The annual Women’s Leadership Conference returns on March 3 for a program of exceptional women who will motivate and inspire. This year’s keynote speaker is Reshma Saujani, an accomplished author and nonprofit CEO who has spent more than a decade building movements to fight for women and girls’ economic empowerment, working to close the gender gap in the tech sector and most recently advocating for policies to support moms impacted by the pandemic. Saujani spoke recently about her career, how women can get ahead in the workplace and her latest book “Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work (and Why It’s Different Than You Think).” Each in-person attendee at the conference will receive a copy of the book.
You launched the nonprofit organization Girls Who Code in 2012 to address gender disparities in computer science. As an attorney, do you see parallels in the legal profession?
Absolutely. The legal profession – like tech – has long struggled with gender parity, particularly at the leadership level. Women enter law firms in equal numbers as men, but by mid-career, many leave the field due to the impossible balancing act of long hours, caregiving and a workplace culture that rewards destructive and relentless overwork. We tried fixing the pipeline and have been successful, but it’s still happening. It’s a systems problem, not a talent problem. We see this same phenomenon in tech, finance and so many male-dominated fields. We need to change the structure and offer meaningful support like childcare and paid leave, not just tell women to navigate it better.
After more than a decade of advocating for gender equality in the workplace, what strides have you seen women professionals make? And where is there room for progress?
We’ve made undeniable progress – more women are graduating with STEM degrees, starting businesses, and breaking barriers in leadership. But the pandemic exposed what many of us already knew: the workplace was never built for women, especially mothers and caregivers. You’ve probably heard of the motherhood penalty, which is the economic disadvantages mothers face in the workforce, which is finally getting the research and recognition it deserves. My nonprofit Moms First is committed to fighting it.
There’s another penalty you should know about: I call it the midlife penalty, and it’s cutting down women at the height of their careers. The midlife penalty is the economic cost women pay in the workforce and in their healthcare from lack of support and false beliefs that women in midlife are “past their prime”. Women over the age of 55 have the largest gender pay gap of all ages, earning just 75 cents for every dollar a man makes. Also,15% of women say they missed work or cut back hours because of menopause.
Your latest book, “Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work (and Why It’s Different Than You Think),” explores how burnout and inequity is harming America’s working women. Describe how and why this is happening?
Women are experiencing burnout at unprecedented levels because they are doing everything, everywhere – leading at work, raising kids, caring for aging parents and assuming the majority of the unpaid, unseen labor at home. We need to stop treating burnout as a personal failure and start calling it what it is: a business failure. We need companies to invest in paid leave, affordable childcare and workplace policies that actually support women.
Some of the discussion topics for the March 3 program include fighting for a raise, making connections among colleagues and climbing the ladder. What advice can you offer women attorneys, and women in general, on these issues?
First, stop apologizing for wanting more. Men ask for raises without hesitation – women second-guess themselves and fear being direct about what they need will make them unlikable. Know your worth and ask for it.
Second, we can’t change anything until we name it. The biggest lie we’ve been told is that we have to do it all by ourselves. Community is critical for us to be able to share our stories and realize that we are not alone and we are not the problem.
Finally, we’ve all heard of the broken rung. It’s time we stop trying to climb something that is in disrepair, and build a new ladder. If the workplace doesn’t accommodate the realities of women’s lives, let’s change the workplace – not ourselves.
What do you hope attendees take away from your keynote on March 3?
I hope they walk away knowing they are so much more powerful and competent than they know. That the struggles they feel – whether it’s burnout, guilt or frustration – aren’t personal failures but systemic problems we can solve. I want them to feel emboldened to demand more from their employers, their partners and from society. It’s time for us to take back our time, our ambition and our power.