YWCA Clark County recently introduced the Women’s Leadership Center, a new program designed to empower women.
The Women’s Leadership Center is dedicated to helping women and girls achieve their full potential and become leaders in their communities, schools and workplaces. Modeled after successful leadership centers around the world, the Women’s Leadership Center will empower women of all ages to realize and harness their innate leadership abilities, pursue their highest ambitions and have their voices amplified.
“The Women’s Leadership Center will be a place where women can come to find their purpose and their next steps to being involved and being a part of what’s happening in our community and throughout the country,” said Angie Friauf, board member of YWCA Clark County.
2017 will be remembered, in part, as a year that women demanded to be heard. An unprecedented number of women both ran for and were elected to public office last year, and 2018 already has thousands of women preparing to run for government positions across the nation. This is an exciting development, and YWCA Clark County wants to be a part of this new wave of momentum. Yet while progress is being made, much work still needs to be made to achieve parity in leadership positions in both the public and private sectors.
Women make up slightly more than half the population, and account for 47 percent of the U.S. labor force, yet make up only 20 percent of Congress, 27 percent of college presidents, 22 percent of partners in law firms, 11 percent of executive positions in Silicon Valley, 6 percent of partners in venture capital firms, and 2 percent of CEOs in the financial services industry. These are just a few examples, and similar disparities are found across many fields. The gap widens even further for women of color and LGBTQ women.
YWCA Clark County strives for inclusivity and social justice at all levels of society, and is uniquely positioned to support the advancement of women and girls in Southwest Washington. Through high-quality trainings, workshops and mentorship, women and girls will develop life skills essential for success, self-confidence and self-worth, and be guided by a values-based philosophy that embraces equity, inclusion and service.
YWCA Clark County encourages all women who are interesting in empowering themselves to visit https://ywcaclarkcounty.org/wlc and register today for an upcoming workshop.
