International Women’s Day, on 8 March, is an opportunity both to celebrate women across the globe from all walks of life and to strive further for their equality. This year, the IWD campaign is #BreakTheBias and we at SCI have compiled a series of interviews and insights with the aim of helping to do just that within the securitisation industry. Efforts to embrace diversity may sadly still only be window- dressing in the case of the structured credit market. As Reed Smith EME managing partner and structured finance head Tamara Box argues in the first article in our IWD series, the problem is not a lack of qualification; it is a lack of recognition.

As of last month, there are still more than one million fewer women in the labor force than in February 2020. The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report indicates that men are back to normal and have recouped their pandemic-related job loss rate. Women, on the other hand, have been left behind, due in part to the struggle to find and retain childcare during the ongoing pandemic.

Women hold two-thirds of the $1.7 trillion outstanding student loan debt in the country, according to a report from the American Association of University Women (AAUW). The report says that discrepancy is due in part to women taking out more to begin with and facing a pay gap after graduation. Ultimately, the disparity in student loans impacts women of color the most, especially Black women.

Americans face a lot of tough economic challenges today. The student debt crisis. Unaffordable housing. Wage gaps. These issues (and more) make it harder for folks to live their best lives. And Black women bear the heaviest burdens, which is why lightening their loads can help lift the whole economy.

That wordplay is probably the only part of a new report on how the pandemic has affected working moms that can put a smirk on your face. Entering year three of COVID, the millions of U.S. women who’ve had to balance work and home duties have never not faced a very real struggle. But this new survey affixes some alarming statistics to the question of exactly what that toll has been.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Feb. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Junior Achievement USA announced that JA Worldwide, which represents all Junior Achievement organizations globally, has been nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. A member of the global JA network, Junior Achievement USA has been serving young people in the United States since 1919, equipping them with the skillset and mindset to create sustainable businesses, find meaningful employment, and build thriving communities.

In the past, I never thought of myself as a “feminist,” but do you know what feminism is? It is advocacy. Feminism (noun): the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. Synonyms: the women’s movement, the feminist movement, women’s liberation, female emancipation, women’s rights, post-feminism, womanism, women’s lib.

It’s almost hard to remember a time before the pandemic when working flexibly was the exception, rather than the norm. Whether flexibility meant keeping different hours to the normal 9-to-5 structure or the ability to work outside the office, those whose jobs were structured atypically stuck out as different to their colleagues.

This is the seventh year of Women in the Workplace, the largest study of women in corporate America. This effort, conducted by McKinsey in partnership with LeanIn.Org, analyzes the representation of women in corporate America, provides an overview of HR policies and programs—including HR leaders’ sentiment on the most effective diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices—and explores the intersectional experiences of different groups of women at work. The data set this year reflects contributions from 423 participating organizations employing 12 million people and more than 65,000 people surveyed on their workplace experiences; in-depth interviews were also conducted with women of diverse identities, including women of color, LGBTQ+ women, and women with disabilities.