Towards a More Equitable Future

Throughout this month, we’ve celebrated notable women who have made major contributions to society. Fearless women, who challenge themselves and others. Women who actively helped to turn the tide of inequality towards a better future. 

These women have one central thing in common - a bias to action. As I reflect on this month, I find myself asking how we make Women’s History Month more than just a history lesson. How do we make it an inflection point, not the end point, in our pursuit of equity and inclusion? And how do we turn words into accountability and action? As we look ahead, three core tenets should guide our work to move faster in driving change and progress towards respect, equality and belonging. 

Make it a daily practice. If we want to make headway, we have to battle against underrepresentation each and every day, and take action to fight the status quo. Inequity exists throughout our society - and there are things we can do daily to create a culture of inclusion. As we transition from remote to hybrid work, we should examine flexibility and other family-friendly policies that support mothers and caregivers so fewer have to make choices between a professional path and a personal one. Ensure hiring practices and candidate slates are diverse.  And as we attend hybrid meetings, we must invite equal participation from all corners of the room.

Measure progress, consistently over time. There’s no shortage of research on diversity, equity and inclusion but we have yet to connect data and accountability in a meaningful way. I’m a strong believer that examining data on a year-on-year basis is the first step in doing so. We’ve come a long way with projects like Crunchbase’s collaboration with Him for Her, which tracks diversity on the boards of the most heavily funded private companies on an annual basis; the McKenzie-Delis Review, a truly one-of-its-kind, comprehensive review of corporate practices in the U.S. against ten core facets of workplace diversity and inclusion, which I co-chaired this year; and research from institutions like Pew Research, which recently found a rare sign of demonstrable progress - that young women are out-earning young men in several U.S. cities. We must go further by creating accountability when progress levels out and we fall short of broader goals.

Maximize momentum. Across every industry, we see women breaking biases and overcoming long standing barriers to reach and exceed their potential. Whether it is increasing the level of venture capital going to female entrepreneurs, strengthening representation on Fortune 500 boards or supporting an uptick in women graduating in STEM fields, I’m proud of the progress happening around us, and I know that these wins will help encourage us all to fight for more. We have to remain dedicated to accelerating the flywheel on gains made so that this momentum creates a meaningful movement.

Leadership is a critical part of building an inclusive culture in a world that is continually changing and evolving. This isn’t going to be easy, but with so much at stake, it will take all of us to move forward together towards meaningful equality and belonging. Are you ready to #breakthebias?