It’s Women in the Economy, Stupid!
Over the last 50 years, the value of women’s financial contributions to families and our national economy has increased exponentially. More women are working than ever before. Women are earning advanced degrees and starting businesses at higher rates than men. And by 2030, women will control three quarters of all discretionary spending and $30 trillion of financial assets, a 300% increase in just a decade.
Yet even today, our nation’s economic systems are still not designed to work for women. In fact, policymakers and business leaders—predominantly men—rarely ask if women benefit from tax, labor, credit, monetary, or other areas of economic policy, and hence, women often don’t.
The Future of Women in the Economy dialogue series, hosted by the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, features in-depth discussions with journalists, authors, filmmakers, and other thought leaders about how to redesign the economy so women are able to strive, thrive, and fully contribute to their families’ financial security and the nation’s economic growth.
Note: By “women,” we are referring to all individuals who identify as female.
To discuss the current state of women in the economy, first we need to know how we got here. To kick off The Future of Women in the Economy, two prominent writers—Josie Cox, author of the award-winning book WOMEN MONEY POWER; and Chabeli Carrazana, economy reporter for The 19th News—explore historical perceptions of “women’s roles,” economic barriers past and present, and the many proven solutions that remain untapped due to lack of political will. This wide-ranging virtual conversation from October 24, 2024, lays out why building a gender-equitable economy is not a “women’s” or “social” issue, but an economic imperative.
Speakers
Chabeli Carrazana, Economy and Child Care Reporter, The 19th News
Chabeli Carrazana is The 19th’s economy and child care reporter, where she covers women and LGBTQ+ people in the labor force, economic policy, and the child care industry. She is one of the only reporters in the country providing dedicated coverage of the intersection of gender, business, and caregiving. Chabeli has been an economy reporter for a decade, previously at the Miami Herald and the Orlando Sentinel. She was a national Livingston finalist for her coverage of the women’s recession and a national Online Journalism Awards finalist for a series investigating safety in child care. Chabeli was born in Cuba, grew up in Miami, and lives in Orlando with her husband and son.
Josie Cox, Author, WOMEN MONEY POWER: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality
Josie is a journalist, author, broadcaster, and public speaker. She’s worked on staff for Reuters, The Independent, and The Wall Street Journal. As a freelancer, she’s written for The Washington Post, The Spectator, Guardian, Business Insider, MSNBC, Fortune, Forbes, and other publications.
Josie has appeared on CNN, ABC, PBS, CNBC, public radio, and a host of other networks. She regularly contributes to the BBC both as a writer and broadcaster and is a founding editor of The Persistent.
She was a 2020/2021 Knight-Bagehot Fellow at Columbia Journalism School in New York, and holds a BA from the University of Bath in the U.K. and an MBA from Columbia Business School. She’s an Associate Instructor within the Strategic Communications program at Columbia’s School of Professional Studies.
Josie’s first book, WOMEN MONEY POWER: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality (ABRAMS) came out in March 2024.
Heather McCulloch, Senior Fellow, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Heather McCulloch is a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program and a national thought leader on gender economic equity. She launched the Women in the Economy (WE) project at Aspen FSP, a two-year initiative to inform the design of a gender-equitable economy based on the insights, wisdom, and lived experience of working women across America.
Heather has more than two decades of experience working as an advocate and thought leader in closing the racial and gender wealth gaps and building an equitable economy. Previously, she founded and led Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap (CWWG), a multiracial/ethnic, cross-sector network of leaders working together to transform public policies and systems to advance gender economic equity. Prior to starting CWWG, she was the principal of Asset Building Strategies, a consulting firm that supported nonprofit, philanthropic, public, and private-sector leaders to advance policies and strategies to build the financial security of low-wealth families; and a founding staff member of the national nonprofit, PolicyLink.
Her insights have been covered in major news publications, including CNN Business, Fast Company, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, NPR Marketplace, Slate, and USA Today. She earned an MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and a BA in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley.
Joanna Smith-Ramani, Co-Executive Director, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Joanna Smith-Ramani is Co-Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program, a leading national voice on Americans’ financial security. Working with the team, she is building a cross-sector community of leaders (Joanna calls her “quirky Thanksgiving table”) who, together, are using their shared wisdom and humanity to deeply investigate and solve the most critical financial challenges facing U.S. households.
Joanna has over 20 years of experience across community, personal finance, and financial security. Most recently serving as Managing Director, she joined Aspen FSP as the Director of its Expanding Prosperity Impact Collaborative (EPIC), where she built the program from the ground up and conceptualized and launched EPIC’s first two issues — income volatility and household debt — which FSP studies from causes to broader impact to market and policy solutions. Before joining FSP, Joanna served as Senior Innovation Director at Commonwealth, leading the unit that designs, tests, and evaluates promising financial service innovations. While at Commonwealth, Joanna developed innovations to improve savings and financial capability, including prize-linked savings, tax time savings, gamification, emergency savings, and youth savings. Additionally, Joanna led several federal grants, developed and sustained national coalitions, and built a network of industry partners.
Joanna has led national and state legislative campaigns resulting in the passage of a federal law and more than ten state laws expanding savings innovation across the nation. She is a trusted expert on financial security and inclusion, having been quoted in numerous national and local media outlets such as the New York Times, National Public Radio, and Fox Cable News. Joanna holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. in Urban Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University. She serves on the Board of the CASH Campaign of Maryland and A Wider Circle and was selected to the 2017-2018 class of Leadership Montgomery.
Note: As a 501(c)(3), the Aspen Institute is nonpartisan and does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or parties. The views of our speakers do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute.