuss networking questions provided.