We are in the second week of Women’s History Month. A time to have some focused attention on the many contributions women have made, and continue to make, in our society.

And while strides have been taken toward a society that fully values the contributions, ideas and needs of women, we must continue to do better.

As the pandemic was just hitting, The World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Gender Gap Report found that progress toward closing the gender pay gap has stalled, and that at this rate it will take 100 years to achieve equality between men and women.

The pandemic has exacerbated barriers for women in the workplace, with about 2.5 million women having lost their jobs or dropped out of the workforce. Job loss, small business closings and a lack of child care have created a perfect storm for women workers. Women who work in industries such as hospitality and health care — many who are living below the federal poverty level — have been hit hardest. These workers, many of them women of color, have been undervalued and underpaid for too long.

So what can we do? At ReWork the Bay our goal is to bring people together to work on collective solutions that provide economic mobility, promote shared prosperity, and ensure that there are quality jobs that center workers. As economic recovery plans are implemented and stimulus dollars start flowing, we look to support elected officials, community and business leaders in ensuring those policies and resources benefit Bay Area workers who have not historically benefited from our region’s immense prosperity. Examples of the strategies we will be advancing are featured in the recently released Advancing Workforce Equity in the Bay Area report.

Silvia Federici is a 78-year-old scholar and theorist of domestic labor and one of the most influential socialist feminist thinkers of the last century. In the NY Times article linked below she shares that when imagining the possibility of a truly just world, that she has hope and that she believes in…” The creativity of nature. And of people. I am very excited about people. There is really a lot of beauty, generosity, courage, my God. There is still joy, I see it — there is still a lot of beauty in this world. And I hope it prevails over those who only want to control and tear it apart.”

I hope so too. I would love to hear what you think. Email me by clicking the button below.

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