In New York City, women earn about 89 cents on
the dollar compared to men, and out of the 55 Fortune 500 companies in
the five boroughs, only one has a female CEO.
But a new website that aims to support women in their careers hopes to change that. Women.NYC,
launched on Wednesday morning by New York's Deputy Mayor of Housing and
Economic Development Alicia Glen, is a one-stop-shop for women seeking
information, resources, and tools on everything from finding a job,
starting and running a business, and getting legal help, to accessing
health services and money management.
"Women have waited long enough for equal pay, power
and respect. In New York City, we aren’t going to wait any longer,"
Glen explained in a statement. "That's why we are launching Women.NYC.
We know women can do it alone. But we don't have to. Women now have
concrete tools for concrete success, all in one, easy-to-navigate place.
New York City is already the best city in the world for women. Today,
we're making it even better."
"Women have waited long enough for equal pay, power and respect. In New York City, we aren’t going to wait any longer"
The
initiative is accompanied by a thought-provoking marketing campaign,
which aims to encourage women to share their experiences, advice, and
goals with the hashtag #NYCPowerMove.
"Power
means something different for every woman, but we are all better off
when every woman can tap into her power," noted New York's First Lady
Chirlane McCray, co-chair for the Commission on Gender Equity. "New York
City cannot continue as a successful city if women cannot succeed too.
And now, for the first time in history, the women of New York City have
all the tools they need to succeed in one place with Women.NYC."
Many
women continue to face barriers to success due to a number of factors,
like inflexible family leave policies. On average, female-owned
businesses generate 61 percent less revenue than male-owned businesses.
In New York City, there are 360,000 women entrepreneurs, yet men own 1.5
times the number of businesses, have 3.5 times the number of employees,
and generate 4.5 times the amount of revenue. Women own 30 percent of
small businesses in the country, but only 4.4 percent of small business
loans are allocated to women.
.
The Women.NYC site will function as a way to foster
an online community, where women are encouraged to create new
partnerships, develop programming, and introduce policy ideas that
support the advancement of women professionally and personally.
Following
the initial campaign launch, there will be a series of workshops,
forums and new programs designed to help women and promote the
initiative. Though the website currently only serves the women of New
York City, First Lady McCray is optimistic that other cities will soon
follow suit.
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