Women’s History Month and Resolving Workplace Inequities

By Dr. Kandis Y. Wyatt, PMP
Faculty Member, Transportation and Logistics

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the past and current accomplishments of women. The 2022 theme for Women’s History Month is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.”

This theme is a tribute to the ceaseless work of mothers, refugees, caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic. It is also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.

The Origin of Women’s History Month

The origins of Women’s History Month are rooted in 1911, when International Women’s Day was established in the United States on March 8 as a day to celebrate female workers. The idea of celebrating women’s achievements quickly spread around the U.S.

Later, International Women’s Day expanded to incorporate National Women’s History Week. In February 1980, then-President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week. In March 1987, Congress declared the entire month of March as National Women’s History Month.

Women’s History Month is a celebration of accomplishments from all sorts of women – Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi, to name a few – and their extraordinary contributions to society. There are also countless unsung heroines whose accomplishments kept women’s progress moving forward.

Women Still Encounter Many Problems in Society

In politics, education, health, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), women have made enormous strides within the workforce. However, there are significant obstacles to women’s attainment of equal employment opportunity, especially for transgender women.

True gender equality is an ongoing issue that has plagued society for decades. There needs to be a unified effort to create sustainable programs to foster positive change for women in the workplace. So far, there has been little action to provide solutions to gender equality in the workplace.

Despite progress being made through congressional action and mandates, women and girls – especially females of color – face systemic workplace barriers to full participation in career opportunities and wider gaps in equality. Here are a few challenges that we must address to achieve true gender equity and inclusion in the workplace.

Gender Biases and Stereotypes

Negative stereotypes continue in our society, holding back women from their achievements. For instance, some women are considered too emotional or bossy. They are expected to be socially and culturally likable. These biases are rooted in sexism, and they are often challenging to identify.

Women’s Caregiving Responsibilities

The Great Resignation highlighted many disparities in our economy that affect women, including health care, childcare and education. As a result, many employers lost their female employees. These women quit their jobs due to inflexible work practices and unrelenting caregiver responsibilities for their children or parents. Some women quit to pursue careers more in alignment with their personal passions.

High-Level Management Positions for Women

While women possess the common leadership characteristics – experience, education, and inner drive – many high-level executive or C-suite jobs are occupied by males. Women still lag behind men in corporate board positions as well as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) positions.

For instance, women currently hold 31 (6.2%) of the CEO positions and S&P 500 organizations, and only two of those CEOs are African American. Many experts see a direct link between development opportunities and career ascension. In other words, companies lack the ability to train and mentor future leaders, especially women.

Underrepresentation in STEM Fields in the Federal Workforce

Science, technology, engineering, and math occupations represent the fastest-growing sector of the economy. About 85% of future careers expected for 2030 have not been invented yet, and there is a growing gap between available positions and those qualified to fill them.

While colleges and universities report that 60% of new bachelor’s degrees are bestowed to female graduates, only about a quarter of STEM jobs are occupied by women. In addition, women who enter STEM positions are more likely to leave their job in the first seven years as compared to other disciplines.

Inflexible Workplace Policies

Women are more likely to stay at a company with flexible workplace policies. These policies can include paid leave for family care, telework options, casual dress codes, and training opportunities. In fact, the pandemic has set women’s labor force participation back more than 30 years, since women were more affected by layoffs and the need to find affordable childcare.

Unequal Pay

As of 2020, women make 82 cents for every dollar a man makes, and the statistics are even lower for women of color. While this pay gap is is an improvement from two decades ago, it still represents a distinct problem.

In just about every occupation, women make less than men. Women typically reach their peak salary by age 44 and men by age 55. This wage gap is detrimental for the U.S. economy, according to Fast Company, since the majority of women are caregivers as well.

Fast Company notes, “The impact of pay inequity impacts almost all dimensions of our society: Social Security, healthcare, higher education, the middle class, criminal justice, immigration, international trade, Wall Street, democracy and election integrity, LGBTQ+ rights, venture capital and entrepreneurship, GDP and economic growth, binding arbitration, climate change, and foreign policy.”

Over the lifetime of a woman’s career, this wage gap can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Women can also miss out on career development opportunities.

Healthcare Disparities and Access

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been 450 million cases of COVID-19 and over eight million of those cases resulted in fatalities. Sadly, deaths were higher for women and those who were BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color).

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated healthcare disparities which have disproportionately impacted women’s labor force participation. The pandemic multiplied the burden on paid and unpaid caregivers and increased the rates of domestic violence. Without access to proper health care, women are more likely to be susceptible to diseases, especially if they are a caregiver for a child, parent or other relative.

Women Still Need to Make More Progress

While women are making progress, there is still a long way to go to ensure inclusion and equity for everyone. Women’s History Month is a good time to not only celebrate women of character, courage, and commitment, but also to remember that more action is needed to solve social and workplace inequalities. Sustainable tactics, such as an emphasis on women’s health and education, need to be implemented to ensure the women’s movement continues to progress.