Empowering Women Empowers EVERYONE

Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox

When you think of a company’s “ethics,” what comes to mind? Sustainability? Fair trade? While these are important, let’s talk about an ethical issue that everyone has a stake in: gender equity.. In the US, women earn more than 50% of the graduate degrees, and yet they only hold a small percentage of the highest paying positions. This is not only an issue of fairness, but an issue of economics.

On this note, when you are choosing a company to work for, do a little research and ask these questions:

1.)   Does the company offer opportunities for women to be promoted? Do they adamantly encourage women to do so?

2.)   Does the company have a committee/ task force dedicated to diverse hiring practices? Do they consider hiring women a business imperative?

3.)   Does the company engage in regular data, policy, and practice review in the area of gender equity? Similarly, do they have an annual goal for the number of women they hire?

Not every facet of this issue can be discussed in a short blog post. But the main point is that if you are a female college student/recent graduate entering the workforce, you are likely very qualified. And if you are a non-female college student/recent graduate entering the workforce, you will not lose out by being a part of the fight to empower women. Helping women succeed is not a zero-sum game; everyone wins!

~Sam, Career Peer Advisor

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