3 November 2020

Excerpted from the Professional Business Women's Conference:

Women first gained the right to vote in 1920. 50 years behind African American men, but 32 and 42 years ahead of Asian Americans and Native Americans, respectively. We have not always had an inclusive democracy.

Our vote today honors the hard work of courageous change-makers who came before us and shows that we do not take the right to vote for granted, and we give voice to our personal perspectives.

Facts:

• The gender pay gap has not improved since the early 2000s. Women comprise 27% of top-10% wage earners and 17% of top-1% wage earners. Working women spend 15 more hours per week than working men on household responsibilities.
• We hold 7.4% of Fortune 500 CEO seats.
• A woman’s median retirement fund is 1/3 of a man’s.
• We have suffered disproportionate economic losses during the pandemic, economists predict COVID-related impacts to the gender pay gap will be long-lasting.