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Women's History Month; Women still in the struggle

By Laydell Wood-Harper/Tell Us Detroit

DETROIT (Tell Us Det) - March is Women’s History Month. Each year during the month of March it’s an opportunity to learn new things about women and our struggle to gain more positions of leadership.

Last Month it was announced that U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood will be the next Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan. She will replace Chief U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen, one of the key players in Detroit bankruptcy case. Judge Hood will be only the second African American women to hold this prestigious title. The first, was Judge Anna Diggs Taylor. This is a proud moment in history for all women.

Women are making history in every area of life, just take a look around you; in the boardroom, in the pulpit, in the classroom, in the operating room, and now in the court room; everywhere imaginable. And, everywhere unimaginable just a few short years again.

There are plenty of examples of women’s growth in leadership positions in every area, but here’s some facts that perhaps you didn’t know, according to the Center for American Progress : Women make up a majority of the U.S. population; Women are 50.8 percent of the U.S. population. We earn almost 60 percent of undergraduate degrees, and 60 percent of all master’s degrees. We earn 47 percent of all law degrees, and 48 percent of all medical degrees. We earn more than 44 percent of master’s degrees in business and management, including 37 percent of MBAs. We are 47 percent of the U.S. labor force, and 59 percent of the college-educated, entry-level workforce.

This is all great news for women, but although we hold almost 52 percent of all professional-level jobs, American women lag substantially behind men when it comes to our representation in leadership positions: They are only 14.6 percent of executive officers, 8.1 percent of top earners, and 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. They hold just 16.9 percent of Fortune 500 board seats. In the financial services industry, they make up 54.2 percent of the labor force, but are only 12.4 percent of executive officers, and 18.3 percent of board directors. None are CEOs.

They account for 78.4 percent of the labor force in health care and social assistance but only 14.6 percent of executive officers and 12.4 percent of board directors. None, again, are CEOs. In the legal field, they are 45.4 percent of associates—but only 25 percent of non-equity partners and 15 percent of equity partners. In medicine, we comprise 34.3 percent of all physicians and surgeons but only 15.9 percent of medical school deans. In information technology, they hold only 9 percent of management positions and account for only 14 percent of senior management positions at Silicon Valley startups.

Although women control 80 percent of consumer spending in the United States, we are only 3 percent of creative directors in advertising.

At a recent event for the Michigan Business and Professional Association’s Women in Leadership Awards, Christina Lovio- George candidly brought to the attention of the crowd of nearly 500 women that literally cheered and applauded her comment; “I think we all owe it to the generation coming up to block for one another, recommend one another and support one another,” said Christina Lovio-George, president & CEO of Lovio George communications and design.

“Women don’t support other women and we’d be further ahead if that happened. I hope that we can have more forums and dialogues to make that a reality in our lifetimes.” We all know there is still much work to be done, but with the advice and leadership of those women that are already in important leadership roles the road ahead can be much easier.



 

 

 
   
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