At Women’s Funding Alliance, we’re working to shorten that timeline through 100% Talent: a gender equity initiative for Washington State. Our mission? To implement best practices in Washington businesses and overcome one of the biggest gender-wage gaps in the country, all while shedding a light on those businesses that are working to advance gender-equity.

Since our launch in 2013, 100% Talent has seen a surge of interest and growth within our King County community. As a result, we have officially expanded to serve Washington communities statewide. What an exciting new chapter this will be!

We couldn’t have done it without the partnerships of our over 70 signatories representing over 150,000 employees.

The collective efforts of our signatories and local business community have closed the wage gap by more than two cents on the dollar; adding millions to our economy.

Lydia Frank, Vice President, Content Strategy at PayScale, who has been along with us on this journey since 2017, speaks to the benefits of partnering with 100% Talent: “100% Talent has helped diminish some of the fear organizations can have around looking at pay inequities… No organization wants to be paying its workers unfairly, but even taking a look can feel scary, because what if things aren’t where they should be?”

PayScale, who regularly publishes data and content to help organizations across the country better understand the core drivers of pay inequities and how to address them, relies heavily on hard data to drive gender equity forward. In their most recent report on the state of the gender pay gap, they found that in 2018, women throughout the United States were still only making 77.9 cents to the dollar men make.

“Once we realized how many organizations were struggling to address these issues and how we could leverage technology to make it easier, we moved quickly to build pay equity analyses into the feature set,” said Frank.

Companies like PayScale reap the benefits of 100% Talent’s Signatory network, namely identifying common challenges and implementing solutions.

“100% Talent helps us demonstrate this commitment to pay equity and fairness and has created a cohort of like-minded organizations with which we can grow and share best practices,” said Frank.

Even with the magnitude of success 100% Talent has seen over the last three years, the significant work needed to close the wage gap continues. As we expand statewide, we look forward to partnering with more Washington businesses, and ultimately, achieving gender pay-equity in Washington State.

Learn more how you can get involved with 100% Talent at www.100percenttalentseattle.com.

The post 100% Talent Goes Statewide appeared first on Women's Funding Alliance.

On the road we explored the common and unique challenges women are facing throughout our state. For many of the women who joined us for each of these events, the issue of equity in the workplace was top of mind.

Jennifer Aichele, Executive Assistant/HR of Columbia Rural Electric Association in Walla Walla, shared the importance for employers to understand the difference between equality and equity. “Equity is about fairness and being impartial … successful employers need to have both equity and equality in the workplace.”

Beyond engaging employers in workplace equity, Mina Worthington – President & CEO of Solarity Credit Union in Yakima – said she encourages the women she mentors to advocate for themselves the way men advocate for themselves at work and at home.

Women amplifying their voices and leadership was a consistent theme throughout our tour. At every stop, women wanted to know how they can grow as leaders and encourage leadership in other women and girls.

“Society pits women against each other, but women are stronger when we support each other. We need to teach younger generations to speak out and be more confident,” said Rosalba Pitkin, Diversity Outreach Specialist at Clark College in Vancouver.

Encouraging youth and mentoring women in their communities was a common motivator for our panelists.

Patricia Whitefoot, President of the National Indian Education Association, shared how Yakama youth have been a constant inspiration for her leadership and growth into many different roles. For her, the youth give her hope despite the many challenges they face.

For many of our panelists mentoring youth, and other women, was their way of paying forward the mentorship and encouragement they received.

Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange, President of Seattle Central College, said mentoring doesn’t have to be formal. Mentorship can be as simple as getting coffee with someone or meeting for a quick chat.

As we explored all of these issues with our powerhouse panelists – we learned how relevant our mission, vision, and initiatives are to women throughout our state. Your support made this tour possible, and ensures that women across Washington have the opportunity to lead and thrive.

We are a force for change for women and girls, and your support is helping us grow our work throughout Washington. We look forward to the next Together Equal Tour and hope you will join us.

The post Together Equal: A Gender Equity Tour of Washington appeared first on Women's Funding Alliance.

To bridge this access gap for thousands of girls across our state, we have launched the Girls’ Leadership Organizations of Washington (GLOW) Initiative.

Together with 14 girl-serving organizations (GSOs), we are investing in and building the capacity of the organizations that deliver these important programs.

As a cohort, our GLOW Initiative grant recipients participate in program quality assessment and executive leadership development. Together, these organizations are exploring how they can improve their programs and reach more girls.

For organizations like Young Women Empowered (Y-WE), participating in the GLOW Initiative has opened a new opportunity to evaluate and enhance their programs.Anna McCracken, Program Coordinator at Y-WE, experiences the impact of their programs firsthand. For her, evaluating their program quality and effectiveness is critical to ensuring girls have the best possible experience at Y-WE.

The experience girls receive at Y-WE is important to their retention, said Y-WE Co-Director Victoria Santos. Girls often start at Y-WE in middle and high school, and return during college to give back to the organization.

The leadership experience created at Y-WE is building a community of young women who are confident and eager to advocate for their communities.

Young Women Empowered Career Day, 2016

After Y-WE’s annual Career Day, a student – Bianca – shared how her experience has helped her break through labels and gain confidence in her leadership.

“Being from an immigrant background is sometimes hard because of all the stereotypes and people saying ‘you can’t do that.’ Because of Y-WE, I’m less shy, I’m trying new things, and I’m advocating for affordable housing and healthy food for my community,” she said.

Beyond program impact and improvement, the GLOW Initiative has allowed Y-WE to collaborate and learn from their peer organizations. Jamie-Rose Edwards, Co-Founder and Co-Director at Y-WE, credits Women’s Funding Alliance for convening Washington’s GSOs and investing in their collective advancement.

Since GLOW launched, the initiative has made significant impacts on the cohort organizations. By sharing where each organization is excelling and where they need support, the GSOs are exploring how they can leverage each other’s strengths to serve more girls with high quality programming statewide.

This statewide movement is made possible with your support. Thanks to your generosity, young women and girls like Bianca will have access to leadership development programs that will set them on the course for success. Together with you, we are setting Washington’s girls on a brighter path of opportunity.

The post Watch her GLOW appeared first on Women's Funding Alliance.

– Campus NEW Leadership Participant at Eastern Washington University

For Washington State to thrive, women must have their fair share of seats at the decision-making table. Today, just 36% of the state legislature seats are held by women; with even fewer held by women of color.

To bring more women to table as elected or appointed officials, candidates, voters, and civic leaders we launched the LEAD Initiative. Designed to engage women of all backgrounds, LEAD is increasing women’s leadership at every turn.

To encourage the next generation of leaders, we partnered with the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University to deliver an innovative training program directly to college women. Together, we developed a one-day, non-partisan leadership training program titled Campus NEW Leadership (CNEWL) as part of LEAD.

By working with colleges and universities across the state, we are igniting a spark for civic leadership in thousands of women’s lives.

“[Campus NEW Leadership] opened my eyes to how many other young women are as hopeful and passionate about social issues as I am,” said one student at Eastern Washington University, a LEAD Initiative partner.

Eastern Washington University (EWU) has hosted three CNEWL trainings on their Cheney campus, reaching nearly 550 women.

Lisa Logan, Women’s and Gender Education Center Manager at EWU, credits CNEWL for the creation of the first Multicultural Center in university history. Many of the students who led the effort to create the center are CNEWL graduates.

Lisa said many of EWU’s CNEWL graduates have followed through on the Leadership Actions Plans they created at their training. At the end of the training day, students presents an issue they felt passionate about, and how they plan to lead action in their community to resolve it.

At the most recent EWU training, a student shared a powerful personal story that illustrates how critical CNEWL is to building young women’s leadership potential.

As a first-generation, undocumented college student, she advocated for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in sharing her Leadership Action Plan.

She expressed the constant fear that dictates her life as she navigates college. She uses this fear to fuel her drive to make a difference in the lives of her younger siblings, and students across the nation. She wants to be an activist.

“I want to continue being the change needed to make sure student’s voices are heard,” she said.

Your support is encouraging women to pursue the issues that impact their lives, their families and their communities. Thanks to you, more women are nurturing their leadership and seeing themselves in public office.

As one student said, “I’ve never thought about running for public office before today. Now after Campus NEW Leadership I’m willing and excited. We need women everywhere and I really think I can do it after being here today.”

Thanks to your support, we can continue partnering with colleges and universities to expand CNEWL statewide. Together, we are amplifying women’s voices to become the change agents our state needs.

The post Igniting Women’s Civic Leadership Across Washington appeared first on Women's Funding Alliance.

For women in Washington State, saying “yes!” to political leadership just got a little bit easier.

Women’s Funding Alliance partnered with the Center for American Women and Politics to pilot an innovative program for women interested in political leadership.

Campus NEW Leadership is a one-day political leadership training for college women ready to build their leadership skills and learn how they can create change in their communities. This winter three Washington colleges were the first to bring the program to students.

Women’s Funding Alliance collaborated with Eastern Washington University, Green River College and the University of Washington Bothell to deliver the first pilots of Campus NEW Leadership.

Green River College instructor and Campus NEW Leadership co-facilitator, Rebeka Ferreira said opportunities to participate in gender-focused programming have been limited. She highlighted how opening a space for women to focus on their own experiences allowed them to consider the issues with a gender lens.

Students from all walks of life came together to learn more about the status of women in politics and gain the skills they need to take a new step into leadership.

From first-generation students to single moms and women continuing their education after joining the workforce – Campus NEW Leadership opened an opportunity for women across generations, classes, cultures, and races to learn from each other and gain insight from women leaders in their communities.

At each training, students heard from women leading change and learned how they could affect the changes they want to see. Whether it was from a Washington State Supreme Court Justice, a Deputy Mayor or a volunteer on a council committee the students learned how much could be accomplished by just raising your hand.

“This program touched [students] who have these innovative ideas in mind and then this light bulb went off on how they can get started on their own path,” said Green River College instructor Megan Reiser.

Providing greater access to leadership opportunities for women at every level of their education and career is critical to moving the needle on political parity. Opening every opportunity for women to say “yes!” to political leadership will not only change the way we think about politics, but how we do politics and create lasting change across Washington.

The post New Leaders appeared first on Women's Funding Alliance.

At Women’s Funding Alliance our call to action is clear: to fill these 50,000 job vacancies we need to engage more women and girls in STEM.

To create a workforce that is ready to solve some of the most critical problems in our state, we need to invite more women to the table, provide more gender-focused STEM programming and build a stronger statewide network of women and girl-serving STEM organizations.

To propel this effort forward, Women’s Funding Alliance partnered with Washington STEM – an organization pushing for excellence, equity and innovation in STEM education across Washington State. Together, we set a proactive plan of action into motion and went on the road.

With a statewide network of STEM partners, Women’s Funding Alliance and Washington STEM visited regions in our state that traditionally have not been considered hot spots for STEM.

From Bremerton, Vancouver, the Tri-Cities to Spokane we hosted a four-part series of Town Hall conversations about the importance of engaging women and girls in STEM.

The Town Hall tour served as a catalyst for more STEM and gender-focused organizations to share ideas and collaborate on solutions. Organizations in Vancouver have come together to provide a brand new STEM program for middle school girls. Eastern Washington University is collaborating with Spokane Community College to provide more college-women with access to STEM degrees. Women working in the STEM fields are sharing their stories in bolder ways and advancing change in their own careers.

Since the Town Hall series, Women’s Funding Alliance is focused on sustaining momentum and providing the gender lens needed to meet the challenges facing our state.

Through grant investments and partnerships with STEM organizations across Washington, we will continue to open doors of opportunity.

Together with our partners we will continue to engage communities to take on the challenge of filling 50,000 jobs. We will move forward together toward a stronger future for women, girls and Washington as a whole.

The post On the Road for STEM appeared first on Women's Funding Alliance.

As she parts from the board of directors this summer, Amanda leaves behind her a legacy of fierce dedication, bold leadership and the biggest philanthropic gift of her life.

For Amanda, the decision to make such a personally significant gift came after a period of reflection and incremental leaps in her giving. She recalled the opportunities she was afforded throughout her life, becoming the fuel behind her gift.

“I’m blessed and have had a really amazing life,” she said. “It’s not like I’m super rich. I’m not in the category of people I normally think of with this kind of gift, [but] I wanted to stretch and it’s a blessing to be able to do that.”

After taking time to consider her goals and hopes for the future, the choice the make her biggest financial commitment to Women’s Funding Alliance was even clearer.

“You can’t say no to what’s needed for women and girls. It wasn’t really an option,” she said.

For Amanda, investing her hard earned dollars in women and girls is the smartest way to maximize her impact.

“It’s a good decision for our community and our state. All the research shows when you put money in the hands of women and girls, the difference that they make is huge,” she said. “You can make a really big impact by investing in Women’s Funding Alliance.”

Looking forward, Amanda knows she will always be committed to gender equity – no matter what that looks like. Her involvement with Women’s Funding Alliance has ignited her hope for women and girls in our state, country and around the world.

She said, “the [Women’s Funding Alliance] mission has evolved to a place to that truly resonates with me. Together, we get powerful things going for women and girls.”

Amanda hopes her gift will inspire others to reflect on what’s meaningful for them.

“I’m delighted to be able to financially support this work, and I invite others to join me.”

The post Donor Spotlight: A Legacy of Leadership appeared first on Women's Funding Alliance.

For women like Trina, balancing caregiving and breadwinning is a challenge compounded by systemic barriers. To better equip women to overcome this challenge, Women’s Funding Alliance has launched Thrive: An Economic Opportunity Initiative.Our Thrive Initiative harnesses the power of our research, grant-making and advocacy to improve long-term financial security for Trina and thousands more women statewide.

As a Thrive Initiative grant recipient, The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle has been integral in changing the course of Trina’s future. Through Urban League’s new Career Bridge program for women, Trina found the immediate help she needed along with the opportunity to move toward a more stable future.

Trina came to Career Bridge after a set of unforeseen circumstances derailed her goals for financial security. She had plans to finish her nursing degree, but as a single-mom raising three young girls those plans were put on hold. She was working two jobs while living in a local women’s shelter when a friend encouraged her to enroll in Career Bridge.

Career Bridge is a model for a holistic, gender-focused approach. Their six-week program is designed to provide low-income women of color with the skills training, education and wrap-around services they need under one roof. Pamela Banks, Urban League’s president and CEO, credits the program’s success to this holistic approach.

“We give [women] the supports they need to succeed…This isn’t about a handout, it’s about a hand up,” Pamela said.

Thanks to your support, Trina and other Career Bridge participants have access to skills training and education along with individual case management, childcare and other critical services.

Since graduating from the program in 2015, Trina has acquired a full-time job as the Administrative Assistant for the Urban League. She also has long-term housing and the wrap-around supports she needs for herself and her family.

With her sights set on a bright future, Trina has a new plan and the tools she needs to make it happen.

The post On the Path to Thriving appeared first on Women's Funding Alliance.

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Today, she draws inspiration from two beliefs: the gaps are still far too large while progress toward equality is too small, and great things happen when women are empowered around their finances. Confronted with these daily reminders, Yvonne finds her own feminism and philanthropic leadership ignited all over again. “The wage gap between men and women has barely budged in the 30-some years since I began my professional career in 1982. The lack of progress is unacceptable and the gap for women in Washington State is even worse than the national average. I want to do something about it! I am excited to focus my giving and energy to ignite change for women in our community.”

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