Happy Wednesday:
Thursday is our Houston Boots & Blackjack event! I will be there and hope to see many of you there as well. We have a terrific group signed up so far, so grab your colleagues, friends and everyone you know and come out to support the Young Women’s Preparatory Network this week! Not only are the YWPN schools all on the list of top schools across the state, their graduates are going on to do great things in college. 69% of the YWPN Class of 2011 has graduated from college within six-years. Early data for the Class of 2012 indicates similar results as the Class of 2011. This graduation rate compares to a national average graduation rate of 12% for economically disadvantaged children. This statistic underscores the critical importance of the work YWPN is doing and how deserving they are of our support.
A new survey from McKinsey and Leanin.org notes that 90% of financial service company executives are committed to gender diversity, but the results of their efforts have fallen short with women representing only 19% of top executives in our industry. Women come into the industry in equal numbers as men, but due to a lack of support, women’s numbers fall to one and five. The full article can be found here.
It is not only in the finance industry where progress has stalled. At the same time as women are earning the majority of college and advanced degrees, the number of women CEOs at Fortune 500 companies actually declined by 25% over the past year. The full article can be found here, and the play book for change can be found here.
From the good news file, California passed a law requiring California corporations to have at least one female director by December 31, 2019. Certainly, there are arguments against the use of quotas, however, there has been so little progress on this front that perhaps this will be a positive development for everyone. The full article can be found here.
Finally, one fun fact to end on – Britain did an official study on the cost of unpaid household labor, the majority of which falls squarely on women’s shoulders. The total was a staggering $1.6 trillion per year. The full article can be found here.
Coming up on November 1st, we will have our Austin Boots & Blackjack Casino Night at the newly opened Line Hotel. We also are hosting a Charity Golf Scramble in San Antonio! on Thursday November 8th followed by the Fort Worth Luncheon on November 14th. Please come out and support us at these great fun events!
Kind regards
Christine
