International Women’s Day: Celebrating Bright Spots and Embracing the Journey Ahead
As we celebrate another International Women’s Day and 8 years at Mine The Gap, we must honor the milestones and "Bright Spots" illuminating our path forward. We believe in recognizing our progress and highlighting the benchmarks that serve as beacons of hope for our continued work ahead.
At Mine the Gap, we provide diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting services. We specialize in gender and women's leadership to aid companies and organizations in navigating a more connected and diverse world. We started Mine The Gap to work with the private sector because we saw the impact of gender diversity in politics and other sectors. As global experts working in diverse regions and contexts, we are continuously inspired by the policy changes and workplace cultures that shift due to increasing gender diversity and its intersectional dimensions.
In the US we have seen Kamala Harris become the country’s Vice President - the first woman, the first black American and the first South Asian American to serve in this role. Justice Sonia Sotomayor became the first appointed woman of color to the US Supreme Court. Nashville’s Metro City Council elected a female majority and its first openly transgender person for the first time last year. This year, St. Paul, Minnesota became the first large city in the US to elect an all-female city council.
Ursula von der Leyen has led the European Commission since she was appointed President in 2019, and we’ve seen both the number of women speakers of Parliaments and the number of countries with cabinets that are more than 40% women on the rise. These exemplify exciting strides toward gender equality in global governance. These milestones are not just symbolic; they are testaments to a growing understanding of diverse leadership's impact on policy and society.
Despite a concerning period during COVID, women are also making notable gains on the economic front, with a Pew Research study highlighting improvements in labor force participation and earnings, with women now comprising “about a third of workers in the country’s 10 highest-paying occupations (35%)...up from 13% in 1980” according to 2023 Census data. While women make up only over 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs, they are making strides in boardrooms. We are proud of our collaboration with the California Partners Project and California’s First Partner Jennifer Seibel Newsom to research the results of the landmark legislation on California (SB 826) which doubled the number of women on public boards in the state (to 33%), contributing to the 28% of women holding Russell 3000 public company board seats across the US.
This trend signaling a shift towards more inclusive governance structures is being encouraged by shareholders and other stakeholders pressing for greater transparency and reporting on diversity. Our Co-Founder, Jessica Grounds plays a role in efforts to align diversity and accountability measures as part of NASDAQ’s Insights Council and the 30% Coalition. The discussion on board gender diversity also extends to private company boards, with the 2022 Him for Her and Crunchbase study highlighting the slow but steady progress being made.
Mine The Gap recently launched The Inclusive Boardroom: Nuts and Bolts to Build a Modern Board, a two-part facilitation to strengthen boards using the critical lens of diversity, equity and inclusion, in partnership with The Leadership Edge.
Another tool we were proud to launch for women’s economic empowerment recently was a curriculum we developed with the Center for International Private Enterprise for women entrepreneurs in Papua New Guinea and in Ethiopia, the latter of whom had businesses in conflict-affected areas which they are in the process of rebuilding.
Our Commitment and Future Directions
At Mine The Gap, we are proud to contribute to this progress through our work, including our partnership with the Hewitt School in launching initiatives to support girls’ leadership and prepare them for professional success. Last year we collaborated to launch the Center for Gender and Ethical Leadership and recently developed curriculum for middle school teachers piloting these new opportunities for girls.
As we look ahead, we remain committed to building upon these achievements. Our upcoming projects and online training programs aim to further the conversation on inclusive leadership and gender equality.
By highlighting these "Bright Spots" in our journey towards gender equality, we remind ourselves of our progress and the potential for what lies ahead. Stay tuned for more updates on our initiatives and join us in celebrating every milestone on this journey. Together, we can mine the gap for untapped talent and leverage it for a more robust future.