How Women Can Negotiate for Greater Equality
Written by Katie Johnson, WIN Staff
Women’s Equality Day is a day of celebration throughout the United States. Commemorating American women getting the constitutional right to vote, emphasizes the importance of women’s work for democracy.
Unfortunately, throughout the history of the United States, women have been treated as second-class citizens and thus not entitled to the full rights and privileges that were available to male citizens. The ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women a voice in general and national elections. It was the first step to creating a more equal society as we know it today.
Equity improved for women with the passage of the Equal Pay Act in 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. As women’s participation in the U.S. labor force climbed during the 1970s and 1980s, it reached 60% in 2000 but that number has declined in 2010 to 46.7%. In 1979, women earned about 62% as much as men. Today, women earn about 84% of what their non-Hispanic white male counterparts earn.
Although women have many legal protections working in their favor to establish a more equitable society, women still face bias and discrimination. And with the global pandemic, progress towards gender equality in the United States has been reversed.
Over the course of the first ten months of the pandemic, women lost a net of 5.4 million jobs, nearly 1 million more job losses than men. According to Leanin.org, “1 in 4 women thinks their gender has played a role in missing out on a raise, promotion, or chance to get ahead.” The facts speak for themselves. In 2019, women held only 38% of manager-level positions, while men held 62%.
These issues cannot fall on women’s shoulders alone. We asked some of the boldest, brightest, most courageous female thought leaders for their advice on how to help progress the cause for equity and gender parity for women across the country. Here is what they said:
“According to SHRM research, nearly one-third of American workers believe workplace equity is the most important issue they face at work, to respond to these concerns, employers need to foster healthy workplace cultures. Strong anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies are important, but culture is key to prevent gender inequities at work.”
Emily M. Dickens
Chief of Staff, Head of Government Affairs and Corporate Secretary at SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management
“Achieving gender equity in the workplace is a collective effort that will take all of us. Employers must do their due diligence to ensure the gender gap is eliminated, fair hiring practices are in place, proper standards to address sexual harassment and discrimination are implemented and followed, and each and every individual, regardless of gender identity, feels as though they have an equal opportunity to succeed and thrive in the workplace.”
Alessandra Biaggi
New York State Senator
“It is evident that the modern workplace environment still suffers from blindspots in terms of gender equity/equality. So women have to do what men have successfully done for centuries: create a community and support system with other women in the workplace so there is a safe space to practice self-advocacy and become each other's cheerleaders. If women are supported by the other women in the office, it's easier to speak up, and stand up to unfair situations where we feel that we are being treated differently because of our gender.”
Naibe Reynoso
Founder Con Todo Press
“As an individual you must not only advocate for others but yourself. Learn to self-promote and self-advocate with facts, and do it often. Remember that no one cares about your career more than you do.
Companies need regular reviews of policies, performance metrics, and compensation, particularly for women. There needs to be investment into the pipeline, for many and not few, much earlier with programming, mentorship, access to opportunities, and visibility. If we invest earlier, we promote faster and pay better. Earning potential grows, roles are available earlier in the career. This closes not only the pay gap but the gender gap too.”
Cate Luzio
Founder and CEO, Luminary
“As leaders, we are all responsible for disrupting our bias and helping others to uncover their biases. When we label women as being too aggressive or just too difficult or worry as mothers they can't handle a well-deserved promotion, we have to stop and ask ourselves: would we label men the same way? Would we question their ability to make an impact at work and raise their children? It's a simple check to use to disrupt our biases when it comes to what we think women are capable of.”
Mita Mallick
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Executive, Carta
“Gender parity requires Fair Play, Fair Day, Fair Pay, and Fair Say. Fair Play is the idea that as a society we must encourage men to step into their full power in the home for women to step into their full power in the world. Fair Day is the idea that we can caregive out loud and leaders will recognize that all workers have caregiving responsibilities as an asset, not a liability. Fair Pay recognizes that once we have fair play and fair day we will eradicate 70-80 percent of the wage gap-- the bias against women for being seen as primary caregivers. Fair say is the recognition that there are barriers in leadership when we don't have people with different life experiences in the boardroom.”
Eve Rodsky
New York Times Best Selling Author of Fair Play
“Although gender parity will not be achieved overnight, I think that there a few practical approaches that organizations can take immediately to move along the parity continuum. First, annual compensation audits (gender and ethnicity driven) is a foundational must. Secondly, to make advancement within the organization, it’s important that women have clarity around the leveling requirements and expectations in every part of the business. Finally, ensuring that women have access to the same stretch projects and opportunities for growth is critical for advancing gender parity within the workplace.”
Cherise Bernard, PhD
Director, Diversity, Engagement and Inclusion, McCann
"We can move towards gender equality by collectively demanding more transparency in the workplace around pay and opportunity, calling out bias when we see it , as well as creating campaigns that change the culture in the workplace. Company culture will change for the better when we hire, promote, and reward leaders that are living the company's espoused values with integrity, and encouraging their employees to do the same, so that we can shrink the gap between policy and practice. We also need to uncover and address our internal biases that often prevent us from negotiating for ourselves and being our own best advocates, and also actively look for opportunities to not only mentor, but sponsor other women."
Daniella Kahane
Executive Director + CEO, WIN Summit
“It’s important to consider the impact between gender parity and gender equity when speaking about women in the workplace. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender parity with equity and understand the evolving gender identity, for example when it comes to those that identify as non-binary. Companies should be clear in declaring that there are gaps and set measurable and achievable targets to close them. This is done through training managers on the disparities and committing to expectations on how they (managers) will be held accountable. Being transparent with data (the good & bad), examining the company’s benefits (i.e., parental leave) and understanding workplace dynamics all play a role as well. Finally, companies should invest in specific programs to build equity for women and develop sustainable practices around them. It’s not enough to only have representation in non-managerial or decision-making roles; talent needs to see themselves represented in all levels to believe in a company’s commitments. This is the journey to an inclusive culture that relies on changing the expectations of today’s work environment.”
Ezinne Okoro
Global Chief Diversity Officer, Wunderman Thompson
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