SALT LAKE CITY — More than 30 Utah businesses, nonprofits and government agencies pledged their support for the Women’s Leadership Institute and its ElevateHER challenge at the institute’s official launch Thursday afternoon.
ElevateHER, the institute’s first public campaign, seeks to elevate the status of women’s leadership in Utah businesses.
“Utah leads the nation as one of the best places to do business, but our women’s statistics lag behind most of the nation,” said Lori Chillingsworth, chairwoman of the institute’s board. “Image what Utah could be like — will be like — once we engage all of her talent.”
Improving conditions for corporate women will benefit Utah’s families, communities and, most importantly, its businesses, Chillingsworth said. Women’s unique perspectives are key to growing revenue and enhancing company reputation.
“The bottom line is it improves your bottom line,” quipped Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams in a video challenging Salt Lake businesses to “elevate her.”
McAdams' county corporation was among nearly three-dozen initial pledge organizations at Thursday’s launch, each of which received a gold medal recognizing their support. Other notable attendees included corporate heavy-hitters such as Goldman Sachs, Intermountain Healthcare and Rio Tinto Kennecott, along with nearly every Utah college and university and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Each signatory agreed to develop and implement appropriate measures to boost the status of women within its organization, paying special attention to issues of women’s recruitment, retention, promotion and wage equality.
At just 70 cents on the dollar, Utah women earn less than their counterparts in nearly every state. The Beehive State’s wage gap is the fourth-largest in the country, according to a study by Voices for Utah Children.
“Fathers of daughters in this country need to be outraged that a pay gap exists,” said gender strategist Jeffery Halter, the launch event’s keynote speaker. “It should be a personal affront to you as a father that our society does not value your daughter as much as your son. Fathers of daughters need to get angry, and they need to do so with a sense of urgency.”
Without that urgency, Halter said, “companies face becoming the next Sears, Circuit City or Polaroid.”
On the other hand, companies that set female employees up to succeed reap major financial rewards. Businesses with the highest percentages of female board members outperformed those with the lowest by, on average, 42 percent in sales returns, 53 percent in equity returns and 66 percent in returns on invested capital, according to a 2012 Credit Suisse report.
“I have experienced firsthand the value that has been created by the fact that we have a women’s perspective on our boards and on our management team,” said Questar CEO Ronald Jibson. “It’s not about a woman versus a man. It’s that they both create value by bringing different perspectives. That’s what diversity can bring to our companies.”
Ultimately, gender has little bearing on an applicant's qualifications, said Women’s Leadership Institute CEO Patricia Jones.
“This is not about pushing men out of their positions,” she said. “What this is about is ensuring that when it’s time — when you have an opening on a board, in senior level management, at the top — that women are in the pool of candidates.”
Ultimately, it’s not women that the institute has to rally, Halter said.
“We write blogs, we create book clubs, we tell women to ‘lean in.’ But if there is no buy-in from men, the women’s leadership movement will not move forward,” he said.
Thanks to unflagging support from Utah’s “enlightened” male business community, Jones said she's optimistic about the movement’s future.
“It’s going to take a concerted effort from all of us," she said. "But together we are moving the needle on women’s leadership. It’s exciting. It’s opportunity. This is the Utah way.”
Email: aoligschlaeger@deseretnews.com, Twitter: allisonoctober