It starts with representation. For every 100 men offered their first career promotion only 72 women move up; Black and Latinx women have it the hardest; they’re promoted at just 58 and 68 percent the rate of men respectively (McKinsey/Lean In Women at Work, 2019).

But gender diversity does impact the bottom line. A McKinsey study found that companies in the top-quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 21 percent more likely to outperform on profitability. Additionally, companies in the 2020 MSCI World Index with strong women leadership generated a return on equity of 10.1 percent per year vs. 7.4 percent for those without strong women leadership.

The Payscale Gender Pay Gap Report for 2020 highlights continued need for equal pay for women. In 2020, women earn $0.81 for every dollar earned by men when the median salary for all men and women is considered regardless of job type or worker seniority. When considering similar jobs, known as the controlled gender pay gap, women earn $0.98 for every dollar earned by men. The controlled gender pay gap widens as women progress through their career, with women making $0.95 to every dollar a man makes and make $0.69 to every dollar a man makes when data are not controlled.

Additionally, the gender pay gap widens for most racial and ethnic groups as women move up the corporate ladder. The largest controlled pay gap is with Black women executives earning $0.62 for every dollar a white male executive earns, down by $0.01 from 2019. For Black women, a pay gap at 16 percent (compared to white women’s earnings) at entry level grows to 32 percent by mid-career and 39 percent in the later years (Bentley University Intersectionality in the Workplace: Broadening the Lens of Inclusion 2019).