Happy Tuesday!
As you may know, yesterday was International Women’s Day. In addition to the launch of our new website, social media was chock-a-block with posts celebrating and supporting women, so I wanted to take the day after to point out the places where women need support beyond one celebratory day!
First on my list is pay equality My readers know that the fallout from the pandemic has been especially hard on women with four times as many women losing their jobs as men. When you couple the gender pay gap with job losses and the fact that 40% of households are headed by women, 24% of US households experienced food insecurity last year. And for our sisters of color who face not only the gender pay gap, but the racial wealth gap, finances of minority women have been hit hard.
Next on the list would be workforce diversity. Why? Because a recent study noted that closing the gender and race gaps would have added $2.6 of additional economic output to our economy in 2019. And we cannot continue to “blame the pipeline” for the glacial rate of change because there are concrete steps we can take today starting with affordable child care because without that, there is no way to keep women in the workforce. Oh, and we could change the laws that make it legal for women to be fired when pregnant. Of course there is more on my list like an end to sexual harassment and more equal division of labor at home. By the way did you know if women earned minimum wage for the unpaid work around the home and caring for relatives, they would have earned $1.5 trillion?
So, there is more on my list, but I will start with those because as women gain economic clout, the discussion changes. And it is a win-win because we all benefit from a better economy and happy families.
On the topic of a better economy, hiring has restarted, and the last article shares tips on how to land a job in our virtual world. The full article can be found here.
Our calendar is filling up with amazing events. We have also incorporated a unique networking opportunity at the outset of each event so our members are connected beyond the event itself. We are excited for our economic outlook events with Dr. Lev Borodovsky, Danielle Di Martino Booth and a series of happy hours with the TXWSW board so you can get to know us better and give us your feedback. Check out our new site for more details.
I would ask each of you to consider corporate sponsorship of TXWSW. Benefits include attendance at our flagship events and recognition for your firm. And most importantly, you help us support the life-changing work of the Young Women’s Preparatory Network. To learn more about YWPN, you can find a short video here. To learn more and sponsorship, you may find our sponsor information here. Additionally, we would be happy to create a custom sponsorship for you. Please contact Bianca King at developmentdirector@txwsw.com
