Three Models for Women's Economic Empowerment

There is an awakening in American society for the need for women's empowerment. While we are far from parity in most sectors of society such as business, politics, academia, etc., great strides are being made everyday.  Research studies from McKinsey and Catalyst have well documented the positive benefits of advancing women leaders, so I won't focus on that today.  Rather, let's examine three models for how organizations and individuals can work together for the advancement of women's economic empowerment.

In short, there is no single solution to advancing women leaders in American society and our workforce. We need to combine strategies from the three models below.  All stakeholders need to play their part, and we can learn from each other.  Gender parity is possible and everyone will benefit from such equality.

Public Policy & Legislation
Responsible parties: Government entities (local, state, national, and international)
Looks Like:

• Laws such as the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act
• Bills such as these ones currently on Capitol Hill
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) at the UN

Organizational Diversity Management
 Responsible parties: Corporations and institutions
 Looks Like:

• Organizational policies and practices such as the United Nations (UN) System-wide action plan for gender equality
• Investing $300 million for workplace diversity as Intel has done
• Google's unconscious bias training program

 Individual & Community Empowerment
 Responsible parties: Individual persons communities, and organizations
 Looks Like: 

• Joining women's networking groups such as Watermark or Women Get It Done in the Bay Area/DC or the Women's Information Network (WIN) in Washington, DC. 
• Taking actions to advance one's own leadership and professional skills
• Programs such as those by Running Start and Emerge California encouraging women and girls to run for office