We're excited about the progress women leaders in the workplace have been making this year with news of GM's C-suite leadership and other announcements like Pepsi's charge to have women constitute 40% of its management team. Aspiring women leaders may still be discouraged by poor statistics, however. Less than 5% of F ortune 500 companies listed female CEOs in 2018 ( source).
Under-representation of women in the business world can mean continued wage inequality, poor company policies on health and maternal care, and an inability to reach female customers effectively. Luckily, companies like Toptal are making strides to change those numbers and help smart, talented women earn the roles they deserve. Toptal, an exclusive network of top freelance software developers, designers, finance experts, and project managers, has a scholarship program for aspiring women leaders in 2018-19. Aspiring women leaders are eligible to apply for a $10,000 grant and a year of mentorship from a Toptal expert.
The Toptal scholarship program is available to women 16 years and older with a passion for changing the world. They must have a specific community or cause they are excited about and be pursuing some type of education program. Every applicant is expected to have an idea for their community or cause, a plan to make their goal happen, and a unique zeal for their project. The Toptal scholarship is about sponsoring girls from all around the world and making a global impact. A prize will be awarded to a current resident from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
How do you apply?
- Create a plan
- Write a 1,000-word blog post
- Click here to submit an application
To learn more about this scholarship program for aspiring women leaders, hear from mentors and past winners, and see the impact of the program click here.
Here at Wax Marketing, we're proud to be one of the 38% of businesses owned by women in the United States. We're also well aware of inequalities that female-owned businesses face, like earning 61% less revenue. Women are also more likely to have an unstable retirement, from their lower salaries resulting in smaller 401ks ( source). When it comes to gender equality, in general, the US is ranked 47th.
Representatives from the company have remarked that"Toptal is empowering the next generation of female leaders. If you want to change the world, we'll help you to rise to achieve it."
The good news is that women are taking secondary education by storm, 71% of women are expected to graduate, as opposed to only 61% of men. Unfortunately, being more educated actually means that women are making less, women in specialized professions make 73.7% of what men in those positions earn, and women executives make only 72.3% of their male counterparts ( source). Mentors and financing are imperative to female success in the business world, and the best way to ensure that women have access to these resources is by putting more women in power. More women higher up can offer other women jobs with fair wages, good healthcare, and workplaces free of sexual harassment. If the future is going to be female, we're going to need some powerful women leading the charge. Thanks to Toptal for helping to further that aim!
