Change begins with you.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s an opportunity to look back, but also forward. 

Growing up in France surrounded by working women in my family, I saw firsthand the challenges women face when it comes to equal access to opportunities. 

Les femmes et la Révolution

Women around the world have shaped history in revolutionary ways. France, like many countries, has witnessed amazing female trailblazers who have worked to Break the Bias throughout history. Among my favorite figures is Olympe de Gouges, the first French feminist and author of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen who championed women’s rights during the French Revolution. In fact, it was the French Revolution that gave women a voice to fight for their rights. 

Over the centuries that followed, many French women legitimized their presence in areas where women were scarce – like Madeleine Brès, the first female doctor; Marie Marvingt, the first woman to fly in combat; and Françoise Giroud, the first woman in France to lead a newspaper. These women’s perseverance and drive to reach higher sparked revolutionary changes for generations to come. 

We have work to do.

So much progress has been made thanks to women who overcame obstacles, broke many glass ceilings, and became exquisite role models for generations of daughters and sons. But there is so much more to be done. The pandemic has reversed years of progress, including gains in education and gender equality, disproportionately affecting women both economically and socially. 

According to a new report, most countries are making some progress towards gender equality, but this is happening much too slowly to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. What’s even more concerning is that a third of countries analyzed have made no progress since 2015, or have moved in the wrong direction. 

Empowering females via connectivity and education

Supporting women and opening opportunities for more meaningful roles in the post-pandemic economic recovery requires stronger efforts. Access to reliable internet is vital to breaking down the barriers women face today, providing opportunities for women to reenter and advance in the workforce, and building a pipeline of next-generation female talent. As a father of a daughter who successfully launched her career in tech, it’s especially important to me to continue to provide STEM education opportunities to young girls. 

Verizon is bridging connectivity to underserved areas and helping students, teachers, and families by making high-quality connectivity more affordable for customers in need. These efforts are part of Citizen Verizon, our responsible business plan for economic, environmental and social advancement, an investment in excess of $3 billion by 2025.

We’re also bringing 5G technology to the most under-resourced students. We’ve been working to help foster digital inclusion through a transformative education program called Verizon Innovative Learning, which provides free technology, internet access, and immersive instruction in a classroom setting to students who would otherwise not have access to cutting-edge digital opportunities.

To help women re-enter the workforce and realize their career ambitions, Verizon and its partners launched Women’s CoLab last year, an initiative providing women with essential resources to help them achieve success in an increasingly digital economy.

Change begins with you.

As an employer where 59.7 percent of the U.S. workforce represents women and people of color, Verizon creates an inclusive and diverse environment and considers it a business imperative and a competitive advantage. 

My female colleagues at Verizon and members of my own leadership team, which is 57% female — @Nina Bibby, @Angie Klein, @Erin McPherson, @Diana Zaccardi, @Adria Tomaszewski, @Meghan Papazian, and Kori Scott — continue to pay it forward with their incredible professionalism and collaborative commitment to creating experiences for our customers and demonstrating through their work what’s possible for women in business. They - along with the men on my team - make Women's History Month meaningful not only every March, but every single day of the year, and I am proud of the progress that they drive across my team and the broader tech community all year round. 

One of the most powerful ways you can influence how gender equality is achieved is through championing it in your own organization and for your customers, your friends and your family. Collectively, as allies, male leaders like myself can create a powerful change building on the legacy of the amazing women who came before us. How are you working to #BreakTheBias?