Speaker: Eva Tsai, Director, Marketing Strategy and Operations, Google
What does Women’s Equality Day mean to you?
Eva Tsai: I come from a family of strong women. I was born and raised in a remote part of Taiwan with very few resources. I immigrated to the United States at the age of 17 during high school. My mother, a girl among seven kids, was held back from school to work on the family farm. She fought with her parents for three years with many, many hunger strikes just to be given the same chance as her older brothers to go to school. Eventually she finished college and blazed the trail for her two younger sisters. Both of them finished their college education and went on to define their own futures. My mother's fight for equality also changed my life for the better. When I got into my dream college in the US, my father hesitated, initially due to the tuition sticker shock. My mother asked him to consider me the same as my younger brother. If my brother were in my shoes and my father would send him to that same college, then he would have to do the same for me. I was then able to go to my dream college, which then set the trajectory for the rest of my life. As I reflect on the progress that we have made collectively, I'm touched by the countless women who have devoted their lives to fight for equality. The 19th Amendment voting rights act and the women who continue to fight for our fundamental right to vote and be heard. Those fights have led to a better future for all of us and our future generations. However, there's still a whole lot to be done. Women at the moment earn 82 cents for every dollar a man earns. In addition, the pandemic has set back women's progress in the workforce. Last year, more than two million women left the labor force. Women are now at the lowest workforce participation level since 1988, more than 30 years ago. Equality is so important that we need to work on that, not only on Women's Equality Day, but every day of our life. We do not have to choose between greatness and diversity. Without diversity, there's no greatness.
