The following paper builds upon version one of The Women’s Power and Influence Index (WPI). The WPI Index is a product created by The Difference Engine, a center at ASU, to address gender inequality in the workplace. The WPI Index ranks Fortune 500 companies on various criteria and releases the information to the public in an easy-to-understand manner. Following the first release in 2021, we aim to help the WPI Index continue to grow by researching social movements that can inspire the Index, suggesting additional criteria for version 1.5, and raising awareness through events and social media. Part I of the paper details how social movements have utilized social pressure and social media to create broad change, setting the stage for the WPI Index’s public rankings to incentivize change. Part II provides research on new criteria we propose to be added to the Index for the next release. Lastly, part III covers how we used TikTok, events, and partnerships to help the Index gain notoriety. Altogether the paper suggests new directions and provides scientific research to further the goals of the WPI Index.

This project consists of both a research paper and a qualitative and quantitative analysis of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and more (LGBTQ+) college students in Greek Life sorority and fraternity organizations. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the experiences and social climate that LGBTQ+ students face when navigating the intersections of gender, sexuality, and their involvement in Greek Life. Themes that emerged include heteronormative and cisgendered aspects of sororities and fraternities; lack of education on the LGBTQ+ community and how to support them; and exclusion of LGBTQ+ students in Greek Life organizations, especially those outside of the gender binary. As many sororities and fraternities are over 100 years old, many aspects of these organizations have changed over the years. However, there is always room for improvement and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts have been slowly developing with these organizations amending their official documents based on the gendered language used that is outdated. The next step for better supporting LGBTQ+ students in Greek Life organizations is for these organizations to discuss nonbinary and transgender membership at their annual conventions, as well as universities seeking to begin either incorporating a gay-straight alliance for fraternity and sorority life, or better educating their members on aspects of the community.

The education that a student receives in the United States is influenced by an array of factors. One of the main influential factors is the financial resources a school has access to. Additionally, identities such as race, class, and gender all substantially impact the level of education a student has access to. Often students in minority groups, such as Hispanic students, experience additional challenging educational experiences than others. This is due to the intersectionality of their identities impacting their education. Within the Hispanic population, the unique educational experiences of Hispanic females are often disregarded. This paper analyzes the implications of intersectionality on the education of Hispanic females in Arizona. In order to examine this, a qualitative research study involving interviews with Hispanic female college students was done. Interviews consisted of questioning the participants about their K-12 educational experiences in Arizona’s education system, the school factors impacting their education, the familial factors impacting their education, and their college experiences. Key findings show that the educational experiences of Hispanic female students in Arizona are impacted by (a) familial support, (b) the role of Hispanic values/traditional gender roles, (c) a lack of financial resources, (d) an underrepresentation of Hispanic culture, (e) and inadequate college readiness resources. The findings of the study show that the intersectionality of gender and race/ethnicity creates additional disadvantages for the education of Hispanic female students. Furthermore, the results emphasize the need to take intersectionality into account when examining the educational differences that exist in the education system.