How We Give through our Giving Program

A #GivingTuesday Update from our Founder

At Panty Drop, we believe in inspiring and empowering women to be all that they can be. Unfortunately, the stats show there’s a very real and significant gender leadership gap. While women make up just over 50% of the population, they are severely underrepresented at the top of the corporate and public service ladders. Sure, there are more and more of us starting in the workforce; but, by the time we advance to leadership positions later in our careers, there aren’t many of us left. That’s the gender leadership gap, and it’s what we aim to fix through our Giving Program.

Earlier this year, we joined Pledge 1% and created our Giving Program to donate 1% of product, employee time, and sales revenue to nonprofit partners that are working on this problem. Over the past several months, we’ve been refining the strategy of our program and finding our giving partners. We’re happy to share 3 core pillars of our program, and how we intend to support female leaders through them:

1. Inspire women to define & become leaders.

There’s a saying that you can’t be what you can’t see, and too often, we find it to be true. Leadership can take many different forms, and it takes courage and creativity for each of us to define what it means for us. This is why we support programs that show young girls the multitude of career paths available to them and connect them with experienced female leaders to serve as mentors and role models. This year, our team has volunteered with several local science education programs, including the Nevada Discovery Museum and Sierra Nevada Journeys, that illustrate real-world applications of STEM and real-world STEM career paths. And, while not formally part of our Giving Program, we also feature profiles of female leaders on our blog, share inspirational stories through our social media profiles, and support events for women’s networking groups.

2. Educate women on the necessary paths to leadership.

Becoming a leader does not happen overnight. In every case, there is a path to get there, and building skills and strategies to navigate this path are crucial to success. We support programs that help women and girls from diverse backgrounds develop leadership and life skills through practical education and experiences. We are in conversations with several organizations to discuss joint programs for next year, and look forward to announcing these partnerships soon.

3. Advance women at all levels.

Rarely does one become a leader without the support of others. That’s why we’re committed to supporting programs that provide specific support women need to advance to the next stage on their leadership journey. This support can take many forms from financial scholarships to donations of much-needed clothing in difficult times. In our recent campaign to upcycle your old underwear, we not only collected pounds of old underwear for recycling, we also inspired a number of women to donate their nearly new underwear to charities that help women get back on their feet in times of need. We intend to continue these efforts through our 1% product donation this year.

So, as we near the end 2016, I want to take a moment to thank all of our customers, supporters, advisors and mentors for the role they’ve played in helping Panty Drop grow over this past year. I’m excited for the real impact we can have in women’s lives. We’re only just beginning to scratch the surface of it, so please stay tuned for further updates!