#StickItToSexism

Jack Blog

August 29th, 2018 By Natalie Ackerman

In 1920, U.S. Congress designated August 26th as the day to commemorate the adoption of the 19th Amendment which prohibited federal and state governments from denying the right to vote based on gender. It was a significant milestone and represents a massive amount of progress for women globally.

To commemorate, Jack has kicked off a week-long global campaign across all of our offices. Led by the I AM JACK team, our employee led diversity and inclusion group, #STICKITTOSEXISM is a series of engagements designed to showcase the successes that women have achieved in the fight for equality and to highlight the many setbacks that continue to exist in the world today.

Women around the globe still face major issues around gender and racial inequality. Over 150 countries have at least one actively sexist law. One in three women around the world are likely to be victims of gender-based violence in their lifetime and when paid and unpaid work are combined, women in developing countries work more than men, with less time for education, leisure, political participation and self care. The average full-time working woman will lose more than $460,000 over a 40-year period in wages exclusively because of the wage gap. To catch up she will need to work 12 additional years. It is shocking to read the Women in the Workplace 2016 report that states that Corporate America promotes men at 30 percent higher rates than women during early career stages.

At Jack, we are actively trying to make a difference by educating, supporting and celebrating women’s equality. This is the second year that we have conducted our #STICKITTOSEXISM campaign. You’ll see a series of social posts from us aimed at raising awareness. Teams across the country will take the streets and distribute a series of #STICKITTOSEXISM bumper stickers that we have also translated into several languages including Mandarin. This week, many of our offices are showing inspiring content from female leaders and conducting discussion groups with industry experts to learn how to support, how to advocate, and how we can all help to overcome the obstacles for women in the workplace.

It’s all part of our continued plan for awareness. We need to know where we stand and to make sure we avoid biases when hiring and growing our people. It’s a work in progress. When it comes to representation we are working hard to reach and exceed the 30 percent mark – an important figure that is widely agreed to mark the stage at which contributions of a minority group start to be judged on their own merit. A natural tipping point occurs and progress can be made. In terms of gender representation, we already exceed in most cases or are close to reaching this number across our workforce, from our general staff make up to management teams and senior officers.

It’s about making meaningful and sustainable change. It starts with a commitment and an engaging experience. We will continue to build on this program. In the meantime, we’ve created some resources that you can use to #STICKITTOSEXISM. Click here for access to social content, a resource guide with useful links from inspiring speeches to organizations that are committed to change.

So go ahead, #STICKITTOSEXISM!