August 26, 2019 marks the 99-year anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote.  And yet, here we are, 99 years later, and corporate America is still predominantly male at every level above entry-level.  At the most senior levels, only 22% of C-suite executives, 23% of SVPs and 29% of VPs are female. Less than 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.

I know, that sounds like motherhood and apple pie.  And you’re probably thinking, yes, we should do that, but I have 10 other burning issues right now and have to make sure I hit my performance targets for the quarter. Let me put it to you another way… Not advancing women creates a huge missed opportunity for your business.

Whether your company or department has 15 people or 150, if you did not start your business with a gender-balanced team, achieving gender parity can feel like an insurmountable challenge. I’m here to tell you it is not.

When I was in college, my dad told me there were no senior women in his law firm.  And then he said, “But when there is an executive woman in the room, everyone pays attention. Take advantage of this and make sure you have something smart to say.”

One of the most important things men can do to improve gender equity at work is to help break down the men vs women silo-ing into everyone being seen and treated as individual people. I’m focusing on men here because most senior level positions are held by men, so it is even more important that men set the example.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Georgene Huang, CEO and Co-Founder of Fairygodboss, an online career community focused on empowering women in their job searches by providing insights about companies from people who have worked there. In our conversation Georgene shared some of the key insights she has gained from interacting with the Fairygodboss community.

Since the passing of law requiring publicly held companies based in California to have a minimum of one woman on their Boards of Directors by the end of 2019 there has been a lot of debate about the effectiveness of quotas. Will this forced change make a real difference? Or will it create resentment toward women who are appointed and end up hamstringing their ability to be effective?

I had the privilege of attending On PAR sponsored by Microsoft and The Study USA last week. One of the things that made this different than other women’s events was that many of the speakers shared very personal reasons why they champion gender equity at work.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hearing Rachel Ligtenberg, VP of retail for REI, speak about REI’s focus on creating an equitable playing field for women outdoors. She spoke with great pride about her company’s commitment to women as an extension of its overall purpose-based business model. REI had record revenue results last year and has spent 20 years on Fortune’s 100 best companies to work for list, neither small feats.

Why equity?  Why not equality?

Equity is fair treatment, equality is equal treatment.  If you start from a place of disadvantage and are then treated equally to a person with advantage, you perpetuate and ultimately grow the gap between the two of you.  You need equitable measures first to close that gap and get everyone to a level playing field.

Last week I had the privilege of participating in the inaugural New York Times New Rules Summit. Two hundred leaders across industries came together to identify how to create inclusive, equitable workplaces that empower women. One of the key topics that came up over and over was how to motivate male leaders to drive gender equity in a transformative and impactful way.

If you have even a remote sense that there is gender inequity playing out at work - whether you’ve heard unofficial comments or observed something more blatant - it is critical to step up and address the situation head on. Here is an action plan for what to do…