Beyonce Knowles once said, “Who runs the world? Girls.” While this is technically not true (unfortunately) when measured by opportunities in the workforce and elsewhere, we believe great strides have been and continue to be made on the front lines of gender equality.
Today, Redstone celebrates International Women’s Day. As a women-run business, we are advocates of female empowerment and are taking the opportunity to acknowledge steps made to date by women in the workforce. Women have been in pursuit of equity in the workforce for many years; equality in payt and opportunity. The progress has been gradual, and it is not always easy to define specific moments where change has occurred. Consider a few of the many moments that have positively influenced change.
- 1848: the first Women’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, NY where the Declaration of Sentiments was signed, demanding equality with men before the law, in education and employment.
- 1903: Marie Curie wins the Nobel Prize in Physics.
- 1919: the women’s suffrage amendment was finally passed by the representatives of the Senate, over 40 years after receiving the original document written by Susan B. Anthony.
- 1933: Eleanor Roosevelt becomes the First Lady and goes on to become a renowned human rights activist.
- 1963: the influential book The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan is published. In it, she openly discusses the middle-class American housewife, and their universal but silent struggle with their role of passivity and domesticity in society. It becomes a catalyst for meaningful conversation around women’s role in society.
- 1972: Gloria Steinem launches Ms. Magazine, a best-selling women’s rights magazine.
- 2009: The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act is signed, allowing victims of pay discrimination to file complaints with the government under far more realistic time frames.
- 2016: women are given the opportunity to serve in any job in the armed services, opening approximately 220,000 jobs to females.
International Women’s Day is a great way to celebrate female empowerment. It has been a long journey in pursuit of gender equality and we still have a ways to go. At Redstone, we are keeping the momentum going by creating opportunities for women looking to start or advance their career, we offer mentorship and are dedicated to partnering with other women focused organizations, who are committed to women empowerment and advancement.
We encourage everyone to visit the International Women’s Day website for more information on getting involved, and joining the pledge to campaign for gender parity. The narrowing of opportunities for women around the world is a great injustice, and women need to stick together, lift each other up and push each other forward. We at Redstone ask you to join us in focusing on female potential, and keeping the momentum of this great initiative alive not only locally but globally.