The Women's Power and Influence Index is built and maintained exclusively by an interdisciplinary team of faculty, experts, and Ph.D. candidates from a wide variety of ASU units including the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and the Ira S. Fulton Schools of Engineering. You can learn more about how we rank organizations here.
What's the problem the Index is trying to solve?
Even though gender equity advanced tremendously during the 20th century, across all meaningful metrics, equality for women in the workplace remains at a standstill. At our current rate, women in America will not reach gender parity for another 151 years. (And that's assuming things don't go backward!)
If we don't do something to restart the drive for gender equality that began nearly a 100 years ago then our grandchildren will be struggling to advance in a stagnant economy, living in passive, unhealthy communities and in a country well past its heyday.
Why is Increasing Gender Equity Important?
A country's gender gap affects its power and influence on the world stage. For instance, narrowing America's gender gap would add $28 trillion to our GDP – enough to wipe out our entire national debt. Achieving gender equality is like magic. It’s a get-rich quick scheme that actually makes you rich, a diet pill that isn't dangerous and actually works.
Narrowing America's gender gap would add $28 trillion to our GDP – enough to wipe out our entire national debt.
Equitable workplaces are far more successful than those where women are marginalized. Employees of all kinds are far more productive, content, and loyal when their environments are equitable. Communities where men and women share domestic burdens and earn similar salaries have far better physical and mental health outcomes and far less incidents of domestic violence, irrespective of overall socioeconomic status.
How Does the Index Advance Gender Equity?
Public rankings ignite behavior change.
Just like a restaurant sinks or swims based on its Yelp reviews - companies will improve or decline on the basis of their placement on this Index. And in doing so, accelerate the drive towards gender equality so that we leave a strong and vibrant nation to our grandchildren.
- Empowers workers. We've seen a post-COVID thirst for increased autonomy and agency by workers at all levels. A public score can let workers know when to apply, where to apply, when to leave and when to demand more equity based on data, not controversy.
- Builds better workplaces. Workers, especially the Millennial and younger generations, value transparent, equitable and progressive workplaces. Getting ranked on the Index can increase morale, productivity and retention, and reduce litigation risk. Leaders who share Index data with their workforce, customers and investors show that they value transparency and care for their community.
- Holds organizations to account for their promises. A simple, easy to understand score released every year that can be used by investors, journalists and civil society to track the progress (or lack thereof) of organizations that have made commitments to increasing diversity (especially in light of the promises made by organizations in the aftermath of the 2020 protests against racial injustice).
- Uncovers interesting data. Netflix ranks high on the Index, and this is despite recent gender-related controversies. Amazon ranks low on the Index, and this is despite the tremendous amount of money it spends on the gender equity. Why?
- Is transparent and cooperative. Not punitive. We plan to share our data sources and methodology with ranked organizations, inviting them to share data and incentivizing them to rank higher on the Index over time.
Student Researchers
Lienna Tieu, Samantha Hollinshead, Charan Rajagopal, Siqiong Zhou, Elisa Thomas, and Brooke Howard
Faculty
Standards and Review Committee
Monica Gaughan (Chair)
Staff