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What women want: pay equity and female elected leaders NOW

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Our survey asked women for their best ideas for encouraging female leadership as well as what they believe are their biggest obstacles to success and leadership. Read on to see what these aspiring leaders think.


When it comes to increasing the female leadership of Iowa businesses, governments and other institutions, some leading Iowa women are getting impatient.

That’s one conclusion suggested by the results of our inaugural Lift IOWA survey on gender, leadership and equality. An unscientific online questionnaire answered by 244 people — 92 percent of them women — suggested a mood that is impatient but still constructive. For example:

•   Almost 75 percent of respondents favor a national requirement that large companies report their aggregate salary information to either show gender pay parity or discover gender pay inequity.

•   More than 63 percent said that given a choice between two qualified candidates seeking an Iowa state or congressional office, they would vote for a woman over a male candidate, even if it meant crossing party lines.

•   When asked about their perceptions of how supportive the world, the U.S. government, the state of Iowa, the Greater Des Moines business community, banks and lenders, media, men, and women are to women in business, most of those entities got barely more than a 50 percent approval rating. Only other women and the local business community gained a support rating of 6 on a 10-point scale. 


Q: Women earn an average of 77 cents for $1 of their male counterparts, according to the 2015 She Matters report. Some European countries require their large companies to publicly report their gender pay gaps, and President Barack Obama last year required federal contractors to report wage information by gender and race. Would you favor a national requirement for large companies to publicly report gender pay gaps?

YES: 138, or 75%

“How else will we know?” — Robin Heinemann, executive director, the Iowa Shakespeare Experience

“We need to turn the wage gap from myth into fact. Without some documentation or self-reporting, it still hovers in the urban myth category and can’t be used as factual support for request for wage increases.”  — Cassie Kinney, litigation and claims manager, Life Care Services

“Meaningful change happens when transparency reveals gaps.” — Rowena Crosbie, president, Tero International

NO: 24, or 13%

“Just because there is a pay gap doesn’t mean there is discrimination. That has been well documented in studies that show women have a propensity to take more part-time jobs and less demanding full-time jobs in order to raise their children.” — Anonymous male

“I think that further government intrusion rarely helps solve problems in the business community. My fear would be that it would simply result in litigation and anger, rather than real change.” — Anonymous female executive 

“Rather than ‘require’ companies to do the right thing, we should ‘incent’ them to do so. Not necessarily monetary incentives, but others could be implemented. List companies that have fair pay implemented and publicize. I wouldn’t knowingly work for a company that doesn’t support non-gender-based pay policy.” — Anonymous female executive

UNSURE: 23, or 12%

“On the surface, it’s a great idea. However, I recognize that there are many reasons why a pay gap might exist on an individual level. I would hate for a company to be penalized in the court of public opinion for having a gap that can be explained, but not in survey responses. Perhaps, though, for the major companies for which this would apply, the overall result will balance out individual cases. I’m just thinking of what my company would look like.” — Anonymous female


Q: When given a choice between two qualified candidates for state or congressional office, one male and one female, would you vote for a woman over a male candidate with your party affiliation? 

YES: 63%

“Women are incredibly underrepresented in office, so if they were truly equal in beliefs and qualifications, I would choose the female to help congressional gender balance more closely represent the state’s gender ratio.” — Naura Heiman Godar, architect, RDG Planning & Design

“This is a very difficult hypothetical because I doubt there would ever be an occasion where there’s not something besides gender that differentiates two candidates for me. But all else being equal, I would probably support a woman in an effort to achieve more equal representation among our elected officials.” — Anonymous man

NO: 37%

“I am a strong proponent for women in Congress, but I favor a candidate because of their experience and values more.” — Kelsey Tyrrell, pregnancy and adoption coordinator, Catholic Charities Des Moines

“I would vote for the person that I felt best represented the values that I believe should be upheld.” — Cyndi Fisher, executive director, EDGE 


Q: Have you personally applied for or sought a position on a government board, commission or political office?

SUMMARY: Serving on government boards or commissions and running for political office are not personal goals for a majority of survey respondents, despite the fact that many are impatient for gender equality among elected officials. Of those who gave their reasons for not applying, the most common reason was a lack of interest. Second seemed to be a distaste for politics and for elected office and a fear of harsh public scrutiny that might extend to their families. The third reason cited was a lack of time and having other responsibilities or priorities. Of those who have applied or served and who elaborated on why, several said they were asked or recommended or “pestered” to serve. Other said that they were passionate about a cause that the particular board or commission addressed or just felt it was important to give community service.

NO: 73%

“I look forward to hopefully someday running for office. However, the one thing holding me back is the disgusting way the media and other candidates focus on things other than qualifications. Would I really want to drag my family and friends through public scrutiny that is based on my personal life rather than my professional qualifications?” — Anonymous female manager

YES: 27%

“An opportunity to give back and to have a voice on an issue I am passionate about.” — Kristine Winter, president and owner, M2K Marketing Group

“I’m interested in strengthening my community through commission service, and believe strongly that younger people need to make the commitment to serve so that we can learn from older members before they retire.” — Emily Westergaard, executive director, Des Moines I Have a Dream Foundation 


Q: What’s the one thing that has been most helpful to your professional success and advancement?

A boss or superior who recommended you or created opportunities for you: 38%

“When someone sees something in you, it’s super empowering. I think it’s instilled in childhood. You just want to prove that person was right.” — Kelly Moore, president, Kelly Moore Consulting Inc. 

“In this case, a male boss who saw value in my background, experience and expertise and gave me seat at the table and encouraged me to use my voice.” — Courtney Greene, communications director, Iowa Workforce Development 

A spouse or partner who shared equally and flexibly in home and family duties: 24%

“My husband is a ‘rock star’ when it comes to sharing the load and many times carrying more than his fair share. He is successful in business and family life. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive.” — Anonymous female


A mentor or coach who advised and encouraged you: 18%

“The power of someone saying to you, ‘I think you would be great in this position. I believe in you. Try it.’ cannot be overestimated. It is the launching pad from which someone can mentally refer to for empowerment again and again and again. It propels people to pay it forward as well.” — Stacey Warren, shareholder/attorney, Babich Goldman, P.C.

A flexible work schedule: 14%

“Not having to choose between taking care of a sick family member and contributing at work has been a game changer for me.” — Giulia DePrenger, warehouse administration manager, HomeServices Lending

Advice and networking from other professional females inside or outside your company: 7%


Q: FILL IN THE BLANK: The biggest challenge facing women in business is …

SUMMARY: The answers fell into about six categories, but the most common one involved suspicion of gender bias and the challenge of changing the way women are perceived to create more equality.

The second most common answer was women’s struggle with work/life balance and feeling like they have greater disadvantage in this area than men. Unequal pay rounded out the third most common obstacle to women in business, followed by a category that generally could be called a lack of confidence and women’s reluctance to advocate for themselves. 

About 15 respondents specifically mention the glass ceiling — or a seeming barrier to women getting to the top level of their organization. About seven respondents felt women do not advocate for or help other women enough.  

“Managing work and child care commitments. There are a ton of after-work networking events that I would love to attend, but am not able to many nights.” 
— Jessica Maldonado, public affairs manager, PolicyWorks

“Gender equality in pay AND attitude. It’s appalling to me that still practically every week a male acts superior to myself or other females in the room, a meeting, etc.”  Anonymous woman 

“Equality. When a man is passionate about something, he is “demonstrating leadership.” When a woman is passionate, she is “emotional” or some other negative term.”  Anonymous woman

“I believe there are two challenges: first is getting organizations/senior leadership to understand that it is not a level playing field and doing something about it; the second is that women do not advocate for themselves.” — Diane Ramsey, CEO, Iowa Women Lead Change

“Ourselves. Our biggest obstacle is how we treat each other and our own selves. How do we as women compete with one another, without demeaning our sex? How can we be successful while lifting other women up with us? Sometimes we are harder on ourselves than we are on others. How do we not beat ourselves up, let alone one another?” — Rachel Flint, vice president, Hubbell Homes


Q: Ideally, how many weeks of paid maternity/paternity leave do you feel mothers and fathers deserve?
Choices ranged from no paid leave to 17 weeks of paid leave.

Average response: 7.6 weeks (men), 11.5 weeks (women)

SUMMARY: Respondents didn’t agree on the length of leave that should be offered or whether men and women should be granted equal leave. However, the largest grouping in this survey said that both mothers and fathers should be eligible for 12 weeks of family leave. 

Forty-five percent of respondents favored 12 weeks for women and 22 percent favored 12 weeks for men. The next interval that received the most votes for women was eight weeks: 13 percent favored that for women and men.

Even so, there was a significant number of respondents who favor shorter paid leave for fathers. Just over 17 percent voted for two weeks, and 14 percent think a month is fair for men.

“If we expect women to advance in their careers as they have a family, both spouses need to have the flexibility that supports their family’s success.”  Dianne Ramsey, CEO, Iowa Women Lead Change (12 weeks for both mothers and fathers.)

“It should be equal, because both parents deserve that time with their new baby. It’s important to include fathers in order to understand the complexities of having a newborn.”  Jen Roszak, commercial interiors consultant, Pigott (Eight weeks each.)

“Men don’t need to nurse. (Seems pretty sexist when I see it in black and white.)” — Rachel Flint, vice president, Hubbell Homes (Eight weeks for women; two weeks for men.) 

“I don’t see any reason to make a distinction between genders, and if they can make it work, then I think they should do their best for the child. However, I don’t want to make this too burdensome on employers. Ideally, employees would have the ability to have flexible schedules for family leave so that both the family and the employer are able to work together.” — Cassie Kinney, litigation and claims manager, Life Care Services (16 weeks for mothers and fathers.)

“No matter what people say, in most families, mothers still do the majority of child rearing.” — Deb Duncan, America’s SBDC Iowa (Six weeks for mothers, four weeks for fathers.)  

“Different size businesses can bear different paid maternity/paternity leave.” — Diane Gutfreund (Six weeks for mothers, two weeks for fathers.)


Q: Rate how supportive you perceive these institutions/groups to be of women in business.
The ranking reflects weighted average based on respondents assigning each entity a value from 1 to 10, with 1 being not supportive and 10 being very supportive. 

6.6: Women

6.1: Greater Des Moines business community

5.5: Media

5.3: State of Iowa

5.2: U.S. government

5.2: Banks/lenders

5.2: Men

4.7: The world 


Q: What is one thing businesses and/or the state of Iowa could do to increase the numbers and influence of female leaders?

“Give experiences to high school girls to learn and practice leadership roles (for example, increase the number of girls participating in Girls State).” — Julie M. Curry, president, Community Adaptation Service LLC

“Increased networking opportunities that bring men into the conversation of promoting women in leadership roles.” — Kelsey Tyrrell, pregnancy and adoption coordinator, Catholic Charities Des Moines

“Men raise their hand; women like to be asked. Approaching and encouraging more women to be involved.” — Anonymous woman 

“Assign more women to leadership positions when appointments become available, and publicize it. Bring in women’s semipro sports teams.” — Margo Jones 

“Ask! There are many females who show leadership skills on a smaller level. However, when it comes to larger boards and commissions, the same individuals are asked to serve. While men are usually at the top of the list, the biggest obstacle for female leaders is that the same individuals, either male or female, are given the opportunities. These individuals become stretched too thin and are not effective. For any organization to achieve real success, they must do the work to seek the leaders outside of their usual contacts and network.” — Kristine Winter, president and owner, M2K Marketing Group

“Provide sponsorships for women. Mentoring is great, but we need more leaders (in biz and gov) to take an active role in promoting women. We know women have a confidence gap; until that changes and women will put themselves up for the same promotions that men do, we need more leaders actively engaging women in leadership positions. … Also important is negotiation training for women (which will improve the pay gap and hopefully also the leadership gap). Develop curriculum for girls going through K-12 that teaches them about the business culture and how they can make a difference.” — Anonymous woman

“Include gender perception education. I took training at Tero that taught me how to deal with the perceptions and expectations of me as a female executive by other men and women  so enlightening.” —  Rachel Flint, vice president, Hubbell Homes