Recap of Women & Wisdom: Women & Work: The Opportunity & The Opportunity Cost

By Haley Arellano

This week Women’s Impact Fund held one of our signature events, Women & Wisdom, at the Goodwill Opportunity Campus. This year, the title of the event was Women & Work: The Opportunity & The Opportunity Cost and attendees heard a panel discussion between three experts on this topic:

• Dr. Michelle Meggs, Executive Director of the UNC-Charlotte Women + Girls Research Alliance (Moderator)
• Dr. Kristi Lee Snuggs, President of the Childcare Services Association
• Dr. Jill Yavorsky, Associate Professor in Sociology & Organizational Science

Read our speakers’ full bios here.

In 2023, North Carolina ranked as America’s worst state for working women according to a report prepared by Oxfam America Inc. This is just one of the many statistics – some frustrating and some hopeful – cited in the Working Women section of the North Carolina Justice Center’s 2023 State of Working North Carolina Report. Dr. Yavorsky shared results of other research into the inequity for women in their households and in the workplace, including jarring figures around the increase in workload for women when they have children (and the lack of this same increase for men). She noted that while women’s rights have progressed a great deal since the 1960s, we’ve seen a “stall” in progress since the 1990s.

With these challenges in mind, Dr. Snuggs and Dr. Yavorsky shared their thoughts on potential solutions to the issues facing working women, including (but not limited to) affordable childcare subsidized through public money, paid leave, making sure the right people are in the room for policy discussions, reversing devaluation of women’s jobs and a shift in mindset on working norms for both men and women.  Dr. Snuggs led the audience on a deep dive into the childcare crisis in the US and specifically in North Carolina. She highlighted that childcare for pre-school age children should be considered a “failed market” and requires government subsidies.

The discussion was closed out with questions from the audience and some suggestions for how we, as women in North Carolina, can affect change. Attendees were welcomed to stay after the event for further discussion.

WIF thanks our Corporate Partners for their support of this and other important events!