Women have been dramatically underrepresented in positions of power for long enough. Only 4% of C-suite executives in corporate America are women of color, i.e. Black, Latina, Asian, American Indian or mixed-race women, according to McKinsey & Co.
Though they earn more bachelor’s degrees than men and negotiate salaries and promotions at the same rate, for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 85 women of color are promoted.
Despite this nationwide gender gap, Orange County is ripe for a paradigm shift. Last year, the OC Community Indicators Report showed that women-owned businesses are on the rise. We surpassed San Diego County, increasing from 389 to 404 businesses in 2021.
We have a plan to accelerate change for women and create a path up the ladder that’s not riddled with broken rungs. Orange County is ready to reimagine workplace equality, and it starts by ensuring this generation of girls have the skills and exposure needed to join the workforce, find their voices and become self-sufficient leaders.
Here in Orange County, Girls Inc. has supported young women since 1954, last year reaching 4,800 girls from kindergarten to 18 years old, with special attention paid to those from high-risk communities who might otherwise be left out of enrichment programs.
Our research-based, girls-only programs take a holistic approach to their lives and are delivered by professionally trained educators.
We focus on STEM, financial literacy, sound body image, healthy relationships and college and career readiness. Last year, 90% of our girls said they plan on going to college, and 85% know what education or training they need for the career they want.
Our goal is to equip girls to navigate gender, economic and social barriers in the workplace. We aren’t alone in this mission. With corporate partners and women of influence helping to provide mentorship and guidance to our girls, we’re able to start these critical conversations about workforce development and equity at a young age.
Taco Bell Champion
Addressing inequalities in the workplace for young women of color early on can set them up to better navigate day-to-day barriers to leadership, like microaggressions or having their authority undermined.
The McKinsey study revealed just how often these issues occur. Even at the senior leadership level, 34% of women have had their judgment questioned in their area of expertise, compared to 22% of men. They’re also interrupted more than twice as much as male counterparts.
We work with high school students from low-income, underserved Orange County districts in our Girls Meet the Workforce program so they can get a leg up in facing these challenges. Through 40 hours of training, they develop hard and soft skills including professional etiquette, networking and public speaking. A month-long externship follows, with placements at partner companies such as Allergan, Boeing, Global Benefits Group, Ingram Micro, Edwards Lifesciences and more.
One of the greatest champions of this effort is Taco Bell, where female execs like Chief People Officer Kelly McCulloch and Global Chief Legal Officer Julie Davis empower girls with knowledge about office culture, workplace dynamics and what it takes to ascend to leadership roles. Their one-on-one mentorship, around four hours each week during the externship, helps girls build their networks and gain confidence with interviewing and risk-taking.
Exposure and Opportunity
For girls to reach the C-suite, especially those who will be the first in their family to go to college, support must continue beyond high school. There’s a lack of early career opportunities that perpetuates a cycle of gender inequality as women advance professionally.
Nationally, McKinsey reports women of color comprise just 17% of the entry level workforce, creating a much smaller pool of candidates who can climb the corporate ladder. In California, less than a third of California’s STEM and CEO positions are held by women, and less than half of all managers in California are women, according to a report from the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. This perpetuates the gender wage gap, which is more significant for Black and Latinas, the report said.
These reasons are why we’re taking action to fill the pipeline from the ground up with highly qualified, well-connected young women of color, asking companies to take notice of a growing talent pool equipped with the competencies to excel from Day One.
Our newest program, Project Accelerate, picks up where Girls Meet the Workforce leaves off. We’ll help participants create focused transition plans that take them from college into careers, particularly in critical sectors such as STEM where women are underrepresented.
They’ll receive mentorship from women leaders in Orange County and have access to the top businesses through internship experiences their senior year. They will be poised to enter the job market as top candidates with a network of high-profile leaders behind them.
The Project Accelerate launch came about through the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge grant, funded to the national Girls Inc. organization by Pivotal Ventures (Melinda French Gates), MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett, and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies.
It will take local support for Girls Inc. of Orange County to grow and sustain this initiative. To propel more women of color into senior leadership, we need to invest in the pipeline of talent now.
And by doing this, we can beat projections from the World Economic Forum that it will take 135 years to close the global gender gap.
Girls Inc. is ready, and we invite corporate and community leaders to join us in influencing the culture of diversity and inclusion, and shaping the narrative around the importance of equity in Orange County.
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Editor’s Note: Santa Ana-based Girls Inc. of Orange County reported $3 million in revenue during 2021. For more information on how to become a mentor, and to have your company join the group’s Girls Meet the Workforce and Project Accelerate programs, please email LSantana@girlsinc-oc.org or visit the website at girlsinc-oc.org.
