Staying Sharp: DEI Training Series - Session 1

Join us for STAYING SHARP, a dynamic 3-part virtual DEI training series led by Damaris Price of Working River Consultants. Designed to sharpen your leadership skills and deepen your understanding of equity and inclusion, these 90-minute interactive sessions will take place from August to October.

Open to all CREW Chicago members—don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your impact and grow as an inclusive leader!

• Session 1: August 20, 11:30-1

• Session 2: September 17, 11:30-1

• Session 3: October 29, 11:30-1

All sessions will be virtual via Zoom.

Members only - No charge

Course Description

“Women supporting women” sounds simple—but in workplaces where navigating cultural complexity is the norm, solidarity isn’t automatic. Identity, lived experience, and cultural background shape how we show up, how we’re received, and how trust is built—or broken—even in women-led spaces.

Bridging the Gap: Strengthening Allyship Among Women Across Differences offers a candid, constructive space to examine the tensions that can complicate connections among women professionals. This session builds the self-awareness, cultural fluency, and relational skills to move beyond polite performance into real connection.

Participants will explore:

• Intersectionality and how it shapes identity, perception, and power—even among those who share aspects of gender identity

• Culture’s role in trust-building, communication, and how “support” is expressed and received.

• Ten common disconnects that can emerge across lines of difference—and how to name and navigate them.

• A practical framework to recalibrate behaviors and expectations for stronger relationships with women who are just like you, kind of like you, or not like you at all.

Ideal for professional women in roles where collaboration, leadership, inspiring followership, and influencing other women are critical.