Intl. Women's Day is Catalyst for Recommitment to Fight for Equity

I feel lucky to have been part of many International Women’s Day celebrations recognizing women’s achievements and building support for women’s equity and the elimination of gender bias. As the interim CEO of C200, whose vision is to profoundly impact and celebrate the advancement of women worldwide by changing the face of business one woman at a time, I was thrilled this year to be part of several celebrations in NY and DC including the Women’s Business Collaborative (WBC), Women Senators Making History, and an event on inclusive storytelling hosted by Siegel + Gale. It was inspiring to me to see so many diverse women on panels talking about breaking barriers, and I was also dismayed with the data demonstrating setbacks and slow progress.

This year’s theme “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equity” emphasized the role we all can play in using technology to bring gender issues to light so I hope you will all engage with this content and spread the word until society stops holding back the full impact 50% of the population can have.??Our world will be a better place when all people are accepted for their talents, skills, and abilities, regardless of gender, and we stop limiting women’s access to education and economic opportunity.??This month also marks equal pay day and sadly on average it will take until March 24th of this year for women to receive the amount of pay that her male counterpart earned in the previous year.??

So, what did I hear this year that I would take forward:

“You don’t understand inclusion unless you have been excluded.”??-?Billie Jean King, MSNBC Live from “know your value 30/50 Summit”

“Innovation only happens when you bring diverse points of view together.” -??Penny Wise, President 3M Canada

“Diversity, Equity and Inclusion need to be part of your business model and culture, the way you operate.” - Dr.?Gina Merritt, Principal, Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures

“Data from Heidrick & Struggles shows board diversity has slowed with women and minorities getting a smaller share of diverse seats, especially Latinos.”??-?Marta Newhart, Board Director?

“There is a fatherhood premium and a motherhood penalty in pay.”??- Hilary Clinton, MSNBC Live from “know your value 30/50 Summit”

“When we are not in the room the conversation is about us, and when we are in the room the conversation is with us.” -?Senator Tammy Baldwin?

“It takes more to mask the problem than to ask for help.”?DeLisa Guerrier, Real Estate Developer

“Acceleration is going to come from clients demanding diverse teams vs regulation.??Companies need to ask service providers key questions and hold them accountable.” - Farrah Bharti, Shareholder/Partner Buchalter Nemer

International Women’s Day is one day, but this fight for equity must be year-round. My mother called me yesterday and said, “your voice is more needed now than ever,” and sadly I could not agree more.??As we enjoy success, we must use our position to lift others up, recruit more allies, unmask the issues, and make a commitment to enhance the pace of change and hold people accountable. One day is not enough to make systemic change, but I hope it is the catalyst each year to reignite our focus on ending this injustice and fostering the path to a more equitable society for all.

#embraceequity #womenatwork #IWD2023 #c200 #WBC #disruptyourfeed #wbcfastertogether #forbes3050 #knowyourvalue

C200 Farrah Bhatti Marta Ronquillo Newhart Siegel+Gale Dr. Gina Merritt, MBA DeLisa Guerrier Edie Fraser Kimber L. Maderazzo Susan Seilheimer Brennan Women Business Collaborative Know Your Value Gwen Young