Why Addressing Gender Equity Matters to Us All

In 2017, I made it a career goal to help balance out gender equity in the United States.

In 2021, I inadvertently sabotaged it.?

I don’t regret my path. I simply wish it wasn’t a choice that countless mothers have to make—often at the moment when their careers are taking off.

Advancing Equity with Eagle Scouts

When I joined the Boy Scouts of America, I met many business leaders and titans of industry who raved about how valuable the program was in developing leadership skills in young people. Time and time again they’d share that they always put Eagle Scouts’ resumes at the “top of the stack.”?

Even though I was proud to be part of a movement that inspired such impressive results, I could not help but visualize a stack of resumes without equally qualified women at the top.?

That’s why leading the team that helped empower the BSA’s decision to welcome girls into its core programs was one of the proudest moments of my career.?

IRL, I am a proud “boy mom,” but in 2019, I felt motherly pride seeing young women brave a Polar Vortex to join Scouts BSA because that was the first step for thousands of leadership-building experiences. In 2021, my heart burst just a bit more as approximately one thousand young women made history as the Inaugural Class of female Eagle Scouts, a milestone that I hope is steadily making the top of the resume stack just a bit more balanced.

From Equity Champion to Unexpected Inequity Contributor

And yet after all that, in 2021, I made the choice that economists say is one of the biggest contributors to gender inequity in the United States . I shifted gears right as my career was peaking because my professional accomplishments were increasingly coming at a price that my family was paying.?

Instead of asking Santa for the latest toy, my (then) six-year-old son asked for more time with Mommy.?

A year earlier, when the Pandemic kept us at home, he kept saying that he loved the Pandemic because we were all at home together.

The challenges I faced in making this choice are echoed across the United States. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg noted that 43% of women voluntarily leave the workforce or downshift their careers due to childcare responsibilities, and I suspect that number is now much larger.?

Years later, my son is older now and needs us around less and less.

Soon he will avoid us like the plague, and that is precisely why I am thankful that I was able to continue my work at a more flexible pace as a communications consultant. Although consulting during an economic downturn has been tough, I know it is a luxury that my mother did not have as an immigrant.?

Balancing Career and Family Should Be the Norm

I am acutely aware that my ability to shift gears and opt for a more flexible work arrangement is a privilege—a privilege not available to many women today, particularly those from immigrant and refugee backgrounds.?

According to the World Economic Forum's 2024 Global Gender Gap Report, the U.S. ranks 43rd in gender equity , largely due to the gender pay gap, which is exacerbated by the high cost of childcare—a barrier cited by 43.5% of immigrant women as the leading cause for dropping out of workforce development programs , such as those provided by Upwardly Global.

These statistics underscore a harsh reality: while the choices I've made were influenced by personal circumstances, for many women, particularly those in marginalized communities, there is often no choice at all.

The economic impact is profound—not just on individual families, but on the broader economy. As Moms First founder Reshma Saujani and others have rightly pointed out, when we lose the contributions of mothers to the workforce, we lose valuable talent and potential economic growth.

Looking back, it's clear that balancing a fulfilling career and family life shouldn’t be a luxury. It should be the norm.

This isn’t just a women’s issue; it’s a matter of common sense for families, companies, and the economy as a whole.

Research shows that companies with strong family-friendly policies see higher employee retention and increased productivity. Meanwhile, nations with comprehensive support for working parents tend to have stronger economies, as they harness the full potential of their workforce .

Creating an environment where everyone can thrive—at work and at home—benefits all of us, including companies, communities, and economies.

Now's not the time to revert to the way we used to do things. It is time to embrace flexible and productive models that are sustainable, equitable, and ultimately more beneficial for our collective future.