By Diane Ramsey | Co-founder, Iowa Women Lead Change

This year has been declared “The Year of the Woman,” and I say: Bring. It. On!

From the New Year’s announcement of #TimesUp – the initiative of 300 prominent Hollywood A-listers – to the unprecedented numbers of women running for all levels of elected office, to Iceland’s law for pay equality, we are seeing women’s issues and opportunities in the spotlight. Increasingly, that spotlight is leading to engagement. Continued engagement is vital if women expect change to occur.

It’s no secret that women’s leadership advancement had plateaued in the last decade. Inequities exist in spite of the evidence that women deliver no matter where they rank in an organization. And once an organization has a critical number of women in key leadership roles, the organization outperforms its peers. In a 2017 Pew Research study, 42 percent of working women in the United States said they experienced discrimination in the workplace. The most common form of discrimination is pay inequity. Fully 25 percent reported being paid less than another woman or man.

How do we ensure that 2018’s “The Year of the Woman” has maximum impact? There are tremendous resources across Iowa, and together we can accomplish much as individuals and as organizations. Let’s consider some courses of action.

Individually:

• Commit to get started – sign up for a conference or workshop, volunteer to support an organization, raise your hand for a stretch assignment or be more deliberate regarding your reading.
• Identify available resources – they include: Iowa Women Lead Change, your local or work-related Leadership program, National Association for Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Iowa Women’s Foundation, 50-50 in 2020, the Carrie Chapman Catt Center, any of Iowa’s colleges and universities, the Iowa Women’s Leadership Project (author of the “She Matters” report) housed at the Iowa Department of Human Rights, Iowa Center for Economic Success, and the Iowa Office and Commission on the Status of Women.
• Mentor or sponsor – do you need a mentor or an advocate, or both, or are you in a position to be a mentor or an advocate? Step up in 2018!
• Persevere – disparities did not occur overnight, and they won’t change overnight. Savor your successes and use them to fuel your efforts.

Organizationally:

• Commit to get started – select one focus area to address, whether it’s employee resource groups, learning about unconscious bias or gender intelligence.
• Identify available resources – including your local chamber and economic development organizations, Iowa Women Lead Change and its Women Connect organizations, SHRM, and ABI.
• Engage men as allies – for too long organizations have dealt with this as a “women’s issue” rather than a workplace issue. Once men understand that they have a role and that the advancement of women is not at men’s expense, we will continue to all grow.
• Find a partner or two – talk with your peers to share what you’re doing.   
• Sign on to the EPIC Corporate Challenge – Iowa is one of three states in the country with a statewide public-private partnership committed to advancing women at all levels. Honorary chair Gov. Kim Reynolds and co-chairs Beth Townsend, director of Iowa Workforce Development, and Diane Ramsey, co-founder of Iowa Women Lead Change, and our 70-member organizations have committed to make Iowa an inclusive and welcoming place for all. More information on EPIC is available online.

I’ve seen what organizations have accomplished together across the state and I’m hopeful that through collaboration we can solidify 2018 as Iowa’s “Year of the Woman.”

Diane Ramsey is the co-founder of Iowa Woman Lead Change and co-chair of the public-private partnership the EPIC Corporate Challenge. Ramsey can be reached at diane.ramsey@iwlcleads.org.