Women are good for the economy!

This week on Good Morning America the findings of a recently released 132-page study titled, “Benchmarking Women’s Leadership” compiled by The White House Project was discussed. Detailing the statistics from ten sectors—business, education, religion, non-profit, law, military, politics, journalism, sports, and the media—the study revealed what percentage of leadership positions are held by women, the income comparisons between men and women holding the same positions, and the enormous impact these statistics have on our economy.

For example, did you know that 51% of the American workforces are women but a woman holds only 16% of the leadership positions in business, or that the religious and military sectors have the fewest women in leadership, and no sector exceeds 23% of women in leadership?

I personally found many of the paper’s findings surprising, including the following comments:

"Business: When women are present in significant numbers, the bottom line improves—from financial profits to the quality and scope of decision-making.

Education: Nationally, women are 57 percent of all college students but only 26 percent of full professors, 23 percent of university presidents and 14 percent of presidents at the doctoral degree-granting institutions.

Religion: Gauging the current status and progress of women in religious leadership is more difficult than in any other business and professional sector studied in this report.

Non-profit: Research has shown that nonprofits with women in leadership positions are more successful at carrying out their service mission – and that their employees, from CEOs to staff, are more satisfied with the organizations’ performance. The democratic and participative style of leadership favored by women seems especially well-suited to the ethos of the nonprofit world, which depends so heavily upon the contributions of volunteers.

Politics: Women constitute a powerful force in politics. They have voted at higher rates than men in every presidential election since 1980, and the gender gap has grown slightly larger with each successive election. In the 2004 elections, 8.8 million more women than men turned out to vote. In the 2008 elections, 10 million more women voted than men, according to the Census Bureau. However, the overwhelming majority of political office holders are still male."

In each category, specific and practical recommendations were given to encourage more women to step into leadership positions. For example, within the nonprofit sector, suggestions included:

*Develop appropriate mentoring and staff development opportunities.
*Teach women improved negotiation skills.
*Recruit, train and retain people of color across all levels of the organization.
*Widen the search criteria for top leadership positions—inside and outside of the organization.

This paper's findings advise men and women who are parents, educators, and business professionals to invite and encourage women to go after more leadership roles, to mentor them in all aspects of an organization, and help them overcome any barriers.

Think about what little change you could initiate in your workplace, educational institution, community, or church that could increase the number of women in leadership and ultimately have a big, positive result on our economy and culture.

Be encouraged,

Becky