Bridge Women's Network

Our mission is to be the firm’s key resource and point of advocacy for the most current research, programming, practices and opportunities for dialogue and collaboration, and to provide a firm-wide platform to recruit and promote female career development, develop relationships internally between groups, and provide leadership opportunities.

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2023 Women's History Month Panels, Podcasts & Interviews

International Women's Day Panel

BPM Leadership Panel

Women's History Month Podcast

Watch Here

Part 1

Part 2

October Series: I Wish I Knew - Advice from Female Leaders at Bridge

Run Towards Fire

Throughout my career there have been different areas of the business that are busier than others. Sometimes it’s deal flow and other times its asset management depending on the point of the market cycle we are in. During times of market stress is where I have learned the most, especially if you can find a way to be in the thick of it. During COVID, the debt funds experienced stress in our securities portfolio which caused margin calls but opened a window of opportunity to buy securities at distressed prices. I got to work closely with the trading desk on settling trades, challenging margin calls, and managing cash. I would never have learned that much, that quickly, if there hadn’t been a temporary market dislocation. Now during a high interest rate environment, we are seeing some distress in our loan portfolio because it’s all floating rate debt. I have started helping the asset management team with loan modifications and learned so much about property operations, underwriting, and borrower negotiations that would be difficult to learn in a low interest rate environment. In summary, if you see a portion of your team or fund vertical that is busier than the others, offer to help because you might learn a lot.

Network Internally

I’ve attended several conferences where they emphasized the importance of networking to grow your career but most of them have focused on networking outside of your organization. I was recently talking to a mentor of mine and we were talking about how networking internally can be as important, or even more important than networking externally. If you know people outside of your team and teams you frequently interact with, when a unique scenario or problem arises, it is a lot easier to solve. Networking internally is much easier than external networking too. You can talk to people in the kitchen or the hallway and slowly build valuable relationships. People also frequently move within the organization, get promoted, or move between firms so an internal network connection can become even more valuable over time.

Answer Emails

Be the person that responds or at least coordinates who is going to respond to various emails the team receives. It can be very frustrating to email a group distribution list, and no one responds because everyone assumes someone else is working on it. It’s memorable for people who reached out to your team that you responded timely, and others will know they can rely on you. You may even be able to help improve processes such as if you notice that one team asks for the same thing on a regular basis, you could proactively provide or attempt to automate that reporting. Name recognition is really important for your career and the easiest way to achieve that is by responding to emails, especially when someone needs something quickly.

Alexis Larcenaire
Vice President, Debt Strategies

Bridge Women's Network Achievements

»In 2023, the Bridge Women's Network Mentorship Program successfully matched 50 mentors with mentees, highlighting our dedication to fostering and advancing the careers of women through personalized guidance, support, and empowerment. This effort demonstrates our unwavering commitment to creating opportunities for growth and development. Building on this success, we've made improvements for 2024, shifting to a cohort model based on participant feedback to enhance the structure and support provided to all participants.

Mentorship Program Growth

Celebrating Women's Voices

» The BWN marked International Women's Day and Women's History Month in 2023 by hosting impactful events, including engaging panel discussions and delivering weekly educational content. These efforts elevated a diversity of voices, addressing key issues while commemorating the accomplishments, contributions, and rich history of women both worldwide and within our organization.

» Emerging as a pivotal force for female leadership development, the BWN Leadership Exchange facilitated connections between 20 rising senior female talents and established industry leaders. In its second year, participants gained unique insights from roundtable discussions with notables such as Chris Young and Olivia John, exemplifying our commitment to equipping women with the necessary insights and strategies for their career advancement.

BWN Leadership Exchange

» The Bridge Women's Network took significant steps to promote dialogue and collaboration in 2023 by launching innovative educational resources. The introduction of the “How to be an Ally” podcast and the “Things I Wish I Knew” series enriched our firm's culture of learning, providing essential insights and sparking important conversations around critical issues, thereby reinforcing our commitment to a culture of ongoing learning and mutual understanding.

Educational Initiatives

2024 BWN Mentoring Program

The Bridge Women’s Mentorship Network, formerly the BWN Analyst & Associate Mentoring Program, is in its fourth year and has been revamped to provide more of what our members have asked for. The program’s goals are to provide support to junior female talent, connect female Analysts and Associates with senior talent, increase engagement, and provide professional development opportunities. Participants and Leaders build trust, share experiences, and create long-term professional relationships through monthly small group discussions.

This year the program has been organized into 10 Circles with different focus areas, each consisting of 4-5 Participants (Mentees) and 2-3 Circle Leaders (Mentors). The program has shifted from a focus on 1:1 mentoring relationships to group/cohort mentoring networks, which provide greater networking opportunities for Participants and Leaders at various levels, across verticals and various locations while at the same time allowing for feedback from multiple people simultaneously. The Program runs from March to December with a general framework for monthly discussions provided by the Program Co-Chairs. Participants are also able to take advantage of 1:1 mentoring relationships through the BIG Mentoring Program.

2024 Women's Leadership Exchange

The BWN Leadership Exchange is in its second year. The program supports rising senior female talent and has twenty participants - female Bridge Directors and MDs promoted within the last three years. The objective is to develop leadership skills and learn from each other's experiences.

The upcoming Q2 sessions include roundtables with Chris Young, Partner Emeritus, and Co-Founder of Bridge Investment Group, and Olivia John, former head of Multifamily Real Estate at Blackstone. Last year's success prompted all members to stay in the cohort as we brought in new promoted individuals. The BWN Leadership Exchange is inspired by the Circles program and other peer female leadership development programs. Successful groups form lasting bonds.