Equality Takes Effort and Example
Today marks 100 years since the certification of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution granting all women the right to vote. However, this right did not come without opposition. Women, especially women of color, had to continue to fight for this right to vote long after August 26, 1920.
If history has taught us anything, it is that equality is more than just words. It is found in deeds and in example. While women have the right to work in the technology sector and diversity and inclusion is being talked about by executives more often, equality will not be achieved without a fight and without effort and example.
It takes courage and commitment to be the example. I think of Mary McLeod Bethune, the Black educator and women’s club leader from Florida who encouraged other women to register and vote. Despite violent opposition in Florida, women took courage from seeing leaders like Mary McLeod Bethune out at the polls and helping each other to overcome the poll tax, the literacy tests and the additional barriers that came with voting at that time.
This approach makes me even more committed to the wider strategies NPower has uncovered to support women of color in the technology field. While they have the right to be there, there are certain barriers that deter them or prevent them from achieving equality. NPower recently released a research report that delves deeper into these specific challenges and barriers that create a leaky pipeline of diversity in the technology workforce, along with specific strategies to address them.
Women’s Equality Day 2020 is a reminder that women of color will experience higher income inequality and significant hardships due to the pandemic. And, with heightened awareness around racial injustice now, we need to continue to fight for equity and make every intentional effort to support and provide examples of women of color in tech. Interested in supporting women’s equality? Check out npower.org/research #40by22 #BreakingTechBarriers #WOCinTech #WomensEqualityDay
President and Chief Operating Officer at ConSol USA Inc.
4 年Thanks for sharing these thoughts Bettina.