Diversity Deep Dive- March 2020 by June DePonte Sernak
Each year the month of March is designated as Women’s History Month. During this time we share information and knowledge about local and national women that have made contributions and sacrifices to lead the way for women everywhere to achieve their dreams. We know women have made huge strides in education, business, politics, medicine and STEM. We also know how influential women are in the workforce and according to the US Department of Labor Blog, how integral women are to today’s workforce.
There are 74.6 million women in the civilian labor force.
Almost 52 percent of U.S. workers are women.
More than 39 percent of women work in occupations where women make up at least three-quarters of the workforce.
Women own close to 10 million businesses, accounting for $1.4 trillion in receipts.
Female veterans tend to continue their service in the labor force: About 3 out of 10 serve their country as government workers.
Even with these great strides we are reminded of how far women have to go until they earn the same as what men earned. The gender pay gap in the United States means that women make just 82 cents for every dollar that men do, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The problem is even worse for women of color. Black women made just 68 cents for every dollar white men did in 2017, BLS data showed, and Latina women made 62 cents on the dollar. As we work with elected officials to change legislation to reflect the true efforts in the workforce, we have opportunities to impact change and become everyday heroes.
Cyberbullying has become the new violence against women by women. In the recent ABC show “Bachelor Women Tell All”, the women engaged in a poignant discussion of how they were all victims of cyberbullying regarding their race, beliefs and appearance. Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging (IM), defamatory personal Web sites, and defamatory online personal polling Web sites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others."– Bill Belsey, Cyberbullying Expert.*
Women of all ages are susceptible to trauma’s based on cyberbullying. Keep these thoughts in mind.
· Communicate with respect online and in person.
· Educate yourself on combatting harassment.
· Teach children of the effects of bullying and provide coping measures to encourage better language and expressions.
· Embrace diversity and inclusion. Microagression against race, religion and appearance personifies stereotypes and undermines the achievements and accomplishments of women everywhere.
· For more information on bullying: www.stopbullying.gov
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