It should no longer be a secret that more than half of all college degrees are granted to women. This has been the trend for some time now. So when the Biden Administration announced the cancellation of student debt for approximately 153,000 borrowers, the math tells us that most of those benefiting are women. Finally, some good news.
According to the Fact Sheet released by the White House, a total of $1.2 billion in student debt will be forgiven.
To qualify, the borrower must be enrolled in the administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) program. The initial debt must be under $12,000, and the borrower must have been making payments for at least ten years. The SAVE plan bases payment amounts on income and family size.
The announcement of this debt cancellation had been planned for July, but now has been implemented six months ahead of the original schedule.
Despite the relatively small amount of the initial loan, payments stretching over a decade place a real burden on borrowers. In a sense, it acts like a tax, which many economists scorn as a drag on consumption. Debt relief like this, spread over a large number of people, will benefit not only the individual borrower, but the economy as a whole. And yet many of these economists who decry taxes oppose debt relief for “moral” reasons.
One reason to target lower amounts of debt is that smaller loans are generally held by individuals who attended community college, or otherwise did not complete a four-year degree. Almost by definition, these are not people who do not earn high-end wages. This eliminates the charge that the relief will go to people who are at the top of the earnings scale. The relief proposed, in fact, does just the opposite.
Generally, those making a lower income need a longer period of time to pay off their debt. This means that they are paying more interest than someone who can discharge their debt more quickly. In turn, this means two things. One, the drag on their personal finances will persist longer than that of someone making more money; and two–speaking of more money, the longer term to repayment means that the lenders will make more money off the additional interest paid.
So do we need to wonder why there is such a pushback against the program?
At the moment, the Biden Administration said that some 7 million people of the 30 million who are eligible have enrolled. This program was implemented to replace the proposal struck down by the Supreme Court in 2023.
To view the White House Fact Sheet, use this link:
To view the article on NBC, use this link:
One: The Attack on The Fearless Fund Continues Unabated
The conservative war to block access to business capital to underserved communities goes well beyond the assault on the Fearless Fund. The very idea of assisting someone who has been excluded from capital, career advancement, or even career opportunities seems to create animosity from these New Crusaders.
The Fearless Fund is not the only target. Prestigious law firms have been bullied into opening up diversity fellowships formerly reserved for marginalized law students. The firm Perkins Coie offered two such fellowships to 1L and 2L students, but that was apparently too much for the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER). Led by conservative activist Edward Blum, AAER spearheaded the Supreme Court case that struck down racial considerations for college admissions back in June 2023.
Perkins Coie buckled under the pressure of the lawsuit and opened the fellowships to all students, regardless of racial or ethnic status. By doing so, Perkins Coie followed the example of Morrison and Foerster, another law firm that had offered assistance to underserved communities. Morrison Foester also made their fellowships race-neutral. Once the provisions were changed, AAER dropped their lawsuit against both companies.
Actions such as the suits against the Fearless Fund and the law firms are only one part of a broader conservative attempt to reverse gains made by under-represented groups. State legislatures have joined the assault.
As of January 1, 2024, the state of Texas has banned the existence of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offices at public universities. Any existing programs or offices at places like the University of Texas-Austin and the University of Houston were shut down over the Christmas holiday. The ban will also affect LGBTQ+ offices. Similar steps have been taken in Florida. The bans will affect the continued existence of scholarships for students from marginalized populations.
Still, the crusade/campaign against the Fearless Fund remains perhaps the most high-profile of the various actions. Over the last four years, the Fearless Fund has partnered with numerous different companies to provide $27 million worth of grants to approximately 40 women-owned businesses. Now, only two funders remain.
“It all fell apart due to litigation,” said Arian Simone, CEO of the Fearless Fund. “You’re talking about millions of dollars we’ve lost, and it’s truly impacting our operations.” Two of the companies awarded funds expected to raise another eight-figure round of financing; however, once the lawsuit was launched, they have not been able to raise a single dollar.
The Fearless Fund is not alone. Hello Alice, an online platform for business owners has also been hit hard. Co-founder Elizabeth Gore said that the company has been forced to lay off 69% of its workforce. She expects that we will see an “onslaught” of litigation.
Blum of the AAER does not recognize the legitimacy of targeting specific groups for assistance. In his mind there is some magical formula to allow assistance to those who, by his own admission, are “individuals who are underresourced” while offering that assistance to everyone. Apparently he is unaware that the lack of targeting of “underresouced” groups been the standard procedure. That’s how the problem was created.
The attorneys general of 14 states sent a letter to the CEOs of 100 Fortune 500 companies. The letter warns them to “refrain from discriminating on the basis of race, whether under the label of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ or otherwise.” Fortunately, the letter was very helpful by informing us that “Racial Discrimination Is Commonplace Among Fortune 500 Companies and Others.” Who knew?
The letter is one reason that many companies have dropped many of the DEI and related initiatives put in place after George Floyd was murdered in 2020. However, anyone with experience in the corporate world is not surprised that the pullback has occurred. Large corporations shamelessly chase fads. After four years, a lot of corporate types no doubt were getting tired of spending the money to establish and maintain their DEI programs. The letter provided a convenient excuse.
Story from Inc.com
CNN Story:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/02/us/court-blocks-black-venture-capitalist-fund-reaj/index.html
Additional links:
Top Ten things to know about the lawsuits, provided by the Racial Equality and Practice Group of Foley & Lardner Law Firm
Summary by The Jurist website:
Two: Women Investors Outperform the Market
Just when we needed a rebuttal–or perhaps an explanation–to/for Edward Blum and the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) cronies, Hypatia Capital provides some really interesting information.
The Hypatia Women CEO Index continues to outperform its benchmark, the FT Wilshire Small Cap Index, since inception by 199 basis points (1.99%).
The Female Factor – Why does it outperform?
According to McKinsey, women face well-documented additional barriers in today’s workplace.
The few who rise to the highest executive ranks, by definition, must possess additional leadership and performance characteristics versus the average executive, usually male, who did not face the same barriers.
It’s an old adage that a woman has to be twice as good and work twice as hard as a man to get half as far. The links above indicate what happens when a woman advances as far as a man: women perform better because they have worked harder.
One wonders if this is not in the back of the minds of Blum and his ilk. We have noted how the majority of college students are now women, and that women are receiving more than half of all Bachelor’s degrees. We have also noted that this has provoked what feels like real fear in a lot of men. Do they sense that the reign of the White Male is in danger of fading into the night fog?
About Hypatia Capital
Hypatia Capital Group, founded in 2007, is an asset management firm focused on female CEOs and balanced management teams.
Hypatia Capital’s CEO-level female executive network includes over 1000 business leaders. For over a decade, Hypatia Capital has hosted the Private Equity CEO Roadmap Seminar, focused on providing the knowledge and contacts for senior female executives to navigate the private equity environment.
Hypatia Capital, through Hypatia Invests focuses on educating the general public on female focused investing opportunities in all asset classes.
Please visit www.hypatiacapital.com for more information.
Three: Jill Biden Announces $100M for Life-Changing Research on Women’s Health
FIrst Lady Jill Biden announced a major grant of federal money for research and development into women’s health. The grant of $100 Million is part of a White House initiative led by the FIrst Lady.
The funds represent the first significant deliverable of the initiative on Women’s Health, which was introduced in 2023. The money was granted by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). This agency is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Biden believes the project is crucial because women do not know enough about their own health. This is due in no small part to a basic lack of understanding of women’s health by the medical field in general. Research about women has been chronically underfunded for decades. This initiative is designed to change attitudes about the topic of women’s health.
This initial grant will target funding of health researchers and startup companies who cannot otherwise obtain capital from the private market sector. By investing in these companies and this research in their early stages, the goal is to provide “life changing” work that will benefit women.
This can be done, Biden says, if “we will build a health care system that puts women ad their lived experiences at its center.” It will provide an environment in which “…no woman or girl has to hear that ‘it’s all in your head’, or ‘it’s just stress’. Where women aren’t just an after-thought, but first thought. Where women don’t just survive with chronic conditions, but lead long and healthy lives.”
ARPA-H was created in 2022 by President Biden to tackle health issues. The agency was conceived to be part of what he called his “unity agenda”.
Jill Biden explained that the initiative grow out of a meeting she had with Maria Shriver, former first lady of California. Shriver has long been an advocate for women’s health. Together, Biden and Shriver stressed the need for public-private efforts to fill in the gaps in women’s health research.
For more on the initiative, see the website of the White House Gender Policy Council:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/gpc/
Link to PBS Story:
Four: Moonshot Catalyst Grants Support STEM for Youth and Girls
The Great Lakes Bay Region STEM Ecosystem (GLBRSE) has secured a Moonshot Catalyst Grant to support the Center for Excellence in Stem Education at Central Michigan University (CMU). Recognized for its focus on Education majors, the Center strives to provide background and experience in STEM for K-12 students and their families, but also for those studying to be teachers.
The GLBRSE is dedicated to the mission to provide high-quality STEM education and equitable opportunities for underserved youth and girls. This grant will strengthen the Center for Excellence in Stem Education and its partners in their mission to empower students, families, and educators through transformative STEM experiences.
“The grant allows us to take a significant step toward addressing gender disparities in STEM fields,” noted Julie Cunningham, Director of The Center for Excellence in STEM Education. “We are excited to participate in the Million Girls Moonshot grant, recognizing that women continue to be underrepresented in STEM careers. To change this, we must provide young women with role models and opportunities in STEM, especially in two of the fastest-growing STEM career areas — computer science and engineering.”
The GLBSE is located in a region of Michigan driven by a STEM-focused economy. Their strategy is to harness the full continuum of learning, education and development, and very few areas of the nation offer the fertile soil for STEM opportunities that can be found in this area. The concentration of STEM-related careers provides the opportunity to train future leadership by advancing the pipeline of STEM talent, and ensuring that the pipeline has significant numbers of women and girls to expand their role at the forefront of STEM-related industries. Currently women comprise 30% of professionals in science and engineering, but only 30% of the college-educated workforce despite receiving the majority of bachelor’s degrees. Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous women are even more underrepresented at 1-2% of the workforce.
The Million Girls Moonshot is active in out-of-school programs in all 50 states, leveraging the Mott-funded 50 State Afterschool Network, which has access to more than 10 million youth and 100,000 after school programs across the country
To read the press release from CMU, follow this link:
Five: Little League launches new program for girls
The organization Girls with Game 50 encourages young girls to participate in Little League, starting as young as possible. Beginning at a young age helps prevent mental and societal barriers to girls’ participation, the goal being to eliminate an attitude of “I can’t because I’m a girl”. By starting early, girls learn that they can, and that they won’t accept being excluded.
As part of their continued commitment to female inclusion within our program, as well as another milestone with the Girls with Game 50 Celebration in 2024, Little League recently announced the launch of its #GWG50 Grant Program with a commitment of grantmaking and scholarship funding opportunities.
Focused on providing local leagues and volunteers with financial resources needed to enhance the Little League experience at the grassroots level, this grant program will provide opportunities in two key areas – League Enhancements and Volunteer Development.
League Enhancement Opportunities
- Currently Chartered Baseball Programs Adding Softball. To offer girls the opportunity to participate by adding softball programs to officially chartered leagues. Girls generally play softball, while boys play baseball
- Newly Affiliated Little League Softball Programs. This will help create a new program where none currently exists.
- Current Softball Program Enhancement Opportunities. Expanding existing softball programs.
Female Volunteer Development
- Coach Education and Training
- Umpire Education and Training
This will help create adult role models by placing them in positions of authority, so these are not only filled by men.
Any volunteers and/or leagues interested in applying for one of the grant opportunities as outlined above can find the grant application form at LittleLeague.org/GWG50 or LittleLeague.org/GrantResources The grant applications will be available from February 7 through March 8, 2024, with grant recipients being notified by Little League International following the review of all applications.
In addition to the opportunities outlined above, Little League is also committing a portion of the grant funding to support scholarship opportunities at their own female-focused events, including the Maria Pepe Little League Baseball Legacy Series in June and the Girls with Game Experience in October.
To learn more about the opportunities available, as well as the overall Girls with Game 50 Celebration and Little League’s commitment to furthering its female inclusion efforts, visit LittleLeague.org/GWG50. The #GWG50 celebration is proudly supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods,
To read the entire press release, use the following link:
Related:
Major League Baseball Commits $3 Million for Domestic Violence
COVID Worsens Student Debt for Women, Study Finds
Leadership Giving: Highlighting the Success of Women Leaders
