Wake County officials on Feb. 10 heard an update on Wake Invest in Women and were told the county plans to transition the initiative from Wake Tech to the county’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and to formalize roles in a memorandum of understanding with Wake Tech.

The program was launched after a 2017 task force identified a gender wage gap; Wake Invest in Women was set up as a collective-impact initiative to increase women’s representation in high-demand, high-wage fields, expand management pipelines and close occupational wage gaps, Wake Tech and county staff said.

County staff said the move to the Office of DEI is intended to sustain the initiative, align it with existing DEI programming and expand employer partnerships. Donya Perry of the Office of DEI and Wake Tech staff briefed the Wake County Board of Commissioners during a work session.

Wake Tech’s executive director, Carrie, told commissioners that Wake Tech served as the program backbone beginning in 2018 after the commission funded the initiative. “We built awareness through venues like the Women’s Leadership Conference. And we launched the Wake Invest in Women Challenge,” Carrie said, recounting the program’s history. She said Wake Tech later expanded employer partnerships and a mentoring program to recruit Wake Tech students into the STEM pipeline.

Why it matters: Commissioners were told the initiative addresses a local gender wage gap and workforce pipeline issues for Black and Brown women in STEM and other high-demand fields. County officials framed the transition as a step to embed the work in county operations and sustain program funding and partnerships over time.

Key details and metrics

- Wake Invest in Women began after a 2017 task force report recommending county funding and a collective-impact approach; Wake Tech was designated the backbone organization in 2018.
- Staff said employer partnerships grew from about 15 last year to more than 30; the career-guides mentoring program now includes nearly 200 Wake Tech students and roughly 100 employer mentors.
- Commissioners were told Wake County women’s earnings are about 75% of men’s earnings, compared with about 85% in nearby Mecklenburg County, figures staff used to show remaining gaps.

Tracking, data partners and analysis

Commissioner Stallings asked how the county tracks progress. Carrie said the program uses a common measurement system based on labor market data, tracking occupation-level changes and process measures such as number of employers and students engaged. “We really did rely on the labor market data in Wake County,” she said.

Commissioner Thomas asked about RTI International’s role. Staff said RTI remains on the steering committee and helped with a research study where local data could not be disaggregated; Wake Tech handled most labor-market analysis for the program. “They did one portion of data analysis,” staff said.

Program changes and next steps

County staff said next steps include:
- Transitioning Wake Invest in Women into the Office of DEI and drafting a formal MOU with Wake Tech that spells out responsibilities and scope of work;
- Recruiting a new director to lead the initiative and embed it into DEI operations; and
- Continuing the mentoring program with Wake Tech while expanding employer partnerships and pursuing strategic planning.

Commissioners’ concerns and topics raised

Commissioners asked how the program addresses barriers such as childcare and workplace flexibility. Staff said research shows workplace flexibility is a major factor in retention and advancement, and that collective-impact partners share examples of strategies they use; childcare is discussed among partners but the initiative does not mandate specific employer policies.

Commissioner Jackson asked about supports for mothers entering high-demand fields; staff reiterated the role of employer flexibility and mentoring. Commissioner Waters and others asked for clarity on partner engagement and barriers to reaching higher-level executives in employer organizations; staff said the new director role would focus on that outreach.

No formal vote or budget action was taken at the meeting. Staff said they will return with a draft MOU and continue coordinating with Wake Tech and steering-committee members.

Ending

County staff framed the transition as a chance to sustain Wake Invest in Women within county operations while keeping Wake Tech’s student mentoring and employer partnerships intact. Commissioners expressed support and asked staff to return with the MOU and recruitment plan for a new director.