The present state of women and education is less bleak. Women, even those coming from low-income households, understand that the pathway out of poverty is education, so more are going to college and getting degrees. Yet problems in the workforce remain as women are still predominantly working in low-wage jobs, and the opportunities for promotion, if you happen to be hired, are slim and even more so for women of color. “We are seeing more and more women getting into managerial positions but then they’re not getting the promotions that they need. So economic security is impacting women at all ends of the spectrum, right from the top to women who are just entering the workforce” Sujata says.
I want to see a world where every girl child has the chance and opportunity... and that you are not restricted to your class and status.
Whether it is about women’s economic parity or gender bias— two of the biggest issues facing Chicago women right now—the conversation is inclusive and having male advocates is just as important as having the support of women. CFW calls them “male champions of change,” and they are fortunate to have many. Troy Henikoff, managing director of Techstars, Tom Alexander, COO for 1871, Kurt Summers, treasurer of the City of Chicago, and Greg Cameron, executive director of The Joffrey Ballet, are just a few people Sujata commends as advocates for gender parity. As champions of change, each of them influences peers and shares policies that might be useful for others to learn from as they share metrics and progress toward the goals they set for themselves. As 2016 comes to a close, the ultimate American glass ceiling remains unshattered with Hillary Clinton’s loss in the presidential election. For it to take so long as it has for one of the richest and most progressive countries in the world to elect a female president is shocking, Sujata says openly, as someone who grew up in India where there was a female Prime Minister (Indira Gandhi) in 1966.
With the arduous 2016 election finally behind us, one can’t help but wonder what it would have been like to have our first female president. Laughing at her optimism, Sujata shares her hopes that with Theresa May and Angela Merkel in powerful leadership roles, it gives us an opportunity to really begin thinking about world peace. What she fears is that people will think that the job is finished, when in fact, there is still so much to be done. “We haven’t ended violence against women, we haven’t ended health disparities, we don’t have reproductive health and justice for all women, we don’t have pay equity, we don’t have income equity… All of those things are not going to shift overnight, but the opportunities for the next generation to see role models that are like them, will grow. I want to see a world where every girl child has the chance and opportunity that I had even though you don’t come from a wealthy family, and that you are not restricted to your class and status.” cw To learn more about the 100% Project, visit, cfw.org/100-percent. Footnotes. 1. Progress Illinois- Illinois Child Care Assistance Program Serves 55,000 Fewer Children After Rauner Budget Cuts, Union Claims. 2. U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table B19126. 3. Economic Policy Institute- Child care is out of reach for working families earning the minimum wage.
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chicago woman
DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017