Last Friday, March 8, 2024, the world celebrated International Womens Day. It was a worthy and well-deserved acknowledgment. The contributions and accomplishments of women were highlighted and yet there was something lacking, something disingenuous about the process because I felt that men were essentially patting women on the head and saying ‘...you did really well, considering...that you are a woman...’
When you pull back the curtain, the reality of the situation hits you head on.
Women represent virtually half of the workforce.
Over 50% of law school graduates are women.
Over 50% of med school graduates are women.
Over 50% of business school graduates are women.
Yet women represent just over a third of management positions.
And women represent only about 20% of board members.
As quick as men are to acknowledge women’s competencies...they are equally slow in sharing the spoils. Women are still being kept in the corporate ‘kitchen’ where they can work their butts off and get an Internation Day of recognition while being denied the real recognition in the workplace the other 364 days of the year.
At the rate things are changing, equality in the workplace and the boardroom will not be achieved until sometime after 2050. Hell, climate change moves at a faster pace!!
And let’s not even begin to discuss the inequities women face in the home as it relates to raising children, meal preparation, cleaning, elder care etc. where the imbalance is even more profound.
My challenge to men and my advice is simple. Open the doors before they are broken down. The wave is inevitable, and you need to be on the right side of herstory!
No comments:
Post a Comment