Women’s Equality Day is a day to celebrate the progress that women have made in the fight for equality and to recognize the work that still needs to be done. In this blog post, we will explore different ways on how to celebrate Women’s Equality Day and honor the achievements of women, as well as provide suggestions for how you can continue to support gender equality year-round.
Did you know that women have to wait 136.5 years to have equal opportunities with men according to the World Economic Forum’s 2021 Global Gender Gap Report?
That’s up from 99.5 years last year.
Wait, there’s more. These mind-boggling gender gap statistics have been mainly propagated by the Coronavirus pandemic. While women make up 39% of the global employment, they account for 54% of the overall job losses due to the crisis according to McKinsey. In the US alone, nearly 60% of the people who have lost their jobs are women.
Accelerating Gender Parity In The Workplace
Waiting for 136.5 years to achieve gender parity is not an option.
We can’t allow the pandemic to destroy the progress we’ve made so far.
Women are now running 23 of the companies on the Fortune Global 500, 22 serving as Heads of State or Government around the globe, and 25% making up jobs in technology. A lot more should be done to tap into girl power and help close the workplace gender gap as we commemorate Women’s Equality Day on the 26th of August 2021.
How to Celebrate Women’s Equality Day
Women’s Equality Day commemorates the struggles of women to be heard such as women’s suffrage and the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and also highlights the continued efforts of women to achieve full equality.
Business leaders should have a keen interest in furthering gender equality, especially during this crisis. According to McKinsey, gender diversity is a key to financial success: Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile.
Earlier this year, we celebrated International Women’s Day by featuring phenomenal female leaders who “Choose to Challenge” the status quo and are fiercely leading the charge of cultural change.
At Reactionpower, we strive to ensure women’s equality by:
- Creating an open-minded atmosphere free from gender bias
- Building a culture of employee well being
- Allowing for flexible working hours
- Advocating for women’s leadership
- Supporting women-led businesses
- Prioritizing work-life balance
- Equal pay
- Ensuring we have at least 50% representation of women on the team
We are consistently seeking concrete measures to support and promote gender parity.
Today more than ever, workplace culture impacts your business’s perception and performance. Many business leaders still have a long way to go to reach a truly equitable workplace. It’s time to follow through and commit to taking concrete action.
Happy Women’s Equality Day.
As a leader, how are you celebrating women in your workplace this Women’s Equality Day?
