During the last Democratic debate, Sanders defended his stance as a Socialist. “I think we should look to countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, and learn from [them] what they have accomplished for their working people,” he said.
Hillary Clinton immediately countered his position, defending capitalism. From The Washington Post:
“…capitalism, she said, is about entrepreneurs being able to start small businesses – and then she said America must save it from itself. ‘We are not Denmark,’ she told Sanders. ‘I love Denmark.’”
Chelsea, when speaking about inequity in the tech industry, commented towards the end of the panel discussion that even in “much admired” Scandinavian countries, women are paid less than men for equal work.
Troubling Takeaways
Chelsea Clinton ended the panel by stating how bridging the gender gap in technology will help lift all women across the globe. As the panelists wrapped up the session, a digital backdrop flashed some unsettling facts about gender inequality:
A recent study from McKinsey estimated that fully closing the gender gaps in the economy would add as much as $28 trillion to the annual GDP by 2025.
Women in the U.S make up only 6% of CEOs of funded digital health companies, yet they make over 80% of healthcare decisions in families.
In 2014 the top 14 U.S. tech companies self-reported that women comprise only 34% of their employees overall, and less than a quarter of their leadership.
Women in the U.S. earn 57% of all undergraduate degrees, but only 18% of computer science degrees. This is down from a high of 37% in 1984.