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The month of March is dedicated to Women’s History, and today is International Women’s Day.  Throughout history women have come a long way across the globe when it comes to equality.  It’s been almost a century since women gained the right to vote.  We see more and more women moving into leadership positions traditionally held by males.  Globally we see this trend in politics: Latin America leads the world in number of female presidents and prime ministers.   In 2011, THREE women won the Nobel Peace Prize, the only winners for that year.  Despite the strides women have made the recent comments from Rush Limbaugh and the latest episode of Dance Mom’s  makes one wonder, how far have we really come?

Women still have more to fight for in the name of equity.  So yes, women are doing the same jobs as men, but equal pay still seems to be just a dream.  In 1963, women who worked full-time, year-round earned 58.9% of what men did in similar jobs with similar hours. Today, women make 77.4% of a man’s salary, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

And yes, globally women are making advancements in the political scene, but in the US there are still large disparities between the members of Congress and the constituents they serve in terms of sex and race.  In the House, there are 362 men and 76 women and in the Senate, 17 women versus 83 men.

And we all heard the recent buzz about the lack of women represented on the Facebook board.  This controversy shed some light on the disparity of women serving on corporate boards around the world.  Women represent less than 14% of board seats in the European Union, and the US is not much better with 15.6%.

Women make up over 50% of the world’s population.  Leading economists agree that the world’s economy will not improve until the status of women around the globe improves.  So how do we make this happen?

The Inclusion Solution

  1. Some countries mandate a quota for women representation on corporate boards.  The European Union is moving closer to introducing mandatory quotas for the number of women on company boards.  Perhaps the US should consider a similar mandate.
  2. Women (and men!) need to continue to push for equal pay for women.  The American Association of University Women (AAUW) has outlined ways we all can get involved in its Pay Equity Ideas for Action.  (Equal Pay Day is April 17, 2012!)
  3. Studies show that when women are in leadership positions, it improves the bottom line. Keep these studies coming and make the case for equity at the top levels.
  4. Encourage girls to recognize their leadership potential at a young age.  The Girl Scouts are doing just that!  The new CEO of the Girl Scouts, Anna Maria Chávez, wants to close the leadership gap between men and women within one generation. To accomplish this goal, Girl Scouts is initiating a multi-year campaign called ToGetHerThere.

This post was written by Mareisha N. Winters, Vice President of The Winters Group, Inc.