PBN held its 11th Business Women Awards luncheon May 24, and it was, as they all are, an event with a positive energy that leaves those in attendance smiling through the rest of their workdays. But the Business Women program’s value goes far beyond good feelings and a chance to network.
Business Women is a yearlong effort by PBN to highlight the successes of women entrepreneurs, as well as identify women working in the corporate world who, except for internal organizational recognition, would not receive the accolades they richly deserve.
Business Women exists because the region too often undervalues the talent that women possess and the potential they represent.
A recent report by the American Association of University Women said that in Rhode Island the average yearly salary for men in 2016 was $53,400, while the average for women was $43,541, slightly less than 82 percent of men in the Ocean State. That figure is based on full-time pay.
One interesting statistic from the report is the calculation that if the change in women-to-men pay ratio were to follow the trend line established from 1960-2016, women would achieve pay equity by 2059. However, if the future pay of women were to change according to the trend line from 2001-2016, women would not achieve parity with men until 2119.
As 2018 moves forward, Rhode Island’s businesses should keep in mind that the Business Women program is evidence that success is the outcome of having that most precious commodity, a highly talented workforce made up of women – and men – functioning at their highest levels.