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A women’s depository for vendors & clients to grow their diverse spend & increase women’s employment at all levels within the housing ecosystem.
June is National Homeownership Month. This article is part of an ongoing series focusing on different aspects of women’s homeownership.
Single Women Outpace Men in Homeownership
In our 2018 Women in the Housing and Ecosystem Report, we found women have outpaced single men in homeownership consistently since 1986. This trend has most likely sustained because the reasons women seek homeownership are powerful, both from an economic and an emotional standpoint.
How to turn your passion into action from boosting your local engagement or running for office
“This woman’s place is in the House-the House of Representatives”-Bella Abzug
It’s no new news that although we comprise a little over half the human population, women are severely underrepresented in both politics and business. Although great strides have been made and new fissures and cracks appear every day in that storied glass ceiling, for the busy everyday woman, moving from awareness to engagement can seem daunting. Continue reading
The diversity of business owners strengthens our nation as their unique perspectives are woven into their businesses, communities, and local and regional economies. However, our nation’s rich diversity still is not reflected in the leadership of companies that sell us products and services and ask us to invest. What a loss.
The Status Quo
Today in the United States, women make up 51 percent of the population. We are 13 percent African American, 18 percent Latino, and six percent Asian Pacific Islander. Yet, here it is 2018, and I am only the 10th woman ever elected to statewide office in California – the most ethnically diverse and most progressive state in the nation. The lack of diversity among our elected officials is woefully apparent. However, behind the doors of board rooms and C-suites across the country, corporations are failing to integrate diversity, and decisions are made without the range of perspectives that differing backgrounds bring.
According to McKinsey & Company, a staggering 45 percent of executive teams in the U.S. do not include one non-white member. Only about three percent of senior executive teams actually reflect the diverse make-up of our population. Fewer than one percent of Fortune 500 board directors are openly LGBT.
Equally disturbing is the divide between the way male and female directors view diversity. A PricewaterhouseCoopers report found that 80 percent of women agreed “very much” that diversity leads to more effective boards, compared to just 40 percent of men.
Women in the Housing and Real Estate Ecosystem (NAWRB) announces the addition of Teresa Palacios Smith, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, HSF Affiliates LLC, to its Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council (NDILC). The Council, founded in 2015, helps raise the number of C-suite women, increase women’s employment at all levels and advance women’s economic growth across the housing and real estate ecosystem.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) is inviting regulated entities to submit voluntary self-assessments of their diversity policies and practices for the Diversity Assessment Report. The report will supplement the Joint Standard interagency policy statement, released in 2015, which aims to establish standards for assessing diversity and inclusion efforts.
According to the 7th Annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, women-owned businesses have increased by 114 percent in the last 20 years and are growing at 2.5 times the national average—women are currently starting an average of 849 new businesses per day. The report, commissioned by American Express OPEN, also found that businesses owned by women of color have grown 467 percent since 1997.
The National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses (NAWRB) is proud to announce new Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Council (NDILC) Member Jane Campbell, Director of the Washington, D.C. office of the National Development Council (NDC) and President of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP).
STEMconnector® has more than 170 members and has organized to push skills to more than 5 million open jobs. Million Women Mentors (MWM) was established to increase career opportunities for girls and women and has gained nearly 2 million pledges for mentor relationships. The movement has to change the career options for women and girls and reach pay equity by making great jobs and rewarding careers available. STEM jobs provide a means of pay equity; thus, we must provide the economic excitement for women to earn and contribute.
Consider what we are achieving with Million Women Mentors, reaching millions of commitments and bringing the private sector and organizations together to mentor, sponsor and provide internships. Please join us. I had the honor of writing a blog with PepsiCo CEO, Indra Nooyi, back in 2015, which says the following about Million Women Mentors: “We’ve already seen some amazing progress, but imagine what could happen if every STEM professional made a commitment to mentoring one-on-one for just two hours a month. We could truly change the game.”
STEMconnector® is a consortium of companies, associations, academic institutions and government entities actively engaged with STEM education and careers and with the future of human capital. With multiple products and councils, STEMconnector® is both a resource and service, designed to link “all things STEM.”
Gender & diversity is at our core. In the U.S., women and minorities make up the majority of the population and, clearly, the demographics of education. That’s why we launched Million Women Mentors, and we are on our way to 2 million mentor relationships. By endorsing all efforts—from private and public, to educational and organizational— to mentor and change lives, and increase careers in STEM jobs, pay equity is close. Every corporation and institution wants to show their progress and results for gender and diversity based on successful recruitment, engagement and retention.
Commitment to the underserved is part of all that we do, and we are proud of those who do not tolerate inequality and want to focus on making the land of opportunity a reality. STEMconnector® takes pride in “scaling up” what works. Along with the CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, STEMconnector® has committed to Tech Talent for All. It takes great marriages of private and public sectors. The CEO of Sprint, for instance, announced the 1Million Project, which donates tech to those in need. Salute all!
Public policy impact is clear on each of these. If not at the federal level, then we need the support at the local level. Public policy impact must be translated and saluted. Whether we continue support for tech talent for all or CTE Support, we stand up for use of public policy in many ways.
Women’s Equality Day was August 26th, and November is Science and Technology Month. Why can’t we make every day a celebration for gender gains in science and technology and a commitment to improve the numbers? Considering that up to 80 percent of jobs today require tech skills, and all STEM jobs pay women close to parity—about 96 cents on a dollar compared to 80 cents overall—an answer to parity and pay equity will involve technology. Let’s put more effort in gaining STEM skills and especially tech skills, and making tech careers a national priority. We urge all of you to read the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report, The Power of Parity: How Advancing Women’s Equality can add $12 Trillion to Global Growth. Gender advancement in STEM and tech is about economic opportunity and equality.
It can’t be the “Old Boys Network” any longer. We know we need a “New Girls Network,” but let’s allow men to be our champions and advocates, and ask CEOs and others to commit to the advancement of women and girls. We can do it together. Don’t accept no. Instead of focusing on “Sexism in Silicon Valley,” let’s build commitments to embracing women in STEM and tech.
Maya Angelou said, “In order to be a mentor, and an effective one, one must care.” We all care about the phones in our hands, the computers on our desks, and the cars that we drive. We must care even more about the girls who want to invent, explore, and discover the next generation of amazing STEM breakthroughs but who just need a little encouragement.
We must move faster. The movie Hidden Figures highlights the roles of three African American female mathematicians working at NASA as human computers. They helped build the space race. There are too few role models for girls today. Women comprise 24 percent in the tech and computer science space, a number that has declined or been static for the past decade; meanwhile, men are jumping ahead. Most high school and university gender numbers are poor, as are the requirements to teach computer science in schools. As NCWIT shares, girls comprise 56 percent of the Advanced Placement (AP) test-takers, yet only 19 percent of the AP Computer Science test-takers. We must advance and encourage all to code and engage in data analytics and other exciting areas. Carnegie Mellon has close to 49 percent women’s enrollment. We are proud to work with many academic institutions pushing the needle, but too few are embracing women in STEM and tech.
Jobs are open in every area of tech, and we must mentor, sponsor, offer great job opportunities and share our successes. We must push to advance women and girls, and role models are vital. Write your own stories and blogs, speak out and act, and, most importantly, execute and report results. Just as we released 100 CEO Leaders in STEM, 100 CIO Leaders, and 100 Diverse Leaders, look for the 2nd edition and release of 100 Women Leaders in STEM in October 2017.
The “Fearless Girl” is a symbol on Wall Street staring down the bronze “Charging Bull.” The “Fearless Girl” represents the desire to build equality for finance (as well as STEM and tech) and has gained millions of media impressions and new commitments. Let’s join together as fearless leaders and mentors to achieve STEM success, and gain more jobs in the tech field, which is dominating finance and every other area. All of us can be catalysts for gender action, and girls and women can—and will—build our economic future, financial achievement and success. Tech underlies all we do. COMMIT to action now as we join together to drive RESULTS.
Thank you, Edie Fraser!
The Pew Research Center reports that the college enrollment rate of Hispanics continues to rise and their dropout rate has fallen to a new low. Analyzing Census Bureau data, Pew found that in 2016, the Hispanic high school dropout rate decreased to 10 percent from 16 percent just five years earlier; and Hispanic high school graduates’ enrollment in college reached 47 percent in 2016, a marked increase from 32 percent in 1999.
The California Association of REALTOR® Expo kicks off on October 10, 2017 with three days of “networking, learning, and sharing ideas.” Thousands of real estate professionals, industry speakers and over 200 exhibitors will convene in beautiful San Diego to discover how they can elevate their businesses and careers to new heights.
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