Before starting development of version one of the indices, the team researched ways in which other indexes are insufficient and lacking critical information. Taking this information, they were able to develop a purpose for the Women’s Power Index and define specific goals of being comprehensive, accessible, and objective. Once this was established, they began determining criteria and metrics used, the organization selection process as well as the calculations used to rank the organizations.
To develop a set of criteria and metrics used to rank the organizations, the development team sent out a survey to 8,000 women in a variety of industries to assess the importance of specific criteria and determination of weight values. Companies were then selected based on their Forbes ranking, market capitalization, industry diversity, and available data. Once this information was established, the team began working on the data collection and score determinations for the selected companies.
The goal for version one was to have the metrics, calculations, and methodology defined and rank 25 companies.
The Difference Engine worked with three Barrett Honors College students (Lienna Tieu, Brooke Howard, and Elisa Thomas) during the semesters of Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 to perform an extensive study of existing scholarship and extant indices measuring gender equity.
The Women’s Power and Influence (WPI) Index benefits immensely from this scholarly examination of a variety of indices. After a thorough review of the top ten indices, the students identified features that will allow the WPI index more comprehension: The WPI Index intends to address key issues specific to the workplace in a timely manner and encourage companies to increase gender equality for the benefit of women, not just for the benefit of the companies themselves; it would also take note of anecdotal experience and structure it into quantifiable measurements to create a score model. Within each score model, the WPI Index would contain a set of criteria that would contain a weighted grade that would lead to the overall score that the particular organization would receive.
The WPI Index intends to address key issues specific to the workplace in a timely manner and encourage companies to increase gender equality for the benefit of women, not just for the benefit of the companies themselves; it would also take note of anecdotal experience and structure it into quantifiable measurements to create a score model.
Women's Power Index Literature Review
The Literature Review also uncovered a need for systems change, so the WPI Index will be updated annually to allow companies to improve workplace conditions resulting in a higher rating within said score model the following year. A yearly decreases reliance on the stagnant reform that many companies are prone to. With the analysis of these indices and the solutions gathered, the Women’s Power and Influence Index intends to provide an inclusive tool that would benefit women by increasing equality in the workplace.
Overall, Pre-WPI gender-focused indices examined provide a helpful background and framework for the development of the WPI Index.
Ultimately, from a user standpoint, the Women’s Power and Influence Index serves to make data about workplace gender equality more accessible to women in order to help make more informed choices about potential organizations.
Our WPI Index is a chance to build a specific and cohesive index based on criteria defined by women themselves. The goal is to identify how women are being treated in a workplace environment via accessible data and apply an overall calculated score for institutions and companies to utilize for improvement.
With this score, actions, policies, and environment are quantified and resulting in a final grade that encourages the organizations to confront the truth about the culture nurtured by their policies.
We realized through the literature review that organizations haven't access to a tool to help them answer the question, how have they contributed to systemic inequality that exists to widen the gap between genders and have any of their (new) policies had any real effect in closing that gap?
Read the Barrett Honors College students thesis here. [forthcoming]
