SLU Again Named a Top Place for Women to Work

ST. LOUIS — Saint Louis University has once again been selected as an honoree in the Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis’ sixth annual “Women in the Workplace: Employment Scorecard.”

The Women’s Foundation has recognized 21 area employers that have “demonstrated a strong commitment to gender equity and highlight the best practices each employer employs to advance women in the workplace.” The honor was recently announced. 

This is the fourth straight year Saint Louis University has been recognized by the Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis (WFSTL). 

“We are excited to once again be recognized by the Women’s Foundation,” said Mickey Luna, vice president of human resources at SLU. “I believe the Women’s Foundation recognized and valued our many efforts to elevate women at SLU as part of our overall effort to make SLU an inclusive and equitable workplace. We are appreciative of WFSTL’s effort to put a spotlight on these actions.”

Luna said SLU had done a number of things that caught the attention of WFSTL. 

“Some of the actions taken over the last year that we believe resonated with the committee included making our Flexible Work policy permanent, the strong contingent of women leaders at the institution, and efforts to address compensation both from a market and pay equity perspective,” he said. 

The year’s scorecard recognizes St. Louis area employers that “demonstrated excellence” in four areas of workplace gender equity – leadership, compensation, flexible work policies, and recruitment and retention, according to the WFSTL. 

The Women in the Workplace Scorecard recognizes small, medium, and large companies in the St. Louis region. Criteria to be considered include showing commitment to women in the workplace through measurable outcomes, key policies, and best practices, including demonstrating results with women in a minimum of 25 percent of top leadership roles; a minimum of 25 percent of women in the top 10 percent of the most highly compensated employees; a starting wage higher than the Missouri minimum wage; and family-friendly flexible work policies and recruitment and retention programs targeted at advancing women.

Saint Louis University’s commitment to pay equity was particularly noteworthy following recent federal and state data that indicate gender wage gaps persist and, in some cases, are becoming worse. 

A recent study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) found the weekly gender wage gap widened in 2022, with men earning .18 (18 cents) more per week than women. In addition, the US Census Bureau’s most recent data shows that women in Missouri who work full-time earn an average of $10,000 less than their male counterparts, according to WFSTL. 

“By honoring St. Louis-area employers who demonstrate a strong commitment to women in the workplace, the Women’s Foundation hopes to encourage organizations to improve their policies and practices for female employees while also researching and promoting best practices to recruit, retain and advance women,“ said Carrie Crompton, executive director of the WFSTL. “Our organization is working to educate the community about discrepancies in gender equity, and what we’ve found especially alarming in 2023, is the ongoing issue of the gender wage gap in Missouri.”

About Saint Louis University

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 13,500 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University’s diverse community of scholars is SLU’s service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.