The last century saw women gaining more control of American household spending, entering the workforce and helping to fuel the rise of the service sector — including health care, education and retail. Services such as day care and home health care have brought more women into the workforce. However, forces in the workplace and society still pose a challenge for working women.
The LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin hosted "Women and the Future of Work," a conversation featuring our distinguished speakers unpacking these challenges and sharing expertise on how COVID-19 exposed child care and workforce realities and their impact on women, and where we go from here.
Panelists:
- Gay Gaddis, founder of T3 and its White House-recognized "bring your baby to work" program;
- Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, assistant dean for civic engagement at the LBJ School and author of a recent study on the "she-cession" and COVID-19;
- Shana Bartley, director of community partnerships for income security and child care/early learning at the National Women's Law Center; and
- Karen Harris, chairwoman of the Texas Governor's Commission for Women.
Amy Kroll, founder and executive director of the LBJ Women's Campaign School, moderated the conversation.
Gay Gaddis
Gay Gaddis cashed in $16,000 in 1989 to create a new breed of agency, T3, that rose to national prominence for innovation under her leadership for more than 30 years. Today, she is focusing her always-on energy to empower entrepreneurs and the next generation of women business leaders to take big leaps in their careers and lives. She is an active speaker on women's leadership, company culture and entrepreneurship. Her book, Cowgirl Power, released in 2018, shares insights and examples for women to develop personal power and lead like fearless cowgirls.
Karen Harris
Karen Harris, chairwoman of the Texas Governor's Commission for Women, has received state appointments from two Texas governors as the result of community service, public service and volunteerism. She is a former member of the Health and Human Services Council and the Texas Education Agency Advisory Committee for Academic Achievement Distinction. She has served Texas as a candidate for public office and holds a degree in radiologic science from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Additionally, she is an ordained minister with training in Christian counseling from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and the Therapon Institute. Harris is the founder of Medicine for the Heart Ministries, Inc. and leadership team member for Women Wanting Wisdom Ministries. She is the owner of Proton Mechanical Systems Inc, a medical services small business.
Dr. Victoria Defrancesco Soto
Victoria DeFrancesco Soto is assistant dean for civic engagement and a lecturer at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, where she was selected as one of UT's Game Changers. She is also a faculty affiliate of the Department of Mexican-American and Latino Studies and the Center for Mexican American Studies. She received her Ph.D. in political science from Duke University, during which time she was a National Science Foundation Fellow. Named one of the top 12 scholars in the country by Diverse magazine, she previously taught at Northwestern University and Rutgers. Her areas of expertise include immigration, women and politics, political psychology and campaigns and elections. She is a contributor to MSNBC and NBCNews.com, as well as a regular political analyst for Telemundo. She has provided on-air analysis for CNN, Fox, PBS, Univision and NPR, and has appeared on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."
Shana Bartley
Shana Bartley serves as director of Community Partnerships for Income Security and Child Care/Early Learning at the National Women's Law Center (NWLC). In this role, Shana works to identify, cultivate and support a diverse group of leaders in the field focused on advancing women and families' economic security and access to opportunity. She also facilitates the development and advancement of cross-cutting policies and programs reflecting income security and child care/early learning priorities in partnership with folks in community and NWLC staff. Her efforts focus specifically on investing and supporting the leadership of women of color and others whose needs too often go unaddressed by existing systems. Prior to joining NWLC, Bartley held multiple roles in state-based advocacy in the District of Columbia. Most recently, she served as executive director at DC Action for Children where she led research and advocacy work on child care, maternal child health, and child welfare. In her prior role as a youth organizer and program coordinator at the Young Women's Project, she supported teen women in their advocacy and activism for improved access to health education and services. She holds a bachelor's degree from Washington University in St. Louis and Master of Science in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
Amy Kroll
Amy Kroll is the founder and executive director of the LBJ Women's Campaign School. She is a political veteran, having worked nearly a decade in local, state, national and international politics. Her passion for building a more diverse and representative democracy led her to found the LBJ Women's Campaign School in 2019. In 2020, Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush selected her as a Presidential Leadership Scholar with the aim of launching and expanding the campaign school. Kroll holds degrees from Stanford University and the LBJ School of Public Affairs.