With Women in Charge, Girls Should Expect More
Op-Ed by Charlie Grosso
A historic number of women are set to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives this year. The record-setting 118 Congressional seats now held by women have forced the question: Is this the new “Year of the Woman” election? The numbers may play out that way, but the Congresswomen who hold these seats have an immense responsibility to overcome the systemic barriers that have plagued females for generations.
Women are called liars when they identify their sexual assailants. Our right to choose has come under the strongest attack in generations. The health care of our families is being threatened. Our children are being held in cages. These issues are just those we face today - women have been fighting to break down barriers for generations, working to better their lives and those of their daughters.
There are numerous issues that impact women – many deeply systemic and that’s where we need to engage as well. Because no matter our strength, no matter our passion or our perseverance, we must rewrite the rulebook for our daughters and remove the structural barriers that continuously stand in our way.
The record-setting number of women in Congress presents a unique opportunity to identify ways we can truly to level the playing field for women. To right centuries of wrongs. What should we be looking for as they take their seats?
Invest in Women
Building systemic support to help women at all levels requires power. In our society, that means money. To change workplace dynamics, we need more women in leadership. That requires an investment of time and, yes, money.
According to Fortune magazine, all-women teams received just 2.2% of all 2017 venture capital funding, compared to the 79% all-male teams received. In dollars, that’s $1.9 billion vs. $85 billion. And while that’s the most allocated to all-women teams since the data began being tracked in 2006, it’s laughably tiny. In terms of dollars per deal, women are getting smaller checks too: just over $5 million per deal for female founders vs. just under $12 million for male founders.
If we want more equitable workplaces with HR policies and environments that actually meet the needs of women, then we need more to invest in women entrepreneurs and women CEOs.
Educate Our Girls
All over the world, we can find evidence of non-profit programs set up to educate young girls. The vast majority of these programs are focused on the primary school years – a critically important time in the development of children. But what about teenagers? What about those closest to both higher education and employment opportunities, and at the greatest risk of early marriage, sex trafficking, or radicalization?
In a world with an exploding refugee population, we are at risk of losing an entire generation of young women. Education can still be a great equalizer. Certainly, the lack of one is nearly impossible to overcome. As we invest in education in and out of refugee camps, we must also stop perpetuating the myth that all we can teach young women is craftwork. What exactly is the professional job market for making bracelets? Or earrings? Or mosaics? The jobs of today and into the future are in science, technology, telecom, engineering, the environment. We must shift our outdated model of humanitarian aid to one that takes a long-term view and offers pathways for these young women to help solve the world’s challenges.
Policies That Help, Not Hinder
Yes, we are expected to be all things to all people. Mothers and wives. Bosses and employees. But we are offered very little in terms of support from a structural standpoint.
Three countries do not offer paid maternity leave: Oman, Papua New Guinea, and the United State. India offers 26 weeks of paid leave. The U.K. offers 40. Canada provides 12 full months. Within the U.S., only three states provide paid maternity leave: California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.
In a country whose political leadership is extremely male-dominated and whose policies, in some cases, date back to when women were not even allowed to vote, is it really a shock that 47 states – very likely the one you live in – cannot find it within their political priorities to provide even the most basic support for working mothers? Something to keep in mind when 2019 local elections come around.
The Trump Administration is by no means a fan of policies that support women, so we must take our anger and our enthusiasm and our energy and channel it all into a variety of outlets domestically and abroad.
The future is female. But only if each of us commits to doing our part to supporting one another in every aspect of our lives. Millions of us already do so much, with so little. Just imagine can now do with women in positions of power who can advance the cause.