Apart from equal pay, there are a range of other policies that impact the financial lives of women, such as affordable childcare, flexible schedules and reproductive rights. In light of the upcoming 2020 presidential elections and the second Democratic presidential debates in Detroit next week, I sat down with CNN financial and political reporter Cristina Alesci to ask her to weigh in on some of the economic issues for women to watch. Here are the key takeaways.
Financial empowerment is women’s empowerment.
Two taboo topics for women are money and power. We need to own those words, because we all know money is power.When barriers are removed that prevent the average woman from accumulating as much wealth as the average man, we’ll be able to wield more influence at home, in business and in government.
“Truth is, in addition to the pay gap, the U.S. also has large gender disparities in wealth and access-to-capital,” says Alesci. Case in point: Only 2.3% of VC funding went to women-led companies in the U.S. last year, according to Pitchbook. “These factors block women from financial equality across all income levels and industries. They also make it harder for us to achieve the kind of awe-inspiring success that encourages future generations of women to demand capital, take risks and hold Washington accountable.”
It’s all of our responsibility to fight for change. Gender equality and pay equality are not only female issues; they’re social and economic issues. If we do get this right, we have an opportunity to add more than $4.3 trillion to the U.S. GDP by 2025, according to a McKinsey Global Institute report. Equality is an economic imperative.
Yet we can’t sit back and rely on corporations and the government to automatically move the needle on financial equality simply because it’s right and improves the bottom line.
“Sure, data suggests that companies with more diversity perform better, but pretend you’re CEO for a minute,” says Alesci. “You’re under incredible pressure to increase revenue margins and need to hit stock price targets to get a bonus. Is diversity going to be the first, second or third thing running through your mind? As a business reporter, I can tell you that it’s not. To be clear, I’m not excusing non-inclusive behavior. My point is: Women have to realize that no one is going to fight for them as hard as they can for themselves. You can’t trust the system will do the right thing just because it makes sense.”
A shining example of this is the USWNT: It didn’t matter how good they were or that they increased revenue, they still had to file a law suit to fight for equal pay. When they won the World Cup this month, it was the first time in history a stadium erupted into a chant for the champions and for pay equality. It’s up to each of us to stand up, stand out, and stand together to put pressure on our leaders in order to advance equality. Alesci says an important way to do this is to “vote for your economic interests.”
We must hold leaders accountable. Change won’t happen unless we put the right measurements in place, track progress, and tie diversity goals to leaders’ performance just like any other business goal. For example, “woman can push government and companies for more transparency and reporting on the gender pay gap—so we can hold them accountable,” says Alesci. “The government should require companies to publish gender pay gap data in their annual reports. Public disclosure is a powerful disinfectant.”
Put policies in place that support caregivers. The root of the problem is not a women’s issue; it’s a caregiver issue, as women are still predominantly the caregivers and men still hold the majority of leadership positions. If men were predominantly the caregivers, they would be facing the same issues.
Policies that support caregivers, such as affordable childcare, will advance economic equality for women. “Universal childcare gets attention, but not nearly as much as it should,” says Alesci. “The lack of high-quality and affordable childcare, especially during the critical zero-to-three age range, is a massive obstacle.”
For example, nearly 43% of highly qualified women with children take a career break of one year or more at some point in their working lives. The financial price paid is an 18% decrease in their earning power on average—and a 37% decrease when they’re out for three years or more.
“That’s why I say if you fix this issue, you’ll see a dramatic change in economic gender inequality,” says Alesci. For example, the think tank Center for American Progress studied the impact of universal pre-K in Washington D.C., which launched its program about 10 years ago. The study found that the city’s maternal labor force participation rate increased by about 12 percentage points, with 10 percentage points attributable to preschool expansion. Side note: More women entering the labor force does not automatically equate to more financial freedom. However, raising the minimum wage would help.
Some companies are stepping up to offer onsite or backup childcare, which can go a long way towards helping keep women in the pipeline. Target, for example, just extended their backup childcare program with Bright Horizons to hourly and salaried team members at all locations, including 20 days total of in-center childcare or in-home child- and eldercare.
When women achieve financial freedom, equality will follow. Our voices matter. We need to put pressure on our companies to close the wage gap. We need to use our vote to support policies that will drive economic equality, especially those that enable caregivers to thrive in the workforce and at home. As we approach the 2020 presidential elections, let’s make it clear to candidates: The time for equality is now.
Article Credit: forbes