— Janet Yellen, Chair of the Federal Reserve, in a speech at her alma mater, Brown University. According to an article on Bloomberg.com, her speech, titled “So We All Can Succeed: 125 Years of Women’s Participation in the Economy,” stresses that holding back 50% of the population back from reaching their full potential is detrimental to our country’s growth and prosperity.
In her speech, posted on the Federal Reserve website, she points out that, “The gap in earnings between women and men, although smaller than it was years ago, is still significant; women continue to be underrepresented in certain industries and occupations; and too many women struggle to combine aspirations for work and family.” She illustrates her perspective with stories about female Brown graduates, including one of her own relatives.
In suggesting solutions she said, “We should consider improvements to work environments and policies that benefit not only women, but all workers,” including affordable childcare, paid parental leave, and flexible work schedules.