After a historic week right here in our region, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a piece about what Hillary Clinton’s nomination means for working women. In the article, I had the opportunity to express a sentiment that we at the CCFWG feel strongly about: There’s still so much to be done. The findings of our “2016 Update to the Blueprint Report: Leveraging Progress” made that very clear. For example, the data revealed that:

• The wage gap in PA will not close until 2072. With a larger discrepancy in the median earnings for men and women than the state as a whole, closing the wage gap in Chester County may take more time.
• Child care costs in PA exceed 40% of the median annual income of single moms.
• Black women in Chester County are suffering from heart disease, lung cancer, and diabetes at higher rates than women as a whole.
• Zero of Pennsylvania’s 20 members of U.S. Congress are women.

These are just some of the issues that keep us up at night. Our efforts in grantmaking are targeted to address them by supporting effective programming by reputable organizations.  Through our advocacy and education initiatives, we are committed to ensuring that more and more people learn about the Blueprint Report, its findings, and stories that make the data real. This blog is one vehicle to accomplish that as we talk about our own journey in our work and feature others in theirs. We hope you continue to join us!