2019 2nd Annual Signature to Action Best Practices Event

On May 21, 2019 over 300 attendees learned together at the 2nd annual best practices event, the Columbus Commitment: From Signature to Action. The purpose of this event was to provide our adopting companies with strategies to make change as well as a space to share their experiences. Local leaders shared best practices and we learned from one another about how to address the issue of pay equity and gender equitable workplace policies. Learn more here.

2018 Signature to Action Best Practices Event

As part of the Columbus Commitment, Adopters agreed to attend a best practices event on gender and race-based pay equity. This 2018, the first ever Columbus Commitment: From Signature to Action best practices half-day conference was held on May 1st. Over 200 attendees heard from other local adopters implementing best practices and policies as well as gender and race- based pay equity experts. Topics and discussion ranged from detecting & fixing pay gaps, implicit bias, and inclusive leadership to creating modern workplaces and the impact and importance of the #metoo movement’s relationship to pay equity and women’s advancement. Learn more here.

Lunch & Learns

August 2019: Workplace Culture & Intersectionality

August 22nd, 2019 marked Black Women's Equal Pay Day: the date in 2019 to which a black woman had to work to catch up to the same amount a white man made in 2018. This day is four months later than National Equal Pay Day, which marks equal pay day for women in general. Nationally, Black women working full time, year-round earn 64 cents to each dollar earned by a white man.

We know this persistent, pervasive wage gap is driven in part by a lack of workplace policies supporting women and, in particular, women of color. The Columbus Women’s Commission hosted a Coffee & Conversation on Workplace Culture & Intersectionality where adopters heard from community leaders on the intersectionality of gender and race and how to be intentional with inclusivity while creating workplace policies to include everyone and encourage gender equity.

The panel was moderated by Gale King, Nationwide, with panelists:

• Donna James, Lardon & Associates

• Marlon Moore, Huntington National Bank

• Letha Pugh, Bake Me Happy.

Thank you to our panelists, our host, YWCA Columbus, and Coffee Sponsor, Stauf’s Coffee Roasters.

April 2019: A Workplace for a Modern Women 

On April 2, 2019, Equal Pay Day 2019, the Commission hosted a lunch and learn to bring adopters together and facilitate conversation on equitable workplaces. The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity shared their newest research report, A Workplace for the Modern Woman. This report emphasizes strategies that organizational leadership can implement as part of a comprehensive strategic plan to create fair and equitable workplaces.  

We also heard from Kelley Griesmer, President & CEO of The Women's Fund of Central Ohio about the organization’s newest research project, Assets for Equity: Building Wealth for Women in Central Ohio exploring the Gender & Racial Wealth Gap in Central Ohio. This report looks beyond the wage gap, analyzing the gender wealth gap and the barriers throughout a woman's lifetime that contribute to this gap.  

Read the Kirwan report HERE. Read the Women’s Fund report HERE .

February 2019: The Competitive Advantage of Offering Paid Family & Medical Leave

February 27, 2019 over 50 adopters joined us at Accenture to discuss the importance of offering paid family and medical leave for employee retention and competitiveness. National Speaker Annie Sartor, who leads workplace programs at PL+US Campaign (Paid Leave for the US), shared an overview of how to effectively implement a paid family and medical leave policy for businesses of different sizes. Attendees also heard from local leaders Heather Whaling (Geben Communications) and Natalie Sisto Means (Accenture) who have implemented paid leave policies at their companies.

Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and participate in small table discussions, as well as give input on other policy issues and topics for future Lunch & Learns.