Leadership for the Environmental Movement We Need
The powerful and amazing Cohort 3 of the 100 Women Pathway in Santa Cruz, California. © Planet Women.
The environmental movement needs more diverse women at all levels of leadership—from the field to the C-suite to the halls of government. The 100 Women Pathway connects CEOs and rising leaders, and together we are strengthening the community of women in positions of power and influence.
The intersection of gender equity & the environmental crisis
Women’s leadership and participation are critical to effective and lasting solutions to the environmental crisis and intersecting issues like public health, education and racial and social justice. A review of 17 studies from around the globe showed that including women in conservation and natural resource governance resulted in better outcomes for nature and people. Research shows that women are more likely to: Make decisions that support public good and nature, work out compromises, stand up for their beliefs, and provide fair pay and benefits.
And yet – women are not equally represented in positions of power, influence and decision-making in the environmental space. At the 2022 UN climate conference COP27, women held less than 25% of senior negotiation roles and only 37% of all delegation seats. A mere 0.2% of international philanthropic funding goes to women-led environmental initiatives. As recently as 2021, two-thirds of CEOs and board chairs at the largest environmental organizations and philanthropic foundations were men. And women of color have even less representation across all these positions.
This problem, of course, extends beyond the environmental sector. Of all Fortune 500 CEOs, only 53 are women (about 10%) and merely three CEOs are women of color. Bottom line: The world needs more diverse women at all levels of leadership—from the field to the C-suite to the halls of government.
Fortunately, there are many inspiring women leaders who have made it to the top spot as a CEO or Executive Director of environmental organizations, research institutes and philanthropic foundations.
Current CEOs and Executive Directors can play a critical role in mentoring and supporting the next generation of women leaders. Fostering this connection between current CEOs and rising women leaders is an essential element of the 100 Women Pathway.
What is the 100 Women Pathway?
Planet Women created the 100 Women Pathway to elevate more women, especially women of color, into C-suite roles in environmental organizations. The program focuses on identifying and overcoming the barriers that women and women of color face as they ascend to senior positions.
Throughout the eight-month program and beyond, each participant explores their personal story and career journey in a community of other women environmental leaders. Participants also benefit from customized programming including skill-building workshops, engagement with our CEO network, peer mentoring, and coaching sessions.
Video: Hear from participants about their experience at the 100 Women Pathway gathering in Santa Cruz, California in October 2023.
The power of hearing someone say, “I believe in you.”
This program is possible because of many people, and we want to shine a light on one crucial group: our network of women CEOs. Each Pathway participant is nominated to the program by a current CEO. When designing this program, Janet Nguyen, Senior Vice President of 100 Women Pathway, felt that this nomination process was a critical element. Janet says,
“It’s so powerful for these women to hear a CEO tell them, ‘I believe in you. You can do this.’ Opportunities have been limited for women to advance to the highest levels of leadership and women are familiar with the messaging that they aren’t ready. Someone powerful, someone we respect telling us that we can do it can start a journey to believing in ourselves in a way that we never imagined.”
The 50 CEOs in our network have nominated 90 women to participate—and 46 of those women have participated in the Pathway. Over 60% of participants identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color. Meet the rising leaders here.
In addition to nominating Pathway participants, many women in our CEO network have supported Planet Women with their expertise, resources, and enthusiasm. Some have been part of our community since the days when Planet Women was still just an idea and have cheered us on at every stage.
We want to express our deep gratitude to the members of our CEO network:
Katherine Baughman McLeod, Adrienne Arsht Rockefeller Foundation
Ashley Boren, Sustainable Conservation
Annie Burke, TOGETHER Bay Area
Bridget Burns, Women’s Environment & Development Organization
Ginger Cassady, Rainforest Action Network
Ellie Cohen, The Climate Center
Jana Davis, Chesapeake Bay Trust
Amira Diamond, Women's Earth Alliance
Abigail Dillen, Earthjustice
Tracy Farrell, IUCN
Kathleen Finlay, Glynwood Center for Regional Food & Farming
Alison Fox, American Prairie
Kate Fritz, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
Katie Frohardt, Wild Earth Allies
Chela Garcia-Irlando, Next 100 Coalition
Elizabeth Gray, National Audubon Society
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, Azul
Gina Hancock, Tennessee State Parks Conservancy
Melody Harclerode, Blue Heron Nature Preserve
Hilary Harp Falk, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Allison Harvey Turner, Water Foundation
Janis Searles Jones, Ocean Conservancy
Melinda Kramer, Women's Earth Alliance
Mindy Lubber, Ceres
Melissa Mahoney, Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust
Cheryl Margoluis, CARE-WWF Alliance
Ebony Twilley Martin, Greenpeace USA
Lynn Mento, Conservation Nation
Wendy Millet, TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation
Jennifer Morris, The Nature Conservancy
Sarah Newkirk, Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
Osprey Orielle Lake, Women's Earth and Climate Action Network International
Kahea Pacheco, Women's Earth Alliance
Julie Packard, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Ryan Phelan, Revive & Restore
Theresa Pierno, National Parks Conservation Association
Karen Poiani, Island Conservation
Diane Regas, Trust for Public Land
Elizabeth Schueler, Manomet
Christina Smith, Groundwork Brideport
Brandie Smith, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
Lidia Soto-Harmon, Student Conservation Association
Tara Stoinski, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
Julie Thorstenson, Native American Fish and Wildlife Society
Jill Tiefenthaler, National Geographic Society
Jeannette Tuitele-Lewis, Big Sur Land Trust
Kindley Walsh Lawlor, Parks California
Terri Watson, National Outdoor Leadership School
Justin Winters, One Earth
Ulalia Woodside, The Nature Conservancy
Lindsay Young, Pacific Rim Conservation
Thank you so much to each of you! Together, we are creating a new model of leadership for the environmental sector and beyond. We are transforming how we work and live, so we can all heal ourselves, heal each other, and heal the planet.