Supporting Women Who Aspire

I will always remember the conversation. I had worked at a law firm as a paralegal throughout most of my undergraduate education. I had just been accepted to law school and had expressed my excitement to my colleagues. The managing partner of the small firm called me into his office. He acknowledged my intellect and my capabilities but expressed worry for my future. With concern, he asked me to consider remaining in my role as a paralegal so I could be in a better position to focus on marriage and starting a family.?

While this was the first, and one of the most shocking moments I had as a woman in the workplace, it wasn’t the last. In some ways it was easier to respond to because it was so clearly inappropriate. Over time I experienced gendered discrimination that was much more nuanced, often unintentional, and regularly systemic. And as my career progressed and the decades passed, my own personal experiences became much more positive. I’m now in a leadership position and have smart, capable women as colleagues and leaders all around me. I am encouraged to participate and voice my opinion and to bring my full capabilities to the table.

Women remain underrepresented across the corporate ladder.        

But that isn’t the case for everyone. In fact, women’s workforce participation in early 2022 is at 57% - a rate that hasn’t been seen since 1988. The alarming decrease brought about by the global pandemic has essentially erased two decades of progress for women in the U.S. workforce. This is even more important as we begin to emerge from the pandemic. Women are 70% of the healthcare workforce and over 75% of the public school teachers in the U.S. – two areas hit particularly hard during the pandemic. Women remain underrepresented across the corporate ladder. A recent McKinsey study revealed that white men hold 56% of all VP and 62% of all C-suite roles, while white women hold 24% of VP and 20% of C-Suite roles, and women of color hold 7% of VP and 4% of C-Suite roles.

This lack of gender parity in leadership harms us all. According to womendeliver.org, when women hold more leadership positions, their companies are more profitable. In fact, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 21% more likely to outperform the national average.

On this final day of Women's History Month 2022, I am committed to serving and honoring the women who aspire to more.        

Recently I had the opportunity to hear Whitney Johnson, author, coach, and disruptor, reframe the current great resignation into the great aspiration. After this period of severe stress, women are re-evaluating their lives. They know that they want – and need – more. They need better pay, better opportunity, better work-life balance. And we need more women leaders to serve that great aspiration.

I am so pleased to have the opportunity to provide the first, seed gift to start the WGU Women in Leadership Endowed Scholarship. This scholarship is intended to serve women learners who have financial need and wish to advance their lives and careers through the pursuit of their?next?degree – either a master’s degree or a second baccalaureate degree from any program at WGU. We need to raise $25,000 to endow this scholarship, and we are partially there. I encourage anyone interested in supporting women leaders to join me. Moreover, during WGU's 25th anniversary year (2022) every dollar we raise for this scholarship will be matched, doubling our impact.

As I think back to my experience as I was approaching my next degree, sitting in the managing partners office and trying to articulate my purpose and my ambition, I can only imagine how empowered I would have felt had I received, or honestly even heard of, a scholarship that honors my womanhood as well as my yearning for more.

Join me in supporting the WGU Women in Leadership Scholarship        

In honor of Women’s History month, and in honor of those who aspire – let’s change the trajectory and close the gender gap.

*If you are interested in contributing to the WGU Women in Leadership Scholarship, please contact me at [email protected]