March is Women’s History Month. According to the Pew Research Center, 57 percent of adults say the U.S. hasn’t gone far enough when it comes to giving women equal rights. But, more than eight-in-ten Americans who say that the country hasn’t made enough progress, also say it is very likely or somewhat likely that women will have equal rights with men in the future.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a big impact, with nearly 2.4 million women having left the workforce since last February. But the pandemic has increased recognition of things that our society needs to address when it comes to the hiring and advancement of women, including having more accessible childcare options and more flexible work environments. In Melinda Gates’ recent opinion piece in Time Magazine, Why Women’s Voices Must Be the Center of Rebuilding After COVID-19, she wrote, “If global leaders respond accordingly, the crisis that disproportionately impacted women will be followed by a recovery that puts them at the center.” The Gender Equality Division of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation works to achieve gender equality by integrating gender across the foundation’s global work and investing in women’s economic empowerment, women’s leadership, and removing the barriers for women and girls to thrive.
We also want to recognize some of the women who are making an impact and making history every day. Of course, we must recognize Madame Vice President Kamala Harris for representing many firsts with her appointment to VP. She is the United States’ first female vice president, the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, and the first African American and Asian American vice president. Major League Baseball broke a gender barrier in November when the Miami Marlins hired Kim Ng as their new general manager, making her the first female GM in major league baseball history. Also, in 2021, Sarah Thomas became the first woman to officiate as a referee in the Super Bowl. Chloe Zhao became the first Asian woman to ever win best director at the Golden Globe awards and is only the second woman to ever win the award. These women, and so many more, represent that equality is improving but there is so much work left to do.
It is vital that women hold leadership positions, as the next generation looks up to those paving the way. Unfortunately, as reported recently by the New York Times, women account for around 6 percent of corporate CEOs, 25 percent of Congress members and 11 percent of heads of the state around the world. At Teak, we have the honor of working with several women who run companies and organizations including Vikki Spruill, President & CEO of the New England Aquarium; Erin McAleer, President & CEO of Project Bread; Kinari Webb, Founder of Health in Harmony; Dr. Valerie Roberson, President of Roxbury Community College; Michelle Caldeira, Co-Founder of Boston Uncornered; and Kim Borman, Executive Director of Boston Women’s Workforce Council, among others. For the BWWC, promoting the advancement of women is at the core of their purpose. The BWWC is a unique public-private partnership between the Mayor’s office and Greater Boston employers dedicated to eliminating the gender/racial wage gap. The BWWC recruits employers to sign the 100% Talent Compact, a pledge to examine their policies, and work toward fixing pay and advancement inequities. Member companies share their payroll data anonymously on race and gender in order to provide a community snapshot on progress. This is a first in the nation approach to collecting and reporting aggregated data that could be a model for other cities around the country.
Team Teak is comprised of a group of women who take pride in celebrating each other’s accomplishments. Our founder and president, Jackie Herskovitz Russell, fosters an environment of growth, support, and advancement that affects the work we accomplish and relationships we build. As Gates wrote in her recent book, “Women have to lift each other up—not to replace men at the top of the hierarchy, but to become partners with men in ending hierarchy.”
