As we wrap up Women’s History month, women are making gains in leadership. Smart Asset recently named Boston the sixth best city for women in leadership among 62 cities in the country. Nationally Pew Research Center research shows more women graduate from college than men and according to the ABA, women outnumber men in law school.
However, It’s been a bittersweet Women’s History month as well, the first since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which has dramatically changed the healthcare options for women in many parts of the country. Women make up 60% of the leadership of small nonprofits, but only one out of four large nonprofits has a female leader. A Reuters study of 240 media outlets in 12 markets around the world found only 22% of the top editors are women. On Women Equal Pay Day, which was March 14th, the latest statistics showed women make up 40% of the workforce, yet they earn $.82 on the dollar compared to men. What’s worse, Pew Research found the gender pay gap has stayed about the same for the past twenty years.
There are things both women and men can do to promote gender equality.
- Take action – Promote political legislation and initiatives aimed at addressing the gender wage gap. For example, the Boston Women’s Workforce Council (BWWC) recruits employers to sign the 100% Talent Compact, a pledge to examine their policies, work toward fixing pay and advancement inequities they might find, and share their payroll data on race and gender in order to provide a community snapshot on progress.
- Present women as thought leaders – People need to see women as leaders and experts.We need to push the media to do profiles on female leaders that are focused on their work rather than their appearance and what they are wearing. Promote op-eds and expert source pitches encouraging the media to turn to female leaders for insights on a variety of topics including banking, economics, politics, science, and technology as well as education, the arts, and healthcare.
- Encourage representation in all fields – There are four women on the U.S. Supreme Court, a female U.S. Vice President, 25 female U.S. Senators and several female referees in the NBA and NFL. Seeing multiple women doing jobs that once were traditionally held by only men makes women seem less like a novelty, symbol, or token hire. Young women should be supported as they pursue careers in male dominated fields such as construction and automotive repair and encouraged to pursue STEM education. Let’s Lift up programs that help women join these professions including Girls Who Code, Million Women Mentors, and the Society of Women Engineers.
- Support women’s choices – Many women have experienced backlash for the family choices they make – having children, deciding not to have children, and whether to get married or to remain single as well as the gender of their life partner. We need to support all choices equally and bolster that belief with resources that make it possible for each woman to live the judgement free life of her choice.
We can’t leave Women’s History Month without recognizing Teak’s founder and President Jackie Russell and the female leaders of nonprofits and socially responsible companies we work with at Teak who inspire us each day. Some are fighting for solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems including gang violence like Uncornered Co-Founder Michelle Caldeira, hunger as Project Bread CEO Erin McAleer is doing, or clothing insecurity, which inspires the work of Lynn Margherio, Founder and CEO of Cradles to Crayons. Others are leading Boston institutions including New England Aquarium President and CEO Vikki Spruill, Old North Illuminated Executive Director Nikki Stewart, and Roxbury Community College Interim President Jackie Jenkins-Scott. Their talent, persistence, and achievement give us strength in the work that we do.
