Happy Tuesday:
I held up yesterday’s letter so I could share with you the news of the opening of the 8th school, this one based in El Paso, founded by the Young Women’s Preparatory Network. The coverage can be found here: http://m.kvia.com/news/back-to-school-first-girls-academy-opens-in-el-paso/41278022 http://cbs4local.com/news/local/yisds-first-female-academy-opens-for-school-year
Speaking of young women doing great things, American women dominated the medal count at the Rio Olympics. The US team brought home more medals than any country with a total of 121 of which women won 61 total medals and 27 of those were gold. Had the US women competed as a separate country, they would have ranked third in the overall medal chart behind China (70) and Britain (67). It is exciting to see the accomplishments of these women who have had equal access to sports. The full article can be found here:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/sports/olympics/for-those-keeping-score-american-women-dominated-in-rio.html?_r=0
On the more good news front, a growing number of US companies have intensified their efforts to increase the number of women on their boards. Some companies have begun to restrict their initial searches to women and others are at least interviewing one woman for each board search which is real progress. The full article can be found here: http://www.wsj.com/articles/some-firms-intensify-push-for-gender-parity-at-board-level-1471357128
If you are interested in a board position, there are steps you can take including joining organizations like the Board Connection which is right here in Texas: http://www.theboardconnection.org/
Bloomberg published a great piece on how parental leave increases workforce participation for women. Last year, the participation by women in their prime working years declined to 74% while in Canada it rose to 81%. More women in the workforce means better GDP numbers so the US has some catching up to do. Read on: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-18/the-gap-between-u-s-and-canadian-working-women-that-keeps-growing
Finally, the Fox News sexual harassment scandal has exposed the fact that the secrecy around the settlements of issues like this actually protect the abuser and the companies that would rather cover up abuse. The full article can be found here:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/19/business/secrecy-of-settlements-at-fox-news-hid-bad-behavior.html
We have some fabulous events lined up for the Fall so please check out the schedule and register soon! We thank you all for your continued support as we continue to grow and look forward to seeing you all soon! Also, don’t forget to join our Facebook page and private LinkedIn Group both of which give you the opportunity to engage with your fellow members online! Please visit www.txwsw.com to learn more and register for events.