Women4Change discussing how to reduce Indiana’s gender pay gap

Submitted by Women4Change Indiana

Across the U.S., women earn less than men, but in Indiana the gap between what women and men earn is even wider than the rest of the country. Indiana’s average gender pay gap is 24 percent; the national average is 18 percent.

Women4Change, a non-partisan organization that educates, equips and mobilizes Hoosiers to make positive change for women, is working to reduce Indiana’s gender pay gap. As part of this effort, the organization is hosting a virtual event, “Listen, Connect, Participate: Economic Stability,” at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28.

Click here to get your ticket for this virtual event. Tickets cost $10, but scholarships are available by emailing haley@women4changeindiana.org.

“Women’s economic mobility is one of our four key focus areas,” said Rima Shahid, executive director of Women4Change. “That’s because the gender pay gap can result in long-term impacts for working women that include lower lifetime earnings, less income for their families, and higher poverty rates,”

Panelists for the July 28 event will include:

  • State Representative Carolyn B. Jackson, representing District 1 in northwest Indiana
  • Alison Bell, Chancellor of WGU Indiana
  • Dr. Laura Merrifield Wilson, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Faculty Leader of the Gender Center at the University of Indianapolis

Joy E. Mason, founder of Optimist Business Solutions, will moderate the panel. A certified Six Sigma Black Belt strategist, Mason worked at Eli Lilly and Company for most of her career and then established a company that helps clients in the midst of organization change management and continuous improvement strategies move “from steps to strides” with their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts.

Women4Change is hosting this event in partnership with the National Coalition of 100 Black Women Indianapolis Chapter, Indiana Institute for Working Families, AAUW Indianapolis and AAUW Indiana.

Women4Change hosts quarterly “Listen, Connect, Participate” events on a variety of topics.