Vision 2020 White House BriefingEllie Cantor, PhD, MBA

On March 27, 2012, the White House Woman’s Briefing Series hosted Vision 2020(http://www.drexel.edu/vision2020/). Vision 2020 is an initiative to make equality a nationalpriority through shared leadership among women and men by the year 2020 – the 100th

anniversary of women’s suffrage. Conceived by Lynn Yeakel, Director of the Institute forWomen’s Health and Leadership at Drexel University College of Medicine, Vision 2020 hasgrown since its inception in 2010 into a national movement advancing equality for womenacross the country. I was honored to attend the briefing to represent AWIS, a National Ally ofVision 2020.

The energy was high as 150 women and men from gathered in the South Court Auditorium ofthe Eisenhower Executive Office Building. In the audience were a number of Vision 2020delegates (there are two from each state who were selected in a rigorous vetting process) aswell as representatives from many of Vision 2020’s sponsors and allies.

The briefing began with a welcome by the White House Office of Public Engagement andCouncil on Women & Girls (www.whitehouse.gov/cwg) and by leaders of Vision 2020. Over thecourse of the day we heard speakers from various White House offices, councils, and Cabinetdepartments who described their programs, discussed their challenges and successes, andshared with us how the Administration is working to improve equality for women in manyspheres. We were encouraged to tweet, e-mail, and blog about what we were hearing.

Here are the speakers and some highlights of their remarks:

Women, Families and the BudgetHeather Higginbottom, Deputy Director, White House Office of Management & BudgetThe President’s proposed budget preserves many of the discretionary spending itemsimportant to women and to STEM. Many cuts have been made in these areas in the RepublicanHouse budget and more so in sequester. (According to the Budget Control Act, the sequesterwould be implemented beginning in 2013 as an across-the-board cut to all non-exempt budgetaccounts if the Joint Committee does not reach accord on the need deficit reductions.)

People as PolicyCecilia Muñoz, Director, White House Domestic Policy CouncilThis Council deals with domestic agencies, including education. Ms. Muñoz stressed thePresident’s deep commitment to equal pay for women and described the Equal Pay AppChallenge (a program of the National Equal Pay Task Force). The Challenge is a contest forsoftware to promote equality. Winners will be announced April 17, 2012.http://equalpay.challenge.gov/?sso=51c0b8e4331e0723a9f63f4ec04135e1b6f615e64f36335d5327d7e7a08cf8a015b4943eee1f95aaf2bbe4c6299a14c1b93e

Educating Our Nation’s GirlsRusslyn Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of EducationSteven J. Robinson, White House Domestic Policy CouncilSTEM offers job growth and drives innovation, but there is a misalignment with the availableworkforce; women hold less than 25% of STEM jobs (although women in STEM earn more onaverage than women in non-STEM work). There are too few women with degrees in computersand math. The U.S. must use the top talents of everyone – women, underrepresentedminorities – to compete and be leaders in the world. Industry must be involved, especially atthe local and state levels, because the answers are access and role models. In the area of civilrights, two important factors are safety and protection for women and the enforcement of TitleIX.

Advancing Women at WorkRacquel Russel, Special Assistant to the President for Mobility & Opportunity, White HouseDomestic Policy CouncilSara Manzano-Diaz, Director of the Women’s Bureau, U.S. Department of LaborGreg Nelson, Senior Advisor to the President’s Council on Jobs & Competitiveness and DeputyDirector of the White House Office of Public EngagementIt is critical to address the challenges of women in the workplace such as equal pay, a safetynet, conscious inclusion in 21st century technologies, and promoting workforce flexibility tohelp keep women in the STEM workforce.Some efforts to address these issues include:

Change the Equation, a response by the business community to the President’s “call toaction,” increases the focus on STEM, especially for the underserved so as to showwomen and girls the impact of STEM on career opportunity and to bring role modelsinto the classroom.

Start Up America, White House initiative that was launched to celebrate, inspire, andaccelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation, operates on the ideaof new ventures equaling new jobs. It celebrates entrepreneurship in each state. Thereare many full or partially women-owned business, more than would be expected, butonly 10% of venture-backed startups are founded by women. However, the data showcompanies are more likely to succeed if women are in the higher ranks from thebeginning. Diversity of founders is vital.

Advocating for Women & Girls through the Federal GovernmentTina Tchen, Executive Director, White House Council on Women & Girls and Chief of Staff tothe First Lady of the United StatesAna Harvey, Associate Administrator for Women’s Business Ownership & Acting Director ofthe National Women’s Bureau CouncilThe White House Council on Women and Girls deals with women’s issues across the board.Within the Small Business Administration, the Women’s Business Center was a pilot programfor 20 years! Now it is in every state. The Administration has a goal of seeing 5% of governmentcontracts go to women-owned businesses, but it is a struggle. Currently, the number is only

3.9%, so there are now set-asides for businesses with at least 51% woman ownership. Theprogram provides consulting, capital, and contracts.

Listening & ActionJon Carson, Director, White House Office of Public EngagementAlthough women still face serious issues such as pay gaps and sexual violence, there is somegood news. Women-owned businesses have increased from about 5% in 1970 to about 30%today, and then number patents issued to women has increased more than 100% over the lastfew decades.

For me the take-home message was clear and no surprise: while we have made progress, thereis yet much to be done until we achieve equality for all. It is up to each of us to work towardmaking that happen.

Follow the Vision 2020 blog at http://equalityinsight.wordpress.com/.