Hi, I’m Allison Venditti and this is the Moms at Work podcast. I’ve been an HR professional and a career coach for over a decade, and our team has helped thousands of women grow their careers. So whether you’re burnt out, underpaid, or just plain fed up, this podcast is here to fuel your fire, connect you to our movement, and help you take your career to the next level.

On today’s episode, I want to talk about a title that was actually told to me at a networking event: Women Suck at Networking.

Let me start by saying that loud and clear: that is absolute BS. A little context: in my career, I’ve worked across many industries. When I started hiring in tech, I had to attend a lot of those weird tech and engineering meetups. Basically, it was 90% men and a handful of HR women responsible for hiring.

One time, I asked an organizer why there weren’t more women at these events. Four drinks in, he told me, “Well, it’s because women suck at networking.” I thought, wonderful—I get to attend an event where I’m told I suck at networking.

After reflecting on that, and thinking about when we were building Moms at Work, I realized why people think this and what it really means. The old boys’ club is very real. Men get promoted, and the whispers are: “He went to business school with the CEO,” or “He’s his dad’s brother’s friend,” or “They rock climb every Sunday.” Men have entire infrastructures in corporate life built for connection: alumni clubs, golf trips, conferences—many of which I’ve had the displeasure of attending.

Working moms, on the other hand, rarely have a weekend to carefully schmooze without coordinating childcare, meals, and everything else. Networking isn’t broken—it just wasn’t built for us. When we do get invited to rooms, sometimes we’re just asked to pour the coffee.

I remember attending one of my first hiring contracts to hire a head of engineering for a tech company. Even though I was the consultant and the expert, I was asked to take notes—and I had never been more pissed off. Being a working mom almost broke me. I spent years trying to fit into spaces that weren’t made for me, thinking it was my fault. But I realized I was navigating networking in spaces not designed for me.

When I started working for myself, I attended women’s networking events thinking I’d find people who shared my concerns—women with kids, needing flexibility. I was shocked: no one was talking about these things. They had the shiny facade of networking for their companies. It took me a while to figure out: what if we started networking in a way that worked for us?

After a particularly terrible networking event where I was made fun of for not having a nanny, I started a Facebook group called Moms at Work. I thought, what would happen if I brought together people who felt like me and wanted to talk about the things I wanted to talk about, and we could actually be each other’s network? What I wanted to build hadn’t existed before.

I saw this in tech hiring too. I once had to hire 50 people in six months. Only four jobs were publicly posted; the rest were filled through referrals. Networking fills jobs before they’re posted. To level the playing field, we needed our own system. Moms had been busy volunteering, coaching soccer (yes, I coached three times and I’m terrible), and spending hours on things that didn’t help their career. That’s why Moms at Work exists.

Women are 26% less likely than men to have a strong network—and for working mothers, it’s even less. When I built Moms at Work, I wanted a network of professional women trying to juggle career and kids, with an understanding that joining the community meant helping each other. Helping each other builds a village. Learning to ask for help in one area teaches us to ask for help in others.

I want to share a story about a woman in The Collective. She’s a teacher who wanted to move into nonprofit leadership. She didn’t know anyone in the field. She showed up to our virtual coffee chats, connected with members, and shared what she was looking for. A few months later, someone in the collective had a sister in a nonprofit, made an introduction, and she got the interview—and the job. That is networking. Not cold LinkedIn DMs. Networking works when women help women. It’s meaningful connection, and it’s community.

Women have been networking all their lives—they just didn’t call it that. Organizing community events, coordinating fundraisers, supporting each other through maternity leave, career breaks, divorce, burnout—all of this is networking. Moms at Work helps people recognize their skill and translate it into career networking.

One problem I see is that people often only start networking in crisis: after a layoff, burnout, or reaching a breaking point. That’s survival mode, not ideal. Networking should happen before you need it. When things are good, when you’re curious about your next move, that’s when networking is powerful. It allows you to show up as your best self. Strong networks are built on relationships, not desperation.

If you think, “I don’t need to network—I’ve been at my job for 10 years,” reevaluate. Networking will do more for you than any MBA or leadership course. It opens doors, gets you jobs not posted online, builds confidence, and grows your career.

Real networking isn’t about schmoozing—it’s about connection and mutual support. This is why I say clearly: you do not need another course or certification. You need to be networking. You don’t need to drop $2,000 on an online course, add letters behind your name, or finish a self-paced LinkedIn course. You need someone to say your name, vote for you, and pull your resume out of the stack. Referrals get hired faster, make more money, and often negotiate better salaries.

You already have the talent, experience, and ambition. What you need is access—and that’s what networking gives you: doors, rooms, confidence, and career growth. Moms at Work and The Collective solve this problem: networking without BS. Members are willing to say yes to coffee, to open their networks, and to help. Not all women’s groups are equal, and not all events are made for you—but starting now will pay dividends.

I’m Allison Venditti, reminding you that you’re doing a good job.