Rung for Women began as a resale clothing shop to help women with affordable business attire for work. Soon, the founder recognized that women needed help climbing the rung of success professionally. Leslie Gill was brought to the nonprofit as the first official employee of the foundation, bringing 20+ years of experience in nonprofit leadership and service.
“Leslie’s drive, imagination and problem solving have helped make Rung for Women one of the top philanthropic efforts in St. Louis,” said her colleagues.
Rung for Women is a career accelerator with a mission to inspire all women to climb the economic opportunity ladder. With career coaching, training and support services for all members at no cost, the organization helps women earn more and create wealth.
While most non-profits focus on serving those in crisis, Gill understood that working moms and women might not be in crisis but could be just a paycheck away from being unable to pay bills. “Helping women earn more helps them create savings and wealth, allowing them the capacity to thrive,” said Gill. “When women thrive, everyone benefits.”
Gill’s work with the nonprofit has focused on shedding light on the gender wage gap, occupational segregation and disparities between men and women. “As a divorced single mom of a tween, Leslie knows what it is like for other women like her, raising a family and being the sole breadwinner,” said her colleagues. “Because she has tenacity and grit, she wants women to not be able to reach their goals and dreams because of their situations; she has been able to climb the rung herself and wants to help others succeed.”
As a result, Gill has earned numerous accolades since being at the helm as president of Rung for Women, including St. Louis Business Journal’s Most Influential Business Women and St. Louis Magazine’s Women Who Make St. Louis Great. Gill also led Rung’s philanthropy team that received $1 million from the Build Back Better federal grant and continues to serve other nonprofit organizations with her expertise and volunteer hours.
Noting her superpower as the ability to connect people and have tough conversations in a gentle way, Gill said successful leaders never transfer blame. “Successful leaders take personal responsibility and accountability for success and failure,” said Gill. “Successful leaders have the ability to make others better and they leverage talent and trust that the team will do a good job.”
For her work to better women’s live in the St. Louis region, Gill has been named a titan.
