Women's Foundation Thanks Mayor Sly James for Championing Equity and Opportunity for Women

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2019

CONTACT: Channing Grate, channing@gpsimpact.com

KANSAS CITY -- Ahead of Mayor Sly James' last day in office, the Women's Foundation commended all that Mayor James has helped accomplish through their partnership.

"Mayor James' vision, tenacity and infectious optimism have left a lasting and profoundly positive impact on Kansas City. Mayor James has been a tireless champion of women's equality and empowerment, and we were proud to work with him on initiatives to close the leadership gap and empower women across the region." – Wendy Doyle, President & CEO, Women's Foundation

Throughout his tenure, Mayor James worked tirelessly to advance diversity and inclusion and prioritize women's empowerment in Kansas City by: 

  • Creating the Women's Empowerment Initiative, a road map for helping women to find their place in local government positions.

  • Dramatically increasing the number of women serving on public boards and commissions through the Appointments Project.

  • Expanding paid parental leave for city employees.

  • Partnering with Women's Foundation to create When Work Works, an initiative that provides benchmarking to businesses and rates them in the areas of workplace flexibility, paid leave policies and more.

  • Teaming up with AAUW and the Women’s Foundation to launch AAUW Work Smart KC, to help close the gender pay gap with salary and benefits negotiation training.

In 2017, the Women’s Foundation created the He's for Change Internship, in honor of Mayor Sly James and his work to empower women and increase the number of women serving on Kansas City’s public boards and commissions.  

The Women's Foundation looks forward to continuing to work on the Appointments Project with Mayor-elect Quinton Lucas.

The Women’s Foundation promotes equity and opportunity for women of all ages, using research, philanthropy and policy solutions to make meaningful change. More information about the organization can be found at www.Womens-Foundation.org.
 

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