In this session, Gwen Young, COO of WBC, met with our newest host, Linda Peek Schacht, on January 13th at 12pm EST Gwen introduced Linda as she joins the LinkedIn Live series to host two sessions per month. In addition, Gwen and Linda gave an overview of what to expect for this series over the next year, and how each of the themes and issues covered fit into WBC’s overall mission of equal pay, position, and power for all businesswomen.

Watch the recording on Linkedin here, or below!

The post #WBCFasterTogether: Leading the Trends in 2022 appeared first on Women Business Collaborative.

Nonprofit Collaborative Grows Participation by More than 200% Since its Founding; Remains Committed to Accelerating Progress Across Nine Key Action Initiatives

Published via PR Newswire and Yahoo Finance on December 14th, 2021

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Women Business Collaborative (WBC) has established itself as the leading collaborative and high-growth movement committed to achieving equal position, pay and power for all women in business. Founded in 2019, the nonprofit alliance of business organizations and leaders has grown to include more than 60+ women’s organizations, 40 corporate sponsors and 400+ Council Champions.

WBC’s vast network of business organizations and leaders are focused on achieving long-term results around Nine Action Initiatives, including: more women CEOs, in the C-Suite and on Boards; a demand for gender and pay parity; increasing capital for women entrepreneurs; driving more women as controllers of capital allocation; parity for women in technology; and leveraging learning and development to drive pipeline promotions. With diversity, equity and inclusion at of the core of the collaborative’s mission, every WBC Initiative has a goal to advance diversity.

Since WBC’s founding, the number of collaborating women’s business organizations has grown from 19 to 62 and corporate sponsorship has grown from five to nearly 40 top companies. Supporters include Diversified Search Group, Wells Fargo, Capital One, IBM, Bank of America, BCG, Cigna, and Deloitte. WBC’s flagship Summit hosted a record 3,600 participants this past September.

“We’re incredibly thankful for the passion and commitment that each of our partners and champions offer to this critical movement,” said Edie Fraser, CEO of WBC. “While Boards have seen a sea change and there’s been a major surge of women-owned and minority-owned businesses seeking capital, there is still much more to be done to accelerate gender parity for women. We project further acceleration in 2022.”

In 2021 the WBC with Catalyst, C200 and Ascend released the 2^nd annual Women CEOs in America Report.   According to the report, women comprise 8.2% of the Fortune 500 companies and are about 7% of CEOs across public and private companies. WBC monthly Women Joining Public Boards report shows an average of 42% women being named to public boards and one third of these women of color.

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @WBCollaborative, Instagram @womenbusinesscollaborative and join the discussion with #WBCFasterTogether.

The post WBC Reports Major 2021 Progress Toward Gender Parity for Business Women appeared first on Women Business Collaborative.

Gwen Young, WBC COO, and Edie Fraser, WBC CEO, hosted the final #WBCFasterTogether session of 2021 on December 16th, 2021! Gwen and Edie summarized the progress and achievements of the WBC from the past year, while previewing what’s to come in 2022 for the women’s business movement.

Watch the recording on LinkedIn or below on Youtube!

The post WBCFasterTogether Series: Building the Movement – 2021 and Beyond appeared first on Women Business Collaborative.

This release was published on PRNewswire on Sep 20, 2021, 08:16 ET

Among the Summit’s Featured Speakers are CEOs from GM, Walmart, P&G, BlackRock, State Street, Dow, Progressive, Siemens, PepsiCo, IBM, Humana, Sodexo, CVS, TIAA, and others

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Women Business Collaborative (WBC) – the fastest growing alliance of top business organizations driving impact to create equality for women in business — will convene more than 3,000 participants, including CEOs, thought leaders and the workforce-at-large, at its third Annual Summit  “Empowering Through Gender Equity and Diversity,” taking place virtually, September 21-22, 2021.

With 8.4% of Fortune 500 CEO positions currently held by women – up from 5.7% in 2019, women appear to be on the rise in Corporate America.  Committed to accelerating the progress to include more women across all leadership roles, the WBC Annual Summit brings together the organizations, companies and leaders that are working tirelessly to create cultures of diversity, equity and inclusion across every industry and area of business.

Key data points and best practices for how these leading organizations are taking action will be shared and highlighted throughout the Summit.

“We are crystal clear that all are no longer just talking, but now collaborating on building pathways and nontraditional ways of accelerating women business leaders,” said Edie Fraser, CEO of WBC. “Over the next several days, we will hear from trailblazers in DEI, work to better understand the intersectionality of diversity and discuss how to continually advance the WBC’s Nine Action Initiatives to create equal position, pay and power for all businesswomen.”

In addition to the day and half of engaging discussions, WBC will recognize and highlight achievements in diversity throughout the program. WBC’s 2021 Excellence in Gender and Diversity CEO Award recognizes top officials in major companies for their efforts to diversify their companies and increase opportunities for women in business roles. The 2021 awardees include: Mary T. Barra, Chair and CEO, General Motors; David Taylor, Chairman, President & CEO, P&G; Ronald P. O’Hanley, Chairman and CEO, State Street Corporation; Doug McMillon, President & CEO, Walmart, Inc.; Jim Fitterling, Chairman and CEO, Dow; Laurence D. Fink, Founder, Chairman and CEO, BlackRock, Inc.; Tricia Griffith, President & CEO, Progressive Insurance; and Barbara Humpton, President and CEO, Siemens Corporation.

The full Summit program, agenda, list of speakers, session descriptions and information on how to register for the event can be found here: WBC’s Virtual Annual Summit: Empowering Through Gender Equity and Diversity.  Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @WBCollaborative, on Instagram @womenbusinesscollaborative and join the discussion with #WBCFasterTogether.

The post Women Business Collaborative (WBC) 3rd Annual Summit to Convene Leading CEOs and Business Organizations to Accelerate Gender Equity Across the Global Workforce, September 21-22, 2021 appeared first on Women Business Collaborative.

Whether your goal is to promote women into the C-Suite, a woman as your company’s next CEO, to diversify your board of directors, or to help women into their first leadership job – your goals cannot be achieved if you don’t accelerate female talent, especially women of color, from the start of their career and through the leadership pipeline. To check out WBC’s own Resources for Parity Guide covering six categories of services, click here!

The post Resources For Parity Guide appeared first on Women Business Collaborative.

This release was published on PRNewsire at 8:12am EST on May 13th, 2021.

CEOs At General Motors, Procter & Gamble, Walmart, & More Honored for Efforts To Diversify Their Companies And Increase Opportunities For Women; Trailblazers Award Honors Magic Johnson, Indra Nooyi, Gina Raimondo & Others For Making Innovative Changes To Further Gender Equity & Diversity

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Women Business Collaborative (WBC), the unprecedented alliance of organizations, companies and individuals working together to achieve equal position, pay and power for all women in business, is pleased to announce eight leading CEO recipients for the 2021 Excellence in Gender and Diversity CEO Award with six iconic recipients for WBC's 2021 Trailblazer Gender & Diversity Award. These awards showcase the top leaders in promoting gender and diversity equity across business.

WBC's 2021 Excellence in Gender and Diversity CEO Award recognizes top officials in major companies for their efforts to diversify their companies and increase opportunities for women in business roles. The 2021 awardees include: Mary T. Barra, Chair and CEO, General Motors; David Taylor, Chairman, President & CEO, P&G; Ronald P. O'Hanley, Chairman and CEO, State Street Corporation; Doug McMillon, President & CEO, Walmart, Inc.; Jim Fitterling, Chairman and CEO, Dow; Laurence D. Fink, Founder, Chairman and CEO, BlackRock, Inc.; Tricia Griffith, President & CEO, Progressive Insurance; and Barbara Humpton, President and CEO, Siemens Corporation.

All of the awardees will be honored at WBC's Virtual Annual Summit: Empowering Through Gender and Diversity on Tuesday, September 21st and Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021. Over a day and a half, WBC will highlight achievements in diversity and showcase how the movement is reaching tens of thousands of women, men and organizations across the US and the globe. WBC's Virtual Annual Summit helps celebrate achievements while acknowledging the hard work being done to reach equal position, pay and power for all businesswomen. 

Chair and CEO of General Motors, Mary T. Barra states: "I appreciate WBC's work to highlight gender and diversity equity and for including me among these influential leaders making a difference across industries. At General Motors, we are committed to true accountability in diversity, equity and inclusion and are committed to doing our part to make our company and our world a better place."

Doug McMillon, President & CEO, Walmart Inc. adds, "I'm honored to receive this award and grateful for the impact it represents of Walmart's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts – especially after a year full of challenges that disproportionately affected women and minority groups. This work remains urgent, and both Walmart and the entire business sector must continue to use our resources to create a more equitable society for all." 

And David Taylor, Chairman, President & CEO, P&G shares, "At P&G, we believe in a world with equal representation, equal opportunity, and an equal voice for all individuals, and I am honored to accept this award on behalf of P&G people who are driving this aspiration every day." 

In addition, WBC's 2021 Trailblazer Gender & Diversity Award recognizes business leaders who have implemented innovative changes that further gender equality and diversity, uplifting those around them and cultivating inclusive environments. The 2021 Awardees include: Indra Nooyi, Former Chairperson and CEO, PepsiCo; Joey Reiman, Co-founder and Chair of Brand New World Studios; Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce; Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Chairman and CEO Magic Johnson Enterprises; Thasunda Brown Duckett, President and CEO, TIAA; and Lilly Ledbetter, Author and Equal Pay Activist. Lilly shares what all these Trailblazers represent: "I'll be happy if the last thing they say about me after I die is that I made a difference." 

"What an honor it is to recognize and celebrate these CEOs driving change for gender and diversity along with these Trailblazers contributing to our nation," says Edie Fraser, CEO of Women Business Collaborative. "They all deserve these honors for their remarkable commitment to supporting and advancing WBCs vision of equal position, pay, and power for women in business and our commitment to DE&I."

The post Women Business Collaborative (WBC) Honors Leading CEO & Trailblazer Recipients for 2021 Excellence in Gender and Diversity Awards appeared first on Women Business Collaborative.

Facing the unknown wasn’t new. That’s how it all began over thirty years ago.  Some thought we were crazy to take such a risk by leaving a successful business in Tuscany to open a restaurant in Washington, DC. What did we know about operating an Italian restaurant in the United States? Turns out, very little, but sometimes in life you just have to take that leap into darkness. And so, here we were once more, last March, facing the unknown again.

There was little time to try to understand what was happening when the directive came to close the restaurant in the face of the spread of COVID-19. At the time we wanted to offer our customers a way to stay connected for a couple of weeks until this annoying and inconvenient little virus died out. Now, here we are, 55 weeks later, still working to maintain and nurture our community through our food. Though no one could have predicted the enormity of this pandemic, and maybe it was good that we didn’t realize it then, we were intent on offering stability and comfort in a time of fear and uncertainty. We wanted to replicate the i Ricchi dining experience at home by curating authentic Italian menus accompanied by entertaining stories in such a way that people could have the sensation of being part of a larger whole while isolating alone. The i Ricchi Food Club was born out of extreme necessity and has turned out to be the thing that has differentiated us and kept the restaurant alive. It has developed into the vehicle through which we have solidified our connection with customers while at the same time enlightening them about Italian food, culture, history and travel. The pandemic has reinforced the idea of a restaurant as center of the community.

Facing the unknown seems to be a reoccurring theme in the restaurant business and is more prevalent for women owners and co-owners. When Francesco and I divorced a few years after opening the restaurant, there was a real fear that this wife/partner could not sustain the business. I kept the news of the split as quiet as I could and took over the kitchen. It wasn’t easy dealing with the all-male staff and I had to continually prove myself. Customers and sale reps would ask to speak to “your father or your husband”, because I certainly could not be the decision maker.

Things have changed since then – more than half of the restaurants in the US have women as full or co-owners. With these growing numbers, there has been an effort to organize women led food businesses in the DC metro area, to create a forum to collaborate with and promote each other. Though this forum has been a resource for information and support during the pandemic, the fact remains that the city’s urban landscape has changed, and it will be a tough climb back to normalcy. Professional offices are still closed as are most of the hotels. Fly-in lobbying has ceased and there are no more conventions, conferences or tourists. Business is no longer conducted around DC tables, and downtown restaurants have become inconvenient destinations for locals residing and working from home in the suburbs. The locally owned small grocers and most retail shops are gone, so it will be up to small independent restaurants to retain the thread that keeps these once vibrant neighborhoods together and alive. Again we are facing the unknown, and will have to change to meet the demands of a new age business district. But as in the past, we will take a step forward with the firm belief that “failure is not an option.” For more information about and to order from i Ricchi, please visit http://iricchidc.com/

The time is now to help women owned restaurants and businesses as much as possible. You can do so through the RestaurantHER function on Grubhub, which allows you to find women owned restaurants nearest to your current location. Once you eat at these restaurants, you can share your experience through the Women Business Collaborative’s interactive survey to help these businesses gain exposure and traction.

The post Highlighting Women Led Businesses: Insights on the Pandemic and Management from DC’s iRicchi appeared first on Women Business Collaborative.

Washington – In recognition of International Women’s Day, Business Roundtable today partnered with the Women Business Collaborative (WBC) to reaffirm its commitment to gender equity and diversity.  This statement can also be found on Business Roundtable’s website.

“CEO members of Business Roundtable, who employ 20 million workers, are proud to join with the Women Business Collaborative in reaffirming our commitment to gender equity and diversity during Women’s History Month and beyond,” said Business Roundtable Chairman Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart. “Gender equity and diversity isn’t just a goal that companies should strive to achieve—it is our responsibility to create opportunities for people of all backgrounds across America.”

Business Roundtable has called upon U.S. public companies to consider diversity when recruiting and selecting board members, conduct periodic pay equity reviews and regular pay equity analyses, and implement processes to review and close gender equity gaps.

Business Roundtable CEOs are also committed to measuring progress and support voluntary public disclosure of key diversity metrics on at least an annual basis, including board diversity, senior executive diversity, workforce diversity and supplier diversity.

“Business Roundtable CEOs are committed to making philanthropic investments, updating employment practices and innovating within their businesses,” said Business Roundtable Corporate Governance Committee Chair Alex Gorsky, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. “We are also identifying and actively supporting key policy changes that would advance gender equity and reduce disparities. We look forward to continuing our engagement with policymakers at the federal, state and local levels to advocate for these important changes.”

“Gender equity and workforce diversity are key components of any company’s success,” added Business Roundtable Education and Workforce Committee Chair Mary Barra, Chairman and CEO of General Motors Company. “We are committed to institutionalizing programs and benchmarks that help us reach these goals and ensure female leaders of the future are set up for success.”

Business Roundtable is proud to support the mission of the WBC, an alliance of organizations working together to achieve equal position, pay and power for all women in business. To propel women forward, WBC has united more than 44 leading women’s business organizations to attain immediate and long-term results around nine initiatives, including: more women as CEOs, in the C-Suite and on Boards; a demand for gender pay parity; increasing capital for women entrepreneurs; driving more women as controllers of capital allocation; parity for women in underrepresented business sectors such as technology; and leveraging learning and development to drive pipeline promotions.

“With the greatest respect for Business Roundtable CEOs, WBC is thrilled to partner on this important reaffirmation. The timing is now to accelerate gender equity and diversity results,” added Edie Fraser, CEO of WBC.

To learn more about Business Roundtable Diversity and Inclusion efforts, visit brt.org/policy-perspectives/diversity. To learn more about the Women Business Collaborative, visit www.wbcollaborative.org.

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Women-owned businesses are important for our economy. According to an analysis produced by the Boston Consulting Group, if women participated equally to men as entrepreneurs, global GDP could increase by approximately 3 to 6 percent, adding $2.5 to $5 trillion to the global economy. But investment and growth, in and for women-owned firms, trails men in nearly every measurable category: female-led start-ups constituted 15.7 percent of deals in 2019. This doesn’t have to be the case. This brief provides an overview of why driving access to capital for women entrepreneurs is a passionate focus for WBC.
Why focus on entrepreneurs?

• Between 2014 and 2019 the number of women-owned businesses grew by 21% to a total of nearly 13 million (12,943,400). Firms owned by women of color grew at 43% during that same time period (2019 State of Women Owned Business Report/American Express)
• Women-owned firms account for 39% of all privately held firms and contribute 8% of employment and 4.2% of revenues (NAWBO)
• 42% of newly created women-owned businesses are started by black women; Latinx women represent 31% of newly created women-owned businesses (American Express 2019 State of Women-Owned Businesses); however, only 4% of the female founders who raised equity financing were black and 2% were Latinx (2018 Project Diane by digitalundivided)
• According to an analysis produced by the Boston Consulting Group if women participated equally to men as entrepreneurs, global GDP could increase by approximately 3% to 6%, adding $2.5 to $5 trillion to the global economy (HBR, Shalini Unnikrishman and Roy Hanna: The Trillion Dollar Opportunity in Supporting Female Entrepreneurs, 10/31/2019)
• Female-led start-ups constituted 15.7% of deals in 2019 (Pitchbook).
• Morgan Stanley estimates that VCs could be missing out on as much as $4 trillion in value by not investing in more diverse founders
• As of 2019 African American/Black women-owned business numbered 2,681,200 or 21% of all women-owned businesses, having grown by 12% in 2019 (vs 8% annual growth rate between 2014 and 2019) (2019 State of Women Owned Business Report/American Express)
• As of 2019, African American/Black women-owned businesses earned average revenue of $24,000 per firm vs $142,900 among all women-owned businesses (2019 State of Women Owned Business Report/American Express)
• The disparity between minority and non-minority women is increasing In 2014, minority-owned businesses average $67,800 in revenue; by 2019 the average had dropped to $65,800. In 2014, non-minority women- owned businesses average $198,500 in revenue; by 2019 the average had jumped to $218,800 (2019 State of Women Owned Business Report/American Express)

Our Goals

So what can we do? We’ve partnered with an incredible group of organizations to drive change: ASTIA; Enterprising Women Magazine; Golden Seeds Ventures; Springboard Enterprises; SheEO, WBENC

Together, we will engage with relevant organizations to build a database of women entrepreneurs with highly successful businesses segmented by size of revenues, work to educate women entrepreneurs on the importance of the appointment of boards and advisory boards to help scale their businesses and gain access to capital, and collaborate to provide relevant resources, webinars, and more through our network of partners.

We believe that through these actions we can see:

• 20% increase in women owned businesses generating $5 million or more by 2025
• The average revenues for minority women-owned firms grow by 25% by 2025
• The percentage of venture capital available to women founders doubles by 2025 from 2.3% in 2018

The post Issue Brief: Women Entrepreneurs & Access to Capital appeared first on Women Business Collaborative.

WBC Board Member Robert Reiss discusses the April WBC CEO Roundtable event in his latest Forbes article. Read an excerpt below.

Five CEOs convened April 22, 2020 to share their approaches to leading during crisis. One was Carly Fiorina who has led through deep recession, terrorist attacks, SARS and Ebola. Carly shared, "There's an old saying that tough times build character. I think that is wrong … tough times reveal character."

These CEOs were interviewed at Women Business Collaborative kickoff of the “WBC CEO Roundtable: Leading Forward” webinar for an audience of almost 200 executives and entrepreneurs. The CEOs —representing fashion, insurance, U.S. prison system, technology and crisis management public relations – discussed how they are adapting their businesses for the future and working around the clock to ensure that their employees are safe. They also shared, the stylistic benefits of women leadership, especially important during these challenging times.

Read the full Forbes article here. 

The post Forbes Feature: Amid This Pandemic, Women CEOs Share That Leadership And Culture Matter Most. appeared first on Women Business Collaborative.