Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis has been included on the Forbes Magazine list of Best Employers for Women in 2021. IU Indianapolis ranked 14th in the list of 300 US employers and was the highest ranking “best employer for women” in Indiana. IU Indianapolis was the third highest ranked educational institution.
This prestigious award is presented by Forbes and Statista Inc., a world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. This is the 4th year that the list has been published. The Forbes list of The Best Employers for Women was created through an independent survey by Statista that included around 50,000 persons in the U.S. employed at companies with a minimum of 1,000 employees. The sample included more than 30,000 women.
Kathleen S. Grove, director of the IU Indianapolis Office for Women notes, “IU Indianapolis has included gender equity as a key pillar of its diversity, equity and inclusion commitment since its founding in 1969. Many partners and campus leaders have consistently supported this effort over the years. This October, the IU Indianapolis Office for Women will celebrate its 25th anniversary so we are thrilled that our efforts and those of many others are recognized through this award.”
The survey asked participants about work conditions and to rate their own employers regarding parental leave, family support, flexibility, discrimination, representation and pay equity. In addition, a company index was built based on the share of women in executive management or board positions.
IU Indianapolis established its first Commission on Women in 1973 to assure that the campus was in alignment with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Another Task Force on the Status of Women in 1994 recommended the establishment of the Office for Women, as a permanent and formal campus mechanism to address the status of women faculty, librarians, staff and students and to build a campus climate where women can succeed.
The 2018 IU Indianapolis Strategic Plan includes the goals of “Promoting an Inclusive Campus Climate” and “Develop Our Faculty and Staff.” In 2019, the campus won a National Science Foundation grant of over $900,000 to improve institutional climate and promote inclusive leadership practices to address inequities in the representation, retention, and advancement of women, particularly women of color, in the STEM faculty. Currently 8 out of 10 members of the Chancellor’s Cabinet are women and 8 of the 19 members of the Dean’s Council are women.
