The U.S. is the only developed country in the world that does not have a national paid leave policy, and around 40 million Americans do not get paid sick days.
Those are just a few of the issues that are hindering gender equality in the workplace, according to Valerie Jarrett, former senior adviser to President Obama.
“Women are graduating from college at higher rates, and graduate schools at even higher rates, than men. So the pipeline [of qualified employees] is there,” Jarrett told Cheddar in an interview at SXSW in Austin, Tex.
“We just have to make sure that the pipeline continues into the workplace and up to the highest level within organizations. There is a glass ceiling there.”
Since leaving the White House, Jarrett is now focused on tackling these issues, and she’s drawing from her own experiences to do it.
“Part of it is my life experience as a single mom trying to balance my responsibilities in a pretty high-powered career with the most important thing to me, which is to be a good mother,” Jarrett revealed.
“That experience really informed a lot of the work that I did at the White House...and the work that I’m doing going forward.”
The Democrat supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, but despite her loss Jarrett is optimistic that things can still change. She believes in encouraging culture changes at the top of companies and actions at the state level.
“There’s so much that we can do that doesn’t involve the federal government,” said Jarrett. “States and private employers around the country, cities, are now passing...important laws.”
“We need to recognize that our voices are going to offer a different perspective and that’s important. You make better decisions when you’re talking to people who see the world from a different lens.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/valerie-jarretts-next-act).
A Texas judge has ruled that Infowars host Alex Jones cannot use bankruptcy protection to avoid paying more than $1.1 billion to families who sued over his conspiracy theories that the Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax.
Former President Donald Trump was fined $5,000 on Friday after a disparaging social media post about a key court staffer in his New York civil fraud case was allowed to linger on his campaign website after the judge ordered it deleted.
Lawyer Kenneth Chesebro pleaded guilty to a felony on Friday just as jury selection was getting underway in his trial on charges accusing him of participating in efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election in Georgia.
Republicans dropped Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday as their nominee for House speaker, making the decision during a closed-door session after the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump failed badly on a third ballot for the gavel.
Canada has removed 41 of its diplomats from India as tensions rise between the two nations.
Mitt Romney said he believes right-wing media is the reason for the radicalization of the GOP party.
An Army private who fled to North Korea before being returned home to the United States last month has been detained by the U.S. military, two officials said Thursday night, and is facing charges including desertion and possessing sexual images of a child.
Israel bombarded Gaza early Friday, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and it began evacuating a sizable Israeli town in the north near the Lebanese border, the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil.
The Justice Department has secured a $9 million settlement with Ameris Bank over allegations that it avoided underwriting mortgages in predominately Black and Latino communities in Jacksonville, Florida, and discouraged people there from getting home loans.
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes on Thursday, including in the south where Palestinians were told to take refuge, and the country's defense minister told ground troops to “be ready” to invade, though he didn’t say when.
