women's history month Archives - Kelly Fair

Inspire the Next Generation of Working Women

on March 10, 2016March 10, 2016 By kellyfairthementor

Women have come a long way since first becoming major players in the workforce. No longer delegated to “women’s work”, we are making waves! In fact, it seems that each generation of women is setting their sights higher and higher when it comes to career aspirations.

The Millennial Generation (born between 1980-1995) has been fighting for significant changes in the work place. From equal pay for women and extended family leave to better health care and more flexible work hours. However, it seems that there is also significant dissatisfaction within the Millennial Generation. According to a study by Deloitte, two thirds of millennials will leave their job by the year 2020.

While many Millennials have already attained senior positions, much remains to be done. More than six in 10 Millennials (63 percent) say their “leadership skills are not being fully developed.”…Of great significance in the current survey results is the finding that 71 percent of those likely to leave in the next two years are unhappy with how their leadership skills are being developed.

Rather than a lack of loyalty, this is telling me that the Millennial Generation wants to be challenged. They want to work for an organization that will give them a purpose–push them to succeed.

Unfortunately, there are still large gender gaps when it comes to available employment opportunities and equal pay. According to a global study, a significant number of women in the United States feel that their gender inhibits their opportunities. See the image below:

Screen Shot 2016-03-09 at 9.58.42 PM — Thomas Reuters Foundation

This emphasis on workplace happiness will only become more important to our most recent generation. Generation Z (1995 to present) are just entering the workforce and according to research, 28% want to be in their dream job after college.

What can we do to ensure that the future generation of working women are entering the fields and leadership positions they want?

Don’t fall into the trap of perpetuating stereotypes when it comes to women in the workforce; encourage her aspirations!
Have a conversation with your daughter about her career goals and how she plans on reaching them.
Expose your girls not only to diverse women in the workforce, but women in diverse workforces. Let her know about all the opportunities available to her.

And if you need a little help giving your daughter #CareerGoals. Bring her to Polished Pebbles’ Annual Women’s Career Panel this Saturday March 12!

Let’s Help Pave the Way

on March 26, 2015March 26, 2015 By kellyfairthementor

This month we have celebrated women past and present who are shaping herstory! March’s Women’s History Month is an inspiration, reminding us of the success within our reach. While we celebrate these women, it is important to remember the barriers women face, especially women of color.

The truth? We have a long way to go to create a just world for our girls. On the Polished Pebbles Facebook we recently shared an article from PayScale, “Gender and Pay at Work”. In this article, we read what has been repeated over and over…a pay gap exists between men and women. This is even when controlling for factors such as education level. How can we raise, inspire, and educate our girls; fill them with dreams, and then release them into an unjust system?

Let’s help pave the way! Community programs like Polished Pebbles are working to push more women into the workforce. The more we are present, the more we push at the glass ceiling, the closer we will come to it shattering. Polished Pebbles’ After-School Mentoring Program has career exploration as one of its main pillars. Girls have the opportunity to explore career fields through job shadowing and workforce development. Now who doesn’t want to support that?!

For Polished Pebbles to keep reaching their goals, they need your help! Consider a one time donation, or maybe join our monthly giving program! If you’re hearts pushing you in this direction, click here…

Thank you, supporters and readers!

Women Making Herstory

on March 19, 2015March 19, 2015 By kellyfairthementor

Last week we shared with you black women who made herstory. Today, we want you to know women who are making herstory! These black women will inspire you to put your best foot forward. You could even raise your daughter to be like one of these heroins, these herstory-makers!

Paulette Brown, the first black female president of the American Bar Association.

Sonya Smith, the first African-American female to earn a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at the University of Virginia.

Shonda Rimes, first black woman to create some Top 10 network TV series, such as Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal.

Mo’Ne Davis, the first female pitcher to win a Little League Series–remember, “throw like a girl”!

Michelle Obama, does she need a caption? No.

Carole Simpson, the first woman to broadcast radio news in Chicago.

Mellody Hobson, one of the most powerful black female business women. She is the current Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dreamworks Animation.

Lupita Nyong’o, the first black spokeswoman for Lancome.

Women From Black Herstory You Should Know

on March 12, 2015March 12, 2015 By kellyfairthementor

As we said last week, in celebration of Women’s History Month, we want to recognize the forgotten game changers in our herstory! Click below in our gallery to view women who have impacted positive change and helped to shape our futures. And make sure to check in next week where we share black women who will make herstory.

Anna Arnold Hedgeman: “I wanted desperately to say these same words to Martin Luther King, standing in front of 250,000 people who had come to Washington because they had a dream, and in the face of all the men and women of the past who have dreamed in vain, I wished very much that Martin had said, ‘We have a dream.’”

Daisy Bates: “No man or woman who tries to pursue an ideal in his or her won way is without enemies.”

Dorothy Height: “We have to realize we are building a movement.”

Ella Baker: “Strong people don’t need strong leaders.”

Madam C.J. Walker: “I am not merely satisfied in making money for myself, for I am endeavoring to provide employment for hundreds of women of my race. … I want to say to every Negro woman present, don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them!”

Mary Church Terrell: “I cannot help wondering sometimes what I might have become and might have done if I had lived in a country which had not circumscribed and handicapped me on account of my race, that had allowed me to reach any height I was able to attain.”

Hattie McDaniel: “Faith is the black person’s federal reserve system.”

Septima Poinsette Clark: “I have great belief in the fact that whenever there is chaos, it creates wonderful thinking. I consider chaos a gift.”

Mary McLeod Bethune: “We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.”

Angela Davis: “As a black woman, my politics and political affiliation are bound up with and flow from participation in my people’s struggle for liberation, and with the fight of oppressed people all over the world against American imperialism.”

Women’s History Month: Herstory and Black Girls

on March 5, 2015March 5, 2015 By kellyfairthementor

Following February’s Black History Month, is March’s Women’s History Month. The theme for 2015 is Weaving the Stories of Women’s Lives. The National Women’s History Project says the following on this year’s theme:

The stories of women’s lives, and the choices they made, encourage girls and young women to think larger and bolder, and give boys and men a fuller understanding of the female experience. Knowing women’s achievements challenges stereotypes and upends social assumptions about who women are and what women can accomplish today.

As “his”tory tends to leave out the presence and influence of women in the United States, there began a movement for “her”story. The goal is obvious, reverse the sexism and patriarchy that has plagued the telling of our past–weave in the stories of women’s lives. However, just as it is important to point out the sexism in the retelling of history, so to is highlighting the racism or colorblindness. Black men and women are also missing from history textbooks, their achievements and influence are either skipped over or played down compared to white men.

This is why it is important to remember that Black History Month and Women’s History Month are next to one another–the goal of the first should influence the second. Black women. They are often neglected in history and sometimes in herstory. While this may seem unimportant to some, it is essential to remember Edmund Burke: “Those who don’t remember history are destined to repeat it”.

In the present we are ignoring or forgetting black women and girls just as much as we do historically. Khadija Costley White wrote an article titled, “Racism affects black girls as much as boys. So why are girls being ignored?” She writes:

I am concerned about the fate of black and brown girls. Our stories are rarely told, and so people have learned to think they’re insignificant. Our experiences are minimized, and so, too, are our contributions.

This Women’s History Month let us not forget the black and brown women who have helped to shape and mold our country. Further, let us not forget how history affects the present and our futures. Let’s not write black girls out of our present stories just because they are not in the past.

#blackgirlsmatter