HOUSTON – “There`s never been a better time in history to be born female,” says Hillary Clinton commenting on the No Ceilings Project, a study done by the Clinton and Gates Foundations.
Too bad that while the glass ceiling has been broken in some countries, it`s still intact in America.
In 1990, the U.S. had the highest rate of employment for women in the world. Now we`re behind Switzerland, Australia, Germany, France, Canada and Japan.
Right now, there are more than 56 million women in the U.S. who aren`t working. While some choose to stay home with their children, many are held back by programs and policies that aren`t “female friendly.”
Maternity leave in the U.S. is 12 weeks and unpaid. In the UK, it`s a year and mostly paid plus flexible schedules, part-time hours and child-care programs exist to help women stay working. In fact, the U.S. is the only developed country that doesn`t mandate paid maternity leave. That puts us in a group with Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and some other small island countries.
Unfortunately America’s glass ceiling seems shatterproof for the foreseeable future.
