A new report released by the Iowa Women’s Leadership Project shows there is still a lot of work to be done in breaking down barriers to success and opportunity for Iowa women.

The “She Matters: 2015 Issues and Actions” report, publicly released last Tuesday both at the Iowa Capitol and at a forum held at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, provides new information on six of the top 10 issues several statewide women’s organizations, led by the Chrysalis Foundation, identified in their first report released in 2012, titled “Status of Women and Girls in Iowa.”

The 2015 report focuses on where women are and how far they have left to go in the areas of economic self-sufficiency, leadership, pay equity, safety from violence, STEM careers and business ownership. The publication also provides recommendations for individuals, businesses, educational institutions, elected officials and nonprofit organizations to move toward improvement in these areas.

According to the report, women and girls comprise just over half of Iowa’s population, a number taken from the 2012 U.S. Census. Since the 1970s, Iowa women’s participation in the workforce has more than doubled to more than 76 percent.

Despite this increase in the female workforce, the report shows Iowa women still earn 77 percent of what men earn when all other factors are equal. Collectively, this means Iowa women lose more than $4.6 billion annually due to the wage gap.

There are other disparities as well, including:

• As of 2015, only 22.7 percent of Iowa legislators are female.
• Only 16 percent of corporate board positions are held by women.
• Many Iowa women-owned businesses are small, and compared to the U.S. as a whole, more of Iowa’s women-owned firms report less than $5,000 in annual receipts.

Young women in Iowa consistently perform in the top percentage of students in Iowa high schools and at the state’s three public universities. However, this is not translating into positions of peak earning power and leadership, the report says.

Over the next six months, the Iowa Women’s Foundation, a partner in developing the 2015 report, will host the “She Matters: We Listen and Iowa Wins” tour across Iowa.  

The purpose of the tour, according to the Foundation, is to deepen the understanding of the report’s economic self-sufficiency findings by learning how they play out in communities across Iowa.  The Foundation will also gather stories and ideas about current and potential initiatives that improve the lives of Iowa women and girls.

The Foundation will then compile the focus group discussions into a report which will be used to inform its work, including grant-making and affect public policy. The report will be shared with policy makers, advocacy organizations and the public.

To view the complete “She Matters: 2015 Issues and Actions” report, click here.