Women in the Workplace

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Women in the Workplace

This first Allen County Women in the Workplace Report paints a picture of what it’s like to be a woman in our local workforce.

The Women’s Fund of Greater Fort Wayne surveyed local employers to understand the landscape of women in leadership, compensation of women, benefits and policies available to women in the workforce, and equitable hiring practices.

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Download the Report

Key Takeaways

Allen County women put in the work. With 75% of working-age women in the workforce—higher than the participation rate for the State of Indiana (74%) and the United States (73%)—our success is dependent upon giving women opportunities that help them reach their full economic potential.

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Successes

  • More than half of employers surveyed use equity-based job descriptions and gender-neutral communications.

  • Approximately 2/3 of employers surveyed provide mentorship, talent development, leadership training, and tuition reimbursement to employees.

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Opportunities

  • Women are underrepresented in leadership roles and top salaries. They make up only 38.7% of leadership roles, 44% of the top 10% of salaries, and 77.8% of the bottom 10% of salaries. The disparity for Black women is even greater in each category.

  • Less than half of Fort Wayne employers surveyed offer benefits and policies that promote equitable workplaces for women, such as flex time, paid family leave, and family care flexibility.

  • Employers surveyed cite the greatest need for attracting and retaining women in the workplace as access to childcare.

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To learn more, download the report..

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Local Leadership

Join us in recognizing the following honorees for their leadership in creating more equitable workplaces! Each of the following organizations meet the criteria of at least one of the following categories: leadership, compensation, supportive benefits and policies, or recruitment and retention.

  • 3Rivers Federal Credit Union

  • AWS Foundation

  • Brightpoint

  • City of Fort Wayne

  • City of New Haven

  • Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne

  • Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream

  • East Allen County Schools

  • Fort Wayne Metals

  • Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority

  • Healthier Moms & Babies

  • Katz, Sapper & Miller

  • Parkview Health

  • Physicians Health Plan of Northern Indiana

  • Purdue University Fort Wayne

  • Rea Magnet Wire

  • Sold by the Gold

  • STAR Financial Bank

  • The League

  • Visit Fort Wayne

“If we don’t do all we can for our people by creating and living up to people-first values, then why are we in business? After all, our people are at the heart of our success, our impact, and our future.”

- JILL BOGGS, PRESIDENT/CEO, VISIT FORT WAYNE

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To learn more about the categories and their criteria, download the report.

Our Next Steps

The Women’s Fund of Greater Fort Wayne will continue to work with our community’s local employers to share and implement best practices that create more equitable workplaces for women, and our community.

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We will:

  • Refine and distribute the Employer Toolkit, a resource for employers that will help identify policies, procedures, and best practices to attract and retain an engaged workforce.

  • Conduct the Compass Survey and publish the Women in the Workplace Report on an annual basis to evaluate progress.

  • Advocate for practices and policies that affect women at the local and state levels.

Join the Movement!

We need your help to keep moving what matters.

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BECOME A MEMBER

Sponsors

  • Larsen Discovery Fund

  • NIPSCO

  • PNC

  • Barnes & Thornburg

  • STAR Financial Bank

  • Sweetwater