“Women’s Equality Day is celebrated in the United States on August 26 to commemorate the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex.” Today, we celebrate with gratitude those strong women that came before, and their efforts to ensure a brighter more equitable future for women everywhere.
Samina Subedar, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, StorCentric (www.storcentric.com):
“Each year on August 26, Women’s Equality Day is celebrated. While a tremendous amount of progress has been made, in the workplace in particular there remains work to be done. For instance, Catalyst reported that women currently hold just 32 (6.4%) of the CEO positions at the S&P 500 companies. Likewise, according to Pew Research, even though women now earn the highest percentage of both undergraduate and advanced degrees, they remain a small percentage of degree earners in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) – areas where women remain underrepresented in the workforce as well.
Yet, while there remains work to be done, we cannot ignore how far we have come. And, as a woman that has built a successful career in technology, I can personally attest to how fulfilling and rewarding it can be. So on this Women’s Equality Day, I am reflecting on and appreciating all those that encouraged and supported me along the way. The importance of gender parity in the workplace is preceded by equal access to education across the globe, thereby cultivating an environment of gender equality. It is critical that we actively advocate for educational programs that show real world examples of successful women in technology, which can in turn provide inspiring role models. It is also important to champion female-based technology internships and hiring at your organization (not just the right thing to do, diversity optimizes business processes and creates competitive advantage for your company). And, are you a woman in technology? Then, please consider acting as a mentor. There are many organizations around the world focused on such mutually rewarding opportunities.”
Lindsay Mantzel, Senior Full Stack Developer, Retrospect, a StorCentric Company (www.retrospect.com):
“Women’s Equality Day is a holiday that evokes optimism when you reflect on the great strides that have been made, while also reminding us that there are opportunities remaining for further improvement.
I am indeed fortunate to work for a company that greatly values diversity in the workplace. Likewise, from an early age I was encouraged to strive to be the best I could be, and to freely pursue my interests in STEM.
Are you wondering what you can do to help fan the fires of a girl or woman with an interest in STEM? My advice would be that to start, all you really need is to show a positive attitude! Next, encourage curiosity and focus on the fun of learning something new. You can also highlight successful women in STEM that came before and are still blazing trails. However, most importantly, whether it is STEM or they decide they want to pursue another career path – it’s all good! And remind them, as Dr. Seuss astutely stated, ‘If you get the chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.’”
