International Women´s Day 2020: An Equal World is an Enabled World.
Jacobs Berger Family Law Attorneys across Morris County and Northern New Jersey joins this celebration and women’s achievement
Sunday, March 8, 2020, marks International Women’s Day, a global event celebrating not only the socio-cultural, political and economic achievements of women but a 25 year in the making call to action for gender equality. Under #EqualforEqual women are actively choosing to “challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations and celebrate women’s achievements.” Promoted as a vehicle for change, this year’s International Women’s Day theme “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights” is closely aligned with the United Nations’ Women’s new multigenerational Gender Equality campaign.
In 1995 the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action took steps to build what is widely recognized as the most progressive roadmap for female empowerment around the world. It seems only fitting that the 25th Anniversary of this event will occur in such a pivotal year as 2020, the Chinese Year symbolic of renewal. This global day of observance will also in some ways represent an opportunity for citizens around the world to evaluate and assess what kinds of progress has been achieved for women’s rights since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action.
Although International Women’s Day is an effort to build a larger public conversation around youth leadership, feminist solidarity and women’s rights activism, based on a set of internationally agreed targets to measure progress, to date no country is on track to achieve gender equality by 2030. Even Nordic countries like Denmark which have made tremendous socio-political progress and scored higher on the index, would not be able to meet UN sustainable development goals to end poverty, inequality, and halt the climate process.
According to Katja Iversen, president, and CEO of women’s rights advocacy group Women Deliver, “2020 is going to be massive, and the potential [for change] is enormous.” Since women and girls often have fewer choices than their male counterparts, work more, are paid less, are undervalued, and often experience multiple forms of domestic violence. Many global events around the theme of women’s rights and gender equality will celebrate game changers of all ages and genders, and work towards creating strategies to take actionable steps towards empowering all women and girls in the years to come.
Women in New Jersey Had Equal Voting Rights between 1776 to 1807
According to a recent New York Times article, for about 30 years after the American Revolution, women in New Jersey had equal voting rights with men. New Jersey was the first state and was for a while, the only state, to enfranchise women before passing legislation limiting voters’ rights to only white men.
New Jersey at that time gave the “right to vote to all inhabitants, as long as “they” could credibly declare they had property worth 50 pounds.” In 1790 the law was reworded to “he or she,” to clarify that both men and women had voting rights. Interestingly enough, only single women could vote because married women were not able to own property.
The same New York Times article also cites a lawmaker of the time who wrote that prior to the repeal of this right, the NJ “constitution (gave) this right to maids and widows, white and black.”
All in all, it seems the later disenfranchisement of female and Black voters was based around the suspicion of fraudulent voting by both aforementioned groups; which resulted in the law being changed making only white men eligible to vote.
Women-Led Companies Often Perform Better & Diverse Teams are Often More Productive
According to Lean IN, Women:
- lead only 14 of 195 countries
- are paid 23% less globally
- run only 7% of Fortune 500 Companies
- led companies to perform better & have better family policies
Lean IN also found that diverse and inclusive teams put in more effort, stayed longer, and demonstrated more commitment and company loyalty.
Morris County Attorneys Discuss 3 Top Issues Affecting Women in NJ
According to the National Women’s Law Center, Women in New Jersey are significantly affected by poverty, the wage gap, and lack adequate medical coverage:
Poverty:
- 7% of women in New Jersey live in poverty
- 3% of female-headed households in New Jersey live in poverty
- 4% of women 65 and older in New Jersey live in poverty
Wage Gap
- Women in New Jersey (NJ) typically make $0.79 for every dollar paid to men
- Black women in NJ typically make $0.56 cents for every dollar paid to white men
- Latinx women in NJ typically make $0.42 cents for every dollar paid to white men
Health Insurance
- 1% of women aged 19-64 in NJ are uninsured
- 0% of women of reproductive age (19-54) in NJ are uninsured
- 7% of women in NJ reported not receiving health care at some point in the last 12 months due to cost
5 Ways to Celebrate and Encourage Multigenerational Female Empowerment
- Address systemic barriers that are holding women back in the workplace
- Challenge gender biases
- Support local female entrepreneurs and business owners
- Support Lean In Circles or peer groups that meet, share ideas and advice, gain skills, and build community; these Circles can complement a company’s existing inclusion and diversity efforts and achieve organizational goals
- Inspire young children, especially girls, with books and stories of women who persisted through adversity and became agents of hope and change
Randolph Lawyers Discuss Why Gender Equality Matters in New Jersey
According to research from the National Partnership for Women and Families, wage inequality leads to a combined loss of $32.5 billion in New Jersey every year. Because the gender wage gap often affects women before they start a new position, an Executive Order signed by New Jersey Governor Murphy Promoting Equal Pay and Gender Equity “provides a means of narrowing the wage gap…which has a disproportionate impact on female hires,” and “take further steps towards leveling what was an unacceptably skewed playing field.” This legislation was seen as significantly strengthening the previous groundbreaking equal pay law signed in 2018, and bringing the state a step closer to securing workers’ rights to equal pay for equal work for future generations.
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Dedicated to Genuine and Constructive Resolutions for You and Your Family
At Jacobs Berger, LLC, we see our role as architects of restructured family units. We help families transition and establish new roles and responsibilities while minimizing strain. We differ from family attorneys who escalate tensions and fuel arguments. Rather, our clients see us as architects and builders of their new family structure.
To discuss any family law matter you may be facing with our attorneys today in a comprehensive and confidential case assessment, please contact us online, or through our Morristown, NJ office at (973) 710-4366.
