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Valerie Young's picture

From Your (Wo)manInWashington blog 

Is there a connection between the fact that women with children earn less, save less, and have less money in later life and the fact that -

Women occupy 3% of all CEO positions in Fortune 500 companies;

Female faculty at US colleges and universities make 82% of what male faculty make, and have for the last 27 years;

Women are 16% of all movie directors, producers, writers, and cinematographers;

Less than 6% of all full-power television stations in the US are owned by women;

Women of color account for less than 17% of female news staff;

All CEO's in the top 15 media corporations are male;

Women comprise 18% of all law partners, 25% of all judges, yet constitute 48% of law school graduates;

Women of color make up less than 2% of partners in major law firms and Fortune 500 general counsels;

Females are 48% of all athletes in Olympic competition, but only 15% of the International Olympic Committee, and none of the officers?

I think so.  And I think it has a lot to do with carework.
 
If women occupied more of the decision-making positions and exercised their leadership in a way that set policy priorities, would these numbers change?  How is it that when women entered the paid labor force, they did so in numbers equal to or slightly greater than men, yet, after decades of alleged progress, the still haven't reached any parity in influence, power, and leadership?
 
I think it has an awful lot to do with carework.
 
Some people say women aren't ambitious.  Some say women would rather have children.  Some say women don't want to compete.
 
But I think..... it has an awful lot to do with carework.
 
Source for statistical data:  "Benchmarking Women's Leadership", The White House Project Report, 2009.

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