Parity Patterns

On International Women's Day - lets start with a milestone? celebration coming up at the? Olympics Paris 2024: “A global event” with equal male and female athlete participation!!!

Two other notable accomplishments in the past year?

• Educational Attainment Gap: In 117 out of 146 indexed countries, at least 95% of this gap has been closed.
• Income Gap: Countries such as Liberia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Burundi, Barbados, and Norway have achieved over 85% parity in income

Zooming in closer to home we take a minute to reflect on a number we should all work to change? -? The United States ranks 43rd out of 146 countries studied in gender parity, while it boasts the highest number of billionaires globally.?

Some other areas where USA is number one are:

• Economic Power
• Military Strength
• Innovation and Technology
• Higher Education
• Space Exploration
• Entertainment Industry
• Financial Markets
• Cultural Influence

So how do we go from #43 to #1 in PARITY?

The top two areas that promote gender parity typically are:

• Education: While women enrollment has seen amazing progress two aspects continue to lag and need deliberate problem solving - representation in STEM and Digital Literacy and Technology Integration
• Economic Opportunities: employment, entrepreneurship, wage equality, access to financial resources, and leadership positions within organizations are all key factors in the journey to parity.

?A powerful intersection of education and economic opportunity is TECHNOLOGY.

CORE of the opportunity.

While women make up 47% of all employed adults in the US, as of 2022, they hold only 28% of computing and mathematical roles, according to data from Zippia, with women identifying as Asian or Pacific Islander making up just 7% of the IT workforce and Black and Hispanic women accounting for 3% and 2%, respectively.

This is an intersection problem that seems to be stuck and will remain stuck without methodical and mindful interventions.

SO- How do we shift the pattern paradigm?

Five threads to move the needle with        

1. STEM in School:? The STEM Gap: Women and Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – AAUW : Empowering Women Since 1881
2. Engineering in College: Excellence ascending: Engineering's women leadership at historic high | Cornell Chronicle
3. Hiring in Technology: 6 Best Practices for Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Interview Process - Recruiting - Harvard Business School (hbs.edu)
4. Promoting in Technology:Women in tech: Repairing the career ladder | McKinsey
5. Funding Entrepreneurs in Technology: 60 Top Women-led Venture Capital Firms - American Entrepreneurship Today?

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are solely my own and do not represent any past, present, or future affiliations.