Good Ol’ Girls is a political, professional, and social network for progressive women at every professional stage and from a cross-section of sectors, including politics, government, non-profit, law, technology, the arts, and business. Good Ol’ Girls acts as an exchange and marketplace of resources, career opportunities, events, and ideas through a membership listserv and member-inspired gatherings.

Ode to the Bay Area’s progressive nature

The Bay Area is home to numerous amazing Democratic and left-leaning groups. From San Francisco Women’s Political Committee to Women’s Leadership Alliance, from Democratic Women’s Forum to Emerge – these are just a few of the remarkable groups that help promote, support, endorse, train, and advocate for women and progressive women-friendly candidates and agendas. These groups all have a clear purpose, place and need. Good Ol’ Girls was created not to compete with these amazing organizations but to complement them.

What makes Good Ol’ Girls different?

Good Ol’ Girls was created to serve a larger cross-section of women from a broader range of career paths. From women who work in politics to non-profits, from PR to business, the network’s goal is to bring together women who are active and dedicated in both their professional and political lives. Membership will be based upon referral and invitation. Good Ol’ Girls is not an endorsing, training, or lobbying organization. Its purpose is to be a social / career network and clearinghouse. The organization will strive to equally serve women of all career levels. From those just entering the workforce as an opportunity to network, to peer-to-peer mid-career networking, to those more established in their professions connecting them to up-and-coming women they can hire and mentor. In addition to a listserv, the network will host small and informal dinner parties, discussions, and happy hours. Furthermore, the network will build an accessible database of all our members so that we can act as resources to one another.

How Good Ol’ Girls came about

Back in 2004 a handful of women started a series of casual drinks and dinner parties under the umbrella “Progressive Women in Politics.” In 2005, many progressive activists worked on the No on 73 campaign. Following the successful defeat of the measure, many of the activists continued to gather socially as “Feminists with Drinks.” These two groups inspired Good Ol’ Girls. Based upon the original goal of Progressive Women in Politics and Feminists with Drinks – social, political, and career networking – Good Ol’ Girls is also modeling itself after Women’s Information Network, a successful democratic women’s network in Washington D.C. WIN started in the same way both Progressive Women in Politics and Feminists with Drinks did – from small intimate groups of women who wanted to talk politics and help each other. WIN now acts as an exchange for ideas, resources, democratic events, job openings, advice, etc. on the listserv. The group also hosts numerous gatherings, both small and large, from campaign trainings, resume-swaps, politically-focused discussions and dinner parties to large-scale events such as the Women of Achievement Awards.