Today, March 8, 2022, marks International Women’s Day, a day dedicated to recognizing the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, in addition to acknowledging the need for gender equality worldwide.
This year’s theme is Break the Bias (or #BreakTheBias on social media), a message intended to bring awareness to the fact that whether deliberate or unconscious, bias is a major roadblock preventing women from succeeding to the same degree as men inside and outside of the workplace. It’s a fitting theme, seeing as the World Economic Forum (WEF) reported that the global gender gap has increased by a generation. The gender gap, as defined by the WEF, is a measurement of economic participation and opportunity, educational opportunities, health and survival and political empowerment as compared between men and women. With COVID-19 exacerbating socioeconomic deficits around the world, it is now estimated that the time it will take to close the gap has increased from 99.5 to 136.5 years.
To begin to bridge this gap, women need support not only from one another, but from their male counterparts. At WBA, the Women of WBA business resource group (BRG) was established to offer mentorship opportunities, resources and a community for those interested in gender equity. In recognition of this year’s holiday, the global chapters of the Women of WBA BRG have shared the highlights of their activities from the past year, as well as their dreams of making the organization—and world—more equal and diverse.