WE PLEDGE TO PROTECT AND ADVANCE PROGRESS MADE IN Women’s EQUALITY
"I think the next great step in the Women's Movement will be the economic step. Every woman should have a career. Every woman should have her own money. As long as you have to ask someone else for your money, you can not be independent and you can not be equal. And when you become economically equal, you will then also become socially, sexually and psychologically equal as well."
-David King, 1973
In 1973, David King founded Careers for Women, Inc., today known as CFW Careers, as a free sales and marketing school for women in New York City. He galvanized a significant attitudinal change regarding the role of women in business and helped hundreds of women achieve economic independence by connecting them to opportunities in sales and giving them the tools to succeed. The team at CFW Careers has been fiercely committed to intersectional feminism and gender inclusion ever since. This year on International Women's Day, we call upon business leaders and allies to support women and protect decades of hard-earned progress.
COVID-19 has been catastrophic for women--both at home and at work. Alarmingly, the pandemic has had a disproportionately devastating impact on women's careers: large numbers of women have been forced to leave the workforce; fewer opportunities to return to work are available to women, and economic challenges are compounded by the fact that women earn significantly lower median incomes. U.N. Women has sounded the alarm as we are now at serious risk of losing a decade of progress towards gender equality, moving the projected achievement of parity 110 years away (that's 6 generations!).
Today we join the urgent pleas and call upon our allies to pledge support for women in the workforce. We invite business leaders to commit to action in the following areas:
Ensure that women have a seat at the decision-making table by building intersectional, gender-inclusive leadership teams and boards and assigning P&L responsibilities to women.
Create programs and spaces that support and cultivate women leaders, such as Employee Resource Groups, intentional career pathing, and mentorship programs.
Consider women’s voices, needs and concerns, and create pathways to facilitate women's return to the workforce post-pandemic. For example, set standards that won't penalize women and caregivers for career breaks taken during the pandemic.
Commit to ensuring pay equity by taking actions such as conducting pay audits, leveling salaries, and ensuring women get a fair amount of equity at the executive level.
Beyond the professional sphere, we support women and girls across the world and demand that governments act to ensure safety and fairness for women everywhere.
As we work together to build a "new normal," let's ensure that gender equality is at the forefront of our efforts. We encourage you to sign this pledge and commit to at least one initiative during Women's History Month in support of women. We encourage you to constantly revisit and renew your commitment to equality until we (across all dimensions of diversity) are all equal.
Thank you!