Why our work matters

Research that moves us

Networking changes nothing if the structural problem is left untouched. These are the five threads The Garden's Executive Club keeps pulling — each one re-grounded in the United States, because that is where our members work.

A crowd at a women's rights demonstration — Representation matters, especially at the ballot box.

The five threads

What we work on

Each thread began as a question a member asked in a Core group and turned into work the club now carries.

01Economic SecurityWomen outnumber men as graduates and still earn less at every point in their working lives.02Workplace FlexibilityMen are twice as likely to have a flexible-work request refused than women. The stigma, not the policy, is the barrier.03Workplace ParticipationUnder 60% of women participate in the workforce here, against more than 70% of men — despite graduating in larger numbers.04Women in LeadershipMore female voices at every level of leadership deliver better decisions and more equitable outcomes.05Glass Ceiling BreakerEvery ceiling that fell was carried by someone first. We trace the line back to the women who cracked them.

Sources are cited in full on each page. Figures reflect the most recent published US data available at the time of writing.

Why this exists

A room of women who understand the problem is a start. Changing the problem is the work.

We are a membership organisation, not a lobbying body. What we do is narrower and, we would argue, more useful: we take the evidence seriously, we hold it in front of the women who make decisions, and we do not let anyone in the room say the problem is somebody else's.

Every member who joins the club already has access to plenty of information. What they rarely have is someone to hand it to who will act on it with them.

People / Purpose / Possibility

The work needs a room

If any of this lands — if you have been inside this problem from the other side — we would like to hear from you.

Apply for Membership Nominate someone