Women in the Workplace

Women in the Workplace

This Allen County Women in the Workplace Report paints a picture of what it’s like to be a woman in our local workforce.

Every year, the Women’s Fund of Greater Fort Wayne surveys local employers to understand the landscape of women in leadership, compensation of women, benefits and policies available to women in the workforce, and equitable hiring and retention practices.

Download the Report

Key Takeaways

Allen County women put in the work. With 75% of working-age women in the workforce—higher than the participation rate for the State of Indiana (74%) and the United States (73%)—our success is dependent upon giving women opportunities that help them reach their full economic potential.

Successes

  • More than half of employers surveyed use equity-based job descriptions and gender-neutral communications.

  • Approximately 2/3 of employers surveyed provide mentorship, talent development, leadership training, and tuition reimbursement to employees.

Opportunities

  • Women are underrepresented in leadership roles and top salaries. They make up only 38.7% of leadership roles, 44% of the top 10% of salaries, and 77.8% of the bottom 10% of salaries. The disparity for Black women is even greater in each category.

  • Less than half of Fort Wayne employers surveyed offer benefits and policies that promote equitable workplaces for women, such as flex time, paid family leave, and family care flexibility.

  • Employers surveyed cite the greatest need for attracting and retaining women in the workplace as access to childcare.

To learn more, download the report.

Compass Survey

Employers are invited to take the annual Compass Survey. The Compass Survey assesses what it’s like to be a woman in our community’s workforce. To complete the survey, employers will need age and gender demographics for all employees, as well as knowledge of policies, practices, and professional development opportunities established within the workplace. Results from the Compass Survey are published annually and celebrated at a luncheon.

Employer Scorecard

Join us in recognizing local businesses and organizations for their leadership in creating more equitable workplaces! Honorees meet the criteria of at least one of the following categories: leadership, compensation, benefits and policies, or recruitment and retention.

A full Women in the Workplace Report will be published every five years to comprehensively measure growth, while the Employer Scorecard is published annually.

  • Allen County Government

  • Amani Family Services

  • AWS Foundation

  • Benchmark Human Services

  • Catholic Charities

  • Citilink

  • City of Fort Wayne

  • Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne

  • Custer Inc.

  • Design Collaborative

  • Fort Wayne TinCaps

  • Fort Wayne Community Schools

  • Galecki Financial Management

  • Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana

  • Greater Fort Wayne Inc.

  • Habitat for Humanity

  • Healthier Moms & Babies

  • Katz, Sapper, & Miller

  • Indiana Tech

  • Northeast Indiana Innovation Center

  • One Lucky Guitar

  • Parkview Health

  • Questa Education Foundation

  • Rea Magnet Wire Company

  • Stillwater Hospice

  • The League

  • Turnstone

  • University of Saint Francis

  • Vera Bradley

  • Visit Fort Wayne

  • YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne

  • YWCA of Northeast Indiana

Previous Employer Scorecards

“If we don’t do all we can for our people by creating and living up to people-first values, then why are we in business? After all, our people are at the heart of our success, our impact, and our future.”

– JILL BOGGS, PRESIDENT/CEO, VISIT FORT WAYNE

Our Next Steps

The Women’s Fund of Greater Fort Wayne will continue to work with our community’s local employers to share and implement best practices that create more equitable workplaces for women, and our community.

We will:

  • Refine and distribute the Employer Toolkit—a resource for employers that will help identify policies, procedures, and best practices to attract and retain an engaged workforce.

  • Host quarterly ‘lunch and learn’ events for employers to engage in roundtable discussions and deep dive educational sessions on specific topics facing women in the workforce. Sign up for event notifications.

  • Conduct the Compass Survey and publish the Employer Scorecard annually, and publish the Women in the Workplace Report every five years to evaluate progress.

  • Advocate for practices and policies at the local and state levels that positively impact women.

Join the Movement!

We need your help to keep moving what matters.

Sponsors

Thank you to the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, Doermer Family Foundation & the Don Wood Foundation for their generous support of our Economic Security initiative.