Women: The Additive That Boosts Business Success

By Patricia Jones, CEO, Women’s Leadership Institute

Irecently made a presentation to a group of auto dealer executives who were interested in learning how to increase the numbers of women employed throughout the company’s enterprise. The motives were honest and pure: the CEO had become enlightened about the value of gender diversity. The company had little of it; he wanted more of it. He knew the why; he wanted to know the how. He wanted managers to be ready and willing to change the long-standing traditions of doing business a certain way—a way that had long excluded women.

As each of the men introduced themselves, several mentioned that they had a specific motivation for their newfound engagement in women’s leadership: they had daughters.

While having daughters seems to click on a lightbulb for many men, there are many additional reasons to commit to greater gender diversity and to elevating women in business. Currently, women are plentiful in entry and office positions, but intentionally building the pipeline for women in leadership within companies is becoming the winning way for successful organizations. For instance, it is widely recognized that women make or highly influence more than 80 percent of consumer decisions. (Having a steeped career in market research, I believe that number is even higher.)

To ignore the massive influence of women who decide what and where to purchase products and services is to do so at your own peril. The business case for at least 30 percent women in senior level positions is widely considered best practice, especially if companies want to increase ROI, improve retention levels, and enhance employee morale. Moreover, women in leadership attract other female talent.

Seven years ago, some of Utah’s prominent business leaders described their vision for the Women’s Leadership Institute, and the organization was formed. WLI is a business-led 501(c)3 housed in the Salt Lake Chamber. Importantly, the organization considers men as allies and advocates of women and includes equal numbers of men on their board. At the time of WLI’s formation, Utah was struggling to recruit and retain talent along the Wasatch Front. Compounding the problem was a persistent perception among many, especially outside of the state, that Utah was a backward place for women. That perception often became one of the most perplexing barriers to recruiting critical talent in the state. In fact, one national publication put Utah women on par with women in Turkey, Indonesia, El Salvador, and Saudi Arabia.

Leading WLI has been one of my most fulfilling endeavors. My background in business and in politics seemed to align with the vision of our business community: to elevate the stature of women in business and in politics. WLI has been developing the talents of women through its Career Development Series and its Political Development Series. To date, more than 600 Utah women have been beneficiaries of these leadership development cohorts. WLI’s cornerstone, the ElevateHER™ Challenge, has been a huge success for Utah businesses. Accepting and implementing the ElevateHER Challenge does not require disclosure of private information, and accepting the challenge requires no financial obligation. Rather, the ElevateHER Challenge provides a template of research-based goals that companies follow at their own pace, defined by their own individual company culture. Companies that accept the ElevateHER Challenge are utilizing it as a springboard for beginning important, new internal conversations. That dialogue is bringing enlightenment and candor to management. It is enhancing relationships. It is making a difference in attracting and retaining talent. The ElevateHER Challenge is providing internal input for company policies in a dynamic environment to meet the needs of a changing workforce. Simply, women want to work for companies that they know are committed to elevating women.

An organization that chooses to accept the ElevateHER Challenge pledges to raise the stature of women’s leadership. WLI suggests focusing on each of the following areas in order to reap the full benefit of enhancing women’s leadership:

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1. Increase the percentage of women in senior leadership positions. 2. Increase the retention rate of women at all levels of the organization. 3. Increase the number of women on the organization’s Board of Directors and encourage women to serve on community and corporate boards.

4. Monitor pay by gender and close identified gaps. 5. Establish or enhance leadership development, mentoring and/or sponsorship programs for women.

6. Urge women to run for public office and give follow-up support. Thanks to the vision and passion of Don Willie, President of the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce, the Women’s Leadership Institute recently expanded to southern Utah, formalizing a relationship with that Chamber. WLI considered southern Utah as the most ripe and ready geographical area for expansion because of its significant growth and the need for guidance in gender diversity. In fact, a recent article in Utah Business Magazine predicted that “St. George could become Utah’s next tech hub.”

As CEO of the Women’s Leadership Institute and a new, permanent resident of St. George, I look forward to working with businesses here and throughout the state of Utah, educating men and women about the value of gender diversity to the success of individual businesses and to Utah’s economy.

Women in Business Section Sponsored By

Patricia W. Jones is the CEO of Women’s Leadership Institute. A University of Utah graduate in Communications, Jones currently serves on the Utah Board of Regents, the Board of Governors of the Salt Lake Chamber, Zions Bank Board, Chair of Intermountain Healthcare Community Care Foundation, Dominion/Questar Advisory Board, the Transportation Governance & Funding Task Force, Chair of Mental Health Working Group for the Board of Regents, a Commissioner on the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, Garff Foundation Success in Education Board, and on the National Advisory Board of the University of Utah School of Dentistry. She was married to the late Dr. Dan E. Jones and has four children and eleven grandchildren.