By Cathrin Stickney, Founder and CEO, Parity.org  

At Parity.org, our unique focus is on helping companies create a better, more inclusive culture so that great talent has an equal shot at top, decision-making roles in the company. We know that there are already more than enough qualified women and people of color to have gender and racial parity at the top of corporations today, where the representation gap is the widest. But change has been slow, and many companies aren’t sure where to start. More and more, companies are realizing that creating diversity and inclusion takes a multifaceted approach and can’t be solved with hiring alone.

Concerns that the #metoo and the Times Up movements have gone too far are rising. We’re hearing that men are ostracizing women from meetings and not including them in conversations out of fear of being accused of doing the wrong thing. In tandem, the “Pence Rule” – where men will not meet 1:1 with a woman without others present – seems to be growing in popularity.

It’s hard to believe it’s been less than a year since we’ve launched Parity.org. Since last September, we’ve seen nearly 250 organizations sign the ParityPledge, vowing to interview at least one female candidate for every leadership role VP and higher. These organizations span industries – healthcare, technology, retail, education and more. It’s exciting to reflect on the progress we’ve made in such a short time.

For quite some time now, I’ve grappled with the plight of gender disparity I was witnessing firsthand and through the grapevine. While a little over half the U.S. population is women, barely 20 percent of S&P 500 corporate executive teams and board members are females. Women deserve a fair chance at executive positions. So last year, I decided I was going to take a stand and devote my time towards this cause. Taking a page from the NFL playbook, Parity.org was modeled after the Rooney Rule.