I was at my computer recently doing a quick scan of news headlines when one jumped out at me. “How Much You Make Impacts How Much You Support Diversity” jarred me from my relaxed state of Internet surfing. The subhead read, “Men who make six figures are more likely to want to work for a company that supports diversity, while high-earning women aren’t so positive.”

 

Wait, what? I had to read it again.

 

Every day the Iowa Women Lead Change (IWLC) team I work with devotes its efforts to creating opportunities that advance, develop and promote women and the organizations they serve. We are unabashed supporters of women and want to unleash their talents across our state. Therefore, it came as a disheartening note to me that women are not championing companies that embrace diversity and inclusion.

 

FASTCOMPANY cited a report from CareerLabs that reported female professionals were 70 percent more likely to answer, “No,” “I don’t know,” or “About the same” to the question “Do you find companies that promote diversity and inclusion more appealing to work for?” CareerLabs analyzed data from a number of sources; there’s little doubt that this is an anomaly.

 

It’s no secret that rarely do we get ahead alone in this world. That’s why I’m disappointed in my fellow women. To the extent that I was disappointed by the women’s response, I was heartened that male professionals do want to work for companies that promote inclusion.

 

I dug a little deeper into the information and discovered that men who earned $100,000 to $149,999 and those earning more than $150,000 were more likely to support diversity and inclusion. The study had insufficient data regarding women who were making in excess of $150,000 per year. We don’t have any insights into what these most highly compensated women think. The highest level of women noted made $100,000 to $149,999, and in many cases, these are the “working” leaders in the organizations, individuals who manage teams and may have functional responsibilities themselves.

 

What can we do about this disappointing finding among our own?

 

First of all, we must commit to challenging the companies and organizations for which we work to engage in inclusive practices. If not already a member, ask your senior leaders to sign up for the state of Iowa’s EPIC Corporate Challenge, a public-private partnership in which organizations commit to tracking women at all levels and sharing that data on an aggregate level to ensure that we are moving the needle in our state. More information can be found online.  

 

Second, whenever you can, commit to helping a woman move ahead. Our state has a fabulous initiative spearheaded by Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, called Million Women Mentors-Iowa, which seeks to find and match mentors across Iowa’s 99 counties, particularly for women and girls in STEM fields. 

As a corollary to the mentoring piece, get to understand the lingo. There is a difference between being a mentor and a sponsor. Decide which you need to help your career advancement and then commit to offering what you can to another woman.   

 

The next headline I want to read is “Regardless of Salary, Women Flock to Companies that Support Inclusion.” Together, we can make it happen!