Held March 8, this celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. The theme for 2018 is #PressforProgress.
Women hold only 17.6 percent of the director seats on the boards of the 50 largest publicly traded Wisconsin companies. To ensure that this percentage continues to increase and gender equity continues to grow, Milwaukee Women inc (MWi), a Milwaukee-based nonprofit organization that works to achieve balanced representation of women on boards of directors of Wisconsin companies, today announced its support of the goals of International Women’s Day.
“Since Milwaukee Women inc’s founding in 2003, we have worked diligently to bring visibility to the value and benefits of gender diversity. Our annual research report, “Measuring Change,” has showcased the percentage of women on corporate boards. And, during the course of our research, we have found continued growth, albeit much slower than desired,” said Sandy Wysocki, chair of Milwaukee Women inc and chief development officer of the Milwaukee United Performing Arts Fund. “On International Women’s Day, we stand with the many other organizations who #PressforProgress.”
“There is ample evidence to show that companies that have greater representation of women on their boards have made conscious, thoughtful efforts to change the culture of their business. Gender diversity in leadership extends beyond the C-Suite. For leading companies, we have found that diversity and inclusion becomes a focus throughout the organization,” added Wysocki.
There are several ways to join Milwaukee Women inc and EY in celebrating International Women’s Day:
- Make a Pledge to #PressforProgress
- Read Milwaukee Women inc’s Measuring Change 2017 report to learn about the state of board diversity for Wisconsin companies
- Join EY on Facebook for a “Facebook Live” talk on March 8 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CST
- Start a conversation with your colleagues about gender diversity in the workplace.
EY, a longtime supporter of MWi and the #PressForProgress campaign sponsor of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2018, is playing a vital role to advance equality globally and locally in Milwaukee.
“We will help to guide and influence how every person and organization across the world recognizes and advances women in 2018. We are calling on all people to help build a more inclusive, gender equal world — a better working world,” said David Gay, EY’s Milwaukee office managing partner.
Milwaukee Women inc
