WASHINGTON — Winners, hopefuls and supporters of Credit Union Times' Women to Watch program celebrated outstanding women in the credit union industry at a Feb. 23 reception during CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference.

"Though better than many business sectors, credit unions still have a ways to come in developing women for the corner office," CU Times Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Sarah Snell Cooke said. "While more than half of credit union CEOs are women, when you look at the number of female CEOs at credit unions of more than $100 million in assets, the figure drops below one-quarter, and even more drastically at those credit unions with more than $1 billion in assets. As the baby boomers retire, more and more women will have to take their place and they deserve the appropriate networking and leadership development opportunities to get there."

That is why CU Times started our Women to Watch program—to highlight women who are making a difference for the credit union community. We want to work with female executives to ensure women support each other, and help provide awareness of the additional challenges they face.