What Happens When Women are Over Half of the Workforce?
"The economic empowerment of women across the rich world is one of the most remarkable revolutions of the past 50 years." Revolutions. Just over a year ago I gave a speech called "Are You Ready for a Revolution", which you can watch in full if you become a member of 85 Broads! (event section - dec 9 2008), in which I said that the time is now for women to claim their space and share in decision making and leadership. The Economist goes on to say that "If the empowerment of women was one of the great changes of the past 50 years, dealing with its social consequences will be one of the great challenges of the next 50." True, so much has and will change BECAUSE of the numbers. Women now make up half of the work force in this country and earn almost 60% of the University Degrees. Those numbers simply do not line up with the fact that we are only 2% of Fortune 500 company CEOs and less than 13% of board members in America. Corporate America will have to change, as will government policies, the most important of which being the support for affordable, quality child care.
The article mentions some research done by Goldman Sachs regarding the connection between gender equality and economic growth. The reasons for supporting and enabling the increased participation of women in the workforce are strong. "Closing the male-female gap and boosting female productivity would help to address the problem of pension sustainability via boosting employment amount those of working age, lifting household saving rates and lifting taxation receipts for government."
Investing in women and girls - from a non-profit perspective and a for-profit perspective - is the investment thesis for this decade! ( and maybe longer) This will be the focus of my writing, speaking and consulting this year! Within a few weeks I hope to have my web-site up and running so as to provide you with an extensive resource list to support this thesis.
2010 - A Game Changing Year for Women and Girls!
A Few Resources - There have been SO MANY outstanding reports and articles this past year alone that support this trend, and here are just a few to get you started.
The FEMALE Economy - HBR Article Sept. 2009
Women Saviors of the World Economy - CNN Oct 25, 2009
Womenomics 101 Survey - October 2009
The Shriver Report - A Woman's Nation Changes Everything 2009
The Whitehouse Project Report - Benchmarking Women's Leadership 2009 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"In short, ensuring that women move into leadership alongside men is not a women’s issue, nor is it a trivial concern compared with the massive problems we face on a national and global scale. Increasing women’s leadership is an imperative. Advancing women serves us all — men and women, businesses and institutions alike. "
Posted by Jacki Zehner at 11:46 AM 3 comments
Labels: Goldman Sachs, Womens Economic Empowerment
Friday,
