Women’s History Month Ends

Today marks the last day of Women’s History Month for 2021, so we revisit some of the statistics demonstrating gaps between working women and men, but we also celebrate how women are paving the way to a more equal future.

• The first Women’s History Day was held in 1909 in New York City, leading to Women's History Week in 1978, and more recently Women's History Month in 1987. 
• The 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote in the US, was signed on August 26, 1920, but it didn’t give all women equal rights. It still barred Native American women, Black women, Asian American women, and Latin women from voting. It wasn’t until 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, that all women of any race were allowed to vote.
• More women are earning college degrees than men (57%) according to 2018 data. 
• Black women face a 90% wealth gap and a 15% wage gap relative to white women and a 35% wage gap relative to white men, according to a study by Goldman Sachs.
• In general, full-time salaried women earn 82 cents to every dollar a man makes.
• Of the 560+ companies that went public in the past 12 months, only three were women-founded and only 8 had a female CEO. Only 6% of the companies in the S&P 500 have a female CEO.
• 2020 was a tough year for funding for female-led and female-founded startups. Funding decreased 22.1% for female leaders compared to 2019, while overall funding increased.

Although today marks the end of a month to recognize women’s achievements, it does not mean we will stop spotlighting the achievements of women and minorities. If you’d like to see more of these types of insights or want to give us suggestions on topics you would like to hear more about, be sure to fill out our survey. You will be eligible to win a free month of PrivCo Select by doing so! Take the survey.