New report uncovers disparities for women in the workplace in Allen County

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - It’s International Women’s History month and a Fort Wayne organization is taking a closer look at women in the workforce.

A new report released by the Women’s Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne paint a bigger picture for the ongoing conditions in the workplace.

Director of the Women’s Fund Cassie Beer says it’s not just a problem of equal pay, but looking at the disparities in other ways too.

She says their researchers surveyed 48 employers in Allen County to collect the data to released the first ‘Allen County Women in The Workplace Report’. The report found that women are underrepresented in leadership roles and top salaries. It says women make up %38.7 of top paid positions and it’s worse for Black women.

“There are many factors that impact a woman’s ability to thrive in the workplace, her caregiving abilities, her access to emotional support, employment education,” Beer said. “We wanted to measure those things and paint a bigger picture.”

Beer says the report also found a quarter of women working full time don’t have access to any paid leave and the medium salary is $25,000. She says they also evaluated each of the 48 businesses based on their criteria for creating a more equitable workforce in Allen County. They found that 20 of the 48 businesses met that criteria.

“Its not just about paying women fairly, it’s about providing benefits and policies that support all of these areas for women,” she said.

You can view the full report by clicking here.

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