Women’s History Month: Equity and Leadership

March 1st marks the beginning of a month-long celebration of women’s history in the United States and several countries around the world. It’s a time when we reflect on and honor the women who have made significant strides to help move the needle toward equality and close the equity gap. 

Though we use this month to recognize the gains that women have made in society and how they have contributed to every industry, including science, arts, politics, entertainment, law, fundraising and so much more, there is still more work to be done. Women still earn less than men when doing the same jobs, and men hold more leadership positions, even in sectors where women far outnumber men (such as in fundraising). 

While women remain steadfast in achieving equality and closing the pay gap, we continue to see calls and campaigns for companies and organizations to show salary ranges in job postings. Understanding how important salary transparency is in promoting pay equity, AFP Global in 2020 made it mandatory for all job postings on the AFP Career Center to include salary ranges. This is especially important for the fundraising profession since 80% of fundraisers identify as women, and research shows that women still only make .82 cents for every dollar earned by men—this gap widens for Black women and women of color. 

In addition to showing salary ranges on job descriptions, another great way to close the gap and move closer to pay equality is to get more women into leadership positions. The National Partnership for Women and Families suggests that for women to achieve full workplace and wage equality, they must receive fair treatment in the workplace and have access to good jobs that pay decent wages.

According to John Hopkins University Professor Mario Macis’ research, there is a beneficial role female leaders play in reducing gender inequality. Macis’ research shows that interactions between female leaders and other women in their companies contribute to greater gender equality and positively affect female promotion in the lower ranks.

Numerous studies have found a positive correlation between female leadership and company performance. One of those research studies by McKinsey & Co. in 2015 found that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15% more likely to outperform their counterparts in the lower quartile financially. McKinsey’s research also found that companies with more balanced leadership do a better job recruiting and retaining talented workers, leading to cost reductions associated with replacing top executives. 

This research is important to note because AFP’s 2021 report of Assessment of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access found a high percentage of people of a different gender have left a job because they felt uncomfortable or unwelcome (50% compared with 38% of women and 33% of men). 

Women in leadership are paving the way and creating stronger, more competitive organizations, and redefining career paths for aspiring female leaders. As fundraisers, you are in the profession because you want to make a difference. We need to make a difference in the fundraising profession by creating a pipeline for women in leadership positions because when women lead, everyone wins.

Let’s celebrate all the women who have paved the way in our past, those who lead us now and those who will see that leadership roles are in reach and very much in their future.