For Communities
There have been many efforts towards workplace equity, but women of color still hold disproportionately few top-level positions, the gender/race-based pay gap persists, and single mothers are the poorest demographic in the U.S. The Kim Center for Social Balance uses LEAPS to drive measurable change at the regional level by uniting communities and their decision-makers around collaborative, data-driven efforts.
Benefits of equity for all
Workplace equity drives the economic and social success of communities.
Prosperity
“Fully closing gender gaps in work would add as much as $28 trillion to annual GDP in 2025.” (McKinsey)
Well-being
Societies that empower women have healthier children, less violence, and fewer diseases. (Hudson & Emmett)
Resilience
Women demonstrate better leadership qualities than men during and after crisis. (McKinsey)
Problems we solve
Lack of Local Unity and Local Data
Global change depends on united local action, and local action needs to be informed by locally relevant data.
Solution
LEAPS contributes critical elements to inclusive economic growth and workforce development by helping decision-makers effectively and efficiently identify solutions specifically designed to support their stakeholders.
The San Diego Pilot
San Diego leaders are joining forces to transform the region into a national model proving that people can drive tangible and measurable change in years and not centuries.
Together, they form the LEAPS San Diego Alliance and represent workers, employers, unions, agencies, and other advocates to make sure the voices of diverse genders and races/ethnicities, caregivers, veterans, and workers with disabilities/chronic conditions are heard!
2022:
Establish locally specific workplace equity baselines
The Alliance cooperated in administering the LEAPS Assessment to employers and employees throughout San Diego. For the first time ever, we identified our region’s top 3 barriers to equitable workplace success:
- 1) Lack of childcare
- 2) Sexual harassment
- 3) Limited economic power of small businesses
2023:
Co-design a locally relevant roadmap
Leaders from 50+ organizations collaboratively designed San Diego’s first-ever LEAPS Playbook. This unique, data-driven roadmap highlights 3 priorities to achieve within 12 years:
- 1) Increase the number of San Diego employers offering childcare benefits from 9% to 25%
- 2) Reduce the rate of sexual harassment reports in the LEAPS Assessment from 32% to 10%
- 3) Award the LEAPS Accreditation to 25% of San Diego’s small businesses
2024:
Refine and implement
targeted solutions
Community Action Groups (CAGs) are implementing targeted solutions with progress metrics to achieve the 3 Playbook priorities:
- 1) Create a regional clearinghouse for childcare providers, employers, and families to access critical resources in one convenient place
- 2) Universalize an employer toolkit for sexual harassment prevention that combines key definitions, best practices, and accountability measures
- 3) Conduct 3 case studies to demonstrate how small businesses can benefit from LEAPS despite limited resources and bandwidth
Read the executive summaries of the LEAPS San Diego Assessment (English or Spanish) and LEAPS San Diego Playbook to see how we're driving historic change as a united community!