The Uncomfortable Work: What Board Training Taught Me About Impact Over Intention

By: Laura Belmont, Board Chair

When I joined WOMEN'S WAY's Board of Directors, I believed my commitment to gender equity was enough. I cared deeply about the work. I showed up with good intentions. But what I've learned through our intensive board trainings on racial equity and gender inclusivity is this: impact matters more than intention, and the best intentions can still create harm.

This lesson hit hardest during our comprehensive gender inclusivity training with Tristan Katz this fall. As board members, we were challenged to interrogate assumptions we didn't even know we held—assumptions baked into the very structures we govern. It wasn't comfortable work. And that discomfort, I've come to understand, is precisely where growth happens.

One of the most critical lessons from these trainings is that equity work is not a destination. It's an ongoing practice of unlearning deep-rooted systemic biases that we've all absorbed, regardless of our backgrounds or beliefs. I came to the board thinking I understood gender beyond the binary, but the training revealed blind spots I hadn't recognized. It pushed me to move beyond abstract support and toward concrete actions that center the lived experiences of trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive individuals.

What WOMEN'S WAY has taught me is that doing this work well means being willing to be uncomfortable, to make mistakes, and to remain accountable. It means recognizing that our internal culture, how we work together, govern, and lead, must reflect the justice we seek to create externally. We can't ask our grantees and community partners to do transformative work if we're not willing to transform ourselves.

These trainings have fundamentally shifted how I approach board governance. I now ask different questions: Whose voices are missing from this decision? What assumptions are we making? Are we measuring our impact on the communities most affected by inequity, or just congratulating ourselves on our intentions? This sustained commitment to self-reflection and cultural transformation is what separates performative allyship from genuine solidarity.

This story is a part of the WOMEN'S WAY 50th Anniversary Storytelling initiative. To learn more and submit your own story, please visit: womensway.org/WW50