The Women’s Fund of Omaha has released its 2016 Women in Leadership Report, its third such report in 20 years.
Michelle Zych, Executive Director, says the Women’s Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of Omaha women and girls through research, grants and advocacy.
For this report, they interviewed 80 leaders in Omaha’s corporate, non-profit, academic, governmental and medical communities.
Zych says their research shows that although equity hasn’t been reached, there are more leadership opportunities for women in Omaha since their last study.
But she says, some women still continue to be underrepresented.
"One of the things that we have found with our research is that from a community and organizational perspective, there is definitely an uneven playing field for women of color and LGBTQ women. So that is not to say that women aren’t making progress, but we definitely know that it is harder for women of color and women who are LGBTQ.”
Zych feels Omaha has the potential to become a national leader in gender equity, but that it will take work.
The report includes Action Steps that can be taken at the community, organizational and individual level and can be found atwww.omahawomensfund.org.