Today, on Equal Pay Day, the Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis (WFSTL) has released a report on the results from its fourth annual Women in the Workplace: Employment Scorecard initiative, which evaluates employment practices of organizations in the St. Louis region. The “Scorecard” is the area’s only initiative incentivizing and educating employers to cultivate a gender diverse workforce. This year, WFSTL is recognizing 21 St. Louis employers that demonstrated excellence in four areas of workplace gender equity – leadership, compensation, flexible work policies, and recruitment and retention.
“The pandemic and resulting recession have truly highlighted the importance of advancing policies and practices that benefit working women and families. Otherwise, we are at risk of eliminating the significant gains women have earned in the workplace over the last decade,” said Keri Koehler, executive director of WFSTL. “Our St. Louis honorees, recognized for their efforts throughout 2020, have demonstrated a strong commitment to women in the workplace, especially during these challenging times.”
Due to historic job losses for women and the additional family care burden during the pandemic, some economists predict the gender wage gap will widen by five percentage points, meaning the average female worker will earn 76 cents for every dollar the average male worker makes. It could take 10 years to close the gender wage gap to where it was prior to the pandemic. However, because of the increase in remote work during the pandemic, there could be a long-term effect that provides more employment opportunities with greater flexibility, thereby reducing the gender wage gap.
The Women in the Workplace Scorecard recognizes 21 small, medium, and large companies in the St. Louis region who showed a strong commitment to women in the workplace through measurable outcomes, key policies, and best practices. Criteria includes demonstrating results with women in a minimum of 28 percent of top leadership roles; a minimum of 25 percent of women in the top 10 percent of the most highly compensated employees; a starting wage higher than the Missouri minimum wage; family-friendly flexible work policies; and recruitment and retention programs targeted at advancing women.
The 2020 Honorees include:
Small Organizations (less than 50 employees)
Kaskaskia Engineering Group, LLC
Lathrop GPM, LLP
NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri
National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis
Operation Food Search
Rung for Women
Spry Digital
Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt, P.C.
The Simon Law Firm, P.C.
Wyman Center
Medium Organizations (50-499 employees)
Brown Smith Wallace
LaunchCode
Missouri Foundation for Health
Nine PBS
PreventEd
Sapper Consulting
S. M. Wilson & Co.
Stinson, LLP
Large Organizations (500 or more employees)
Enterprise Bank & Trust
Saint Louis University
Washington University in St. Louis
Unlike many “Best Places to Work” reports that rely on employee opinion surveys, the Women in the Workplace: Employment Scorecard looks at objective criteria and outcomes. Through a blind data review process by a seven-person panel, the Scorecard evaluates company employment practices and their impact on gender diversity. Designated organizational representatives were asked to answer specific questions based on existing policies, practices, or employee data.
This year, the Scorecard also included questions for local companies about their pandemic response. Their answers showed most employers either started or expanded flexible work policies, including flex time, flexible work schedules and telecommuting. In addition, nearly half of the employers started or expanded parenting and homeschooling resources. Half of the employers changed their performance review process or revised productivity expectations, and many employers stressed the importance of employee communication during the crisis. Companies also reported an increase in mental health resources and well-being programs.
Over 100 local employers have participated in the Scorecard since its inception, with 80 percent reporting that after taking the survey, they plan to advocate for or implement a new policy or best practice to recruit and/or retain female workers.
For access to the full report, visit https://wfstl.org/women-in-the-workplace-initiative.