The Women’s Leadership Institute (WLI) is dedicated to building a strong leadership pipeline for women in both business and politics. Through education and engagement, WLI strives to empower women and create opportunities for their advancement in these fields. As a business-led not-for-profit organization, WLI collaborates with Utah’s business leaders to drive positive change and elevate the stature of women in various leadership roles. WLI offers several programs and initiatives to support this mission, including: ElevateHER™ Challenge: The ElevateHER™ Challenge encourages companies to commi ..read more

 Salt Lake City, UT — October 16— Pat Jones, a prominent advocate for gender diversity and women in leadership, has been recognized as the Business Women of the Year by Utah Business Magazine. This prestigious award acknowledges her outstanding contributions to the business community and her unwavering commitment to advancing women’s roles in leadership positions.  Utah Business Magazine is a leading publication that covers business news and recognizes outstanding achievements in the Utah business  ..read more

Strategic Advantages of Women in Leadership Chess is a game of strategy, patience, and forethought. It teaches you to think ahead, plan your moves, and anticipate your opponent’s next moves. At this year’s ElevateHER Challenge Luncheon, the Women’s Leadership Institute will explore how elevating women in the workplace is much like the game of chess. Elevating women is proven to give businesses a strategic advantage and increase return on investment: Executive teams that are gender diverse are 25% more likely to have above-average profitability. (McKinsey & Company) Companies with mo ..read more

The Women’s Leadership Institute’s mission is to elevate the talents of women in business and politics. We work to shift companies’ mindsets to understand better the impact of elevating women through the business talent pipeline. Again and again, we have found teaching others about the importance of hiring, retaining, and promoting women involves promoting inclusivity, fostering understanding, and emphasizing the benefits of diversity in the workplace. Engaging senior leadership in this effort and seeking support from influential organizational leaders is essential to encourage this diversity ..read more

Leadership Series: A Student’s Perspective                   A leader I admire is Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States. Michelle grew up in a blue-collar home in Chicago and went to Princeton for her undergraduate degree in sociology. She then attended Harvard Law School and graduated in 1988.  As we move towards racial and gender equality, we have made progress – especially in the past few years with the #BlackLivesMatter movement. However, Mrs. Obama was applying to colleges almost 50 years before this. I cannot imagine ..read more

Senator Hirono was born in Japan and moved to the United States at eight with her mother and brother. Upon coming here, they often struggled and lived in poverty (Mickey et al., 2022). Senator Hirono overcame many challenges, and on January 3, 2013, she became the first Asian-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate. Senator Mazie Hirono is an innovative lawmaker and a tenacious fighter for the underprivileged. Her tremendous influence on American politics may be attributed to her personal experiences, dedication to social justice, and legislative goals. Senator Hirono has continuously batt ..read more

It is encouraging to see women in the tech industry play an increasingly vibrant role in driving innovation. While women currently make up just 26% of the tech workforce and are even more scarce in leadership positions, they are still making their mark in the industry. Through entrepreneurship, research and development, and inclusion practices, more and more women are joining tech and finding support in the industry. Entrepreneurship Women today have access to wider opportunities and resources, enabling them to create cutting-edge solutions that disrupt markets and change lives. Through women ..read more

What is a Cultural Calendar? A cultural calendar, or a diversity and inclusion calendar, is an essential tool for knowing the historical, cultural, and religious events of diverse groups. It provides annual dates and information for commemorations, celebrations, national days, international days, and religious observances.  A diversity and inclusion calendar can help workplaces in making inclusion a daily occurrence and regular aspect of an employee’s routine. The goal is belonging. Celebrations and opportunities to socialize with their peers can make employees feel seen and included as ..read more

Want to retain women? Be an ally. This past year has been one of change for the job market. In fact, in the September 2021 issue of Harvard Business Review, their research found “employees between 30 and 45 years old have had the greatest increase in resignation rates, with an average increase of more than 20% between 2020 and 2021.” Twenty percent! This is indeed significant and worth a moment to consider.  According to the McKinsey/LeanIn study, most of those leaving are mid level managers who, through the pandemic with increased responsibilities and additional care at home, reached new ..read more

Self-care may seem counterintuitive while discussing career growth. However, the connection is real. Forbes, featured this topic with author Amy Blaschka, stating, “Living in a world of “always on” culture can wreak havoc on you physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Constantly grinding leads to burnout, anxiety, and stress-related illnesses. “ And chances are if you are burned-out before the promotion, you probably aren’t ready for the promotion. Since we encourage women to increase their sphere of influence, we felt this topic was important to address. Tiffany Peterson, speaker and b ..read more