During the month of March, we continue to shine a spotlight on the wonderful women at Ward Law. This week we sat down with our Billing Coordinator, Alisha Gasper, who shared some of her personal thoughts and feelings on Women’s History Month. Alisha and her wife are amazing parents to their bouncing baby boy. Ward Law appreciates Alisha’s hard work and dedication to all things billing related.
What does Women’s History Month mean to you and why is it important?
This country has a habit of forgetting the contributions of women, the BIPOC community, and other marginalized peoples. It’s important to highlight the achievements of women so that other women can see themselves represented and so that we all – men and women alike – can read about others who fought, who invented, who dared, who inspired and those who turned dreams into reality. There have been so many amazing women that have done extraordinary things throughout history that you’ve never heard of; this is a month to celebrate those bold and courageous, brilliant and determined women.
What progress have you seen in gender equality at work and in your personal life?
There have been strides made toward gender equality in this country, however, the US still has a lot of work to do. Women don’t have equal rights – not to bodily autonomy or to equal pay, sexual harassment is still rampant, there are different societal expectations for women and there are still not nearly enough women in power. More women are speaking out – #MeToo helped force the uncomfortable conversation about sexual harassment and gender inequality and I think it opened people’s eyes to some tough issues and made people more aware of the treatment of others.
Why do we need more women in leadership positions?
Women bring a different perspective, different life experiences, different styles of communication and ideas than their male counterparts. Women make up over half of the US workforce, so, statistically, shouldn’t women make up roughly half of the leadership positions? Women hold about 35% of senior leadership roles. That’s not enough. All we as women can do is continue to push the envelope, try where we might fail and work as hard as we can to succeed.
Whether personally or in history, who have been your biggest female role models and what do you admire most about them?
Ruth Bader Ginsberg is a big a hero of mine. The Notorious RBG was small but mighty, serving as a champion for women’s rights starting in the 60’s. She fought for equal pay and equal treatment, she won case after case that changed the laws of the land to favor a more equitable landscape – even if the country had not yet caught up in practice. She became a Supreme Court Justice, just the second woman ever, where she continued to fight against gender discrimination, for same-sex marriage, and helped change laws for the betterment of all.