Women often struggle to get respect in their industries, but now we’re fighting back.
By Jess Bugg, Illustrations by Jessica Wetterer
7
According to The New York Times, in 2018 Google silently paid millions of dollars in exit packages to male executives accused of sexual misconduct. Seven female employees retaliated by organizing a walkout that turned into more than 20,000 people around the world. This led to immediate changes including the ability for employees to bring sexual misconduct claims to court.
117th Congress
After a record number of women ran for office in 2018, a record number of women won. While women make up 51% of the U.S. population, they make up just over a quarter of all members of the 117th Congress. However, this is by far the highest percentage in U.S. history and represents a 50% increase from only a decade ago.
28
All 28 members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team sued the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) for gender discrimination, alleging unequal pay and working conditions. According to The New York Times, some women players make just 38% of what their male counterparts make despite consistently outperforming them as well as having higher viewership. After court documents revealed that the USSF argued biological differences justified the pay discrepancy between the men and the women, federation president Carlos Cordeiro resigned.
29.5 million
Women in the U.S. have earned more degrees than men for the last four decades. However, it wasn’t until 2019 that they surpassed college-educated men in the workforce. A Pew Research study found that as of 2019, 29.5 million women in the labor force had at least a bachelor’s degree. Women now make up 50.2% of the college-educated work force, which is up about 11% since 2000.
41
Lucille Ball was 41 when the first episode of I Love Lucy aired, turning her into one of the most iconic female comedians in history. To this day, her success is still extremely rare as most famous women in the entertainment industry reach stardom at a much younger age. Ball went on to break other norms during her career such as being the first openly pregnant woman on television. The characters Lucy and Ricky (played by her real-life husband, Desi Arnaz) were also the first interracial couple portrayed on television.