Your Voices. Our Actions.

She Runs It is fortunate to have had more than 300 members respond to our Member Engagement Survey this past Summer. Your responses and thoughtful verbatims provided us with invaluable insights, and as I wrote in our August newsletter, we heard you.

But hearing and listening is only the first step. We conducted the survey because we truly wanted to understand how well we were showing up for people of all races, ethnicities, backgrounds, and perspectives who have faced or are confronting the challenges that women face at work and in life. We knew that a deeper understanding of our efforts could help us shape and improve our programming, benefits, behaviors, and even the articulation of our purpose and mission.

We packaged the results in a video presentation that you can view at any time. Just go to sherunsit.org and you will find a link to the video. In addition to the survey results, the presentation also outlines seven key commitments that She Runs It has agreed to pursue. In a nutshell, we commit to removing barriers, being clear and consistent about who we serve, accelerating the work of #Inclusive100, fielding an annual survey like the one we did this year, creating a feedback mechanism for our members, mandating DEI training for She Runs It staff and Board Members, and recruiting a diverse slate of speakers, panelists, and award recipients to ensure our programming reflects the population.

These commitments are outlined in the video presentation. Two components I want to call out here as well. The first is an annual report card that we will produce as an outgrowth of the annual member survey. While the survey provides a snapshot of what you are experiencing and feeling, the report card will allow us to measure and report our progress in responding to what you tell us.

The feedback mechanism that we’ve created is an email box – WeRListening@sherunsit.org – that our members can use to share concerns or describe experiences that warrant our attention. Should you ever witness a micro-aggression at one of our events, or if you feel our programming is lacking diversity, and even if you think we’re doing a good job, the email box will be monitored so that we can address your input. While not anonymous, there are only three people on the staff with access to the mailbox and your identity will be held in confidence by these three. Comments will be shared in aggregate with the Board for response and resolution.

Our journey to true equity is ongoing, and it’s very unlikely we will get everything right all of the time. But with your feedback and support, we know we can create a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable community one day at a time.