By Linda Tarr-Whelan and Jacki Zehner
-USA-

In 1971 the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women's Equality Day” to commemorate the passage of the 19th Amendment and to call attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. The following opinion, co-authored by WIP Contributor Linda Tarr-Whelan and Jacki Zehner, was originally published August 25 by Bloomberg. – Ed.

Today marks Women’s Equality Day, the commemoration of women’s suffrage achieved in 1920. What better time to take stock of what’s left to do?

We need a national conversation led by the White House to explore how women decision-makers can help achieve better economic performance and a more prosperous future for all.

The administration of Barack Obama has already taken the first step by appointing talented women -- including Mary Schapiro, who holds the top job at the Securities and Exchange Commission; Elizabeth Warren, who chairs the Congressional Oversight Panel; and Sheila Bair, who heads the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. -- to help dig us out of the financial mess.

Having a few females at the top is wonderful, but until we have at least 30 percent of senior women in leadership, we will be ignoring a strong dynamic that is working well elsewhere.

by Linda Tarr-Whelan
- USA -

Here’s a news flash: in one week, two major economic articles in national newspapers raise the same point – we need more women in top leadership. Why? Because we need more balanced risk-taking, more looking at the long-term and less testosterone-driven hyper-competitiveness. We need fresh blood and new ideas – much of which lies with the talented and experienced people who have largely been cooling their heels outside of the fancy corner offices. That’s women.