NJ State Treasurer’s Office to Host Virtual Symposium on COVID, Women, and the Economy: Avoiding the Next “She-cession”

Event will feature appearances by Governor Murphy and First Lady, Lieutenant Governor Oliver

Two panels featuring leading economists, academics, business professionals, and policy makers will size up the problem & present solutions

(TRENTON) – The New Jersey State Treasurer’s Office announced today that it will be hosting the Treasurer’s Symposium on COVID, Women and the Economy: Avoiding the Next “She-cession” on Friday, June 4, 2021.

The half-day, virtual event will bring together leading economists, academics, business professionals, and policy movers and shakers on two separate panels designed to size up the landscape and present solutions on what New Jersey – and the nation – can do to better support women in the workforce in order to build a stronger economy for all.

“The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women, driving millions out of the workforce at much higher rates than men and creating ripple effects that will be felt for years to come,” said State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio. “Many women have been forced to sacrifice employment in order to shoulder the weight of tending to children in a remote learning environment and caring for the needs of other loved ones. As a women-led office devoted to improving the state’s financial position and outlook, we could not let this moment pass us by without focusing attention on the challenges faced by women who have been indelibly harmed by this unique and unprecedented crisis and potential solutions that can help prevent such outcomes in the future.”

Treasurer Muoio will moderate the event, which will feature appearances by Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy; welcome remarks from Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver; featured remarks by Reshma Saujani, Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code and the driving force behind the Marshall Plan for Moms; as well as stories from real women in New Jersey who have been impacted by the pandemic, produced by Jessica Gonzalez, Founder & CEO of InCharged, VendX, and Lux-UVC, and a member of the Governor’s Restart and Recovery Commission.

The two panels will delve into the challenges women are facing as they struggle to return to the workforce now and in the near future, how the economic crisis has affected the decades-long struggle for pay equity, as well as how government and the private sector can help women and their families weather the pandemic in the immediacy and what types of systemic changes are needed to better support women economically moving forward.

Among the confirmed panelists, to date, are:

• Professor Yana Rodgers, Faculty Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University
• Emily Martin, National Women’s Law Center Vice President of Workplace Justice and Education
• Elyse Shaw, M.A., Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Study Director
• Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin, Assembly Budget Committee Chair
• Dr. Zakiya Smith-Ellis, Chief Policy Advisor for Governor Phil Murphy
• Jessica Gonzalez, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of InCharged, VendX, and Lux-UVC
• Louise Weingrod, Johnson & Johnson, Vice President of Global Taxation

The event is free and open to the public, however registration is required. For registration and additional information on the event and panelists, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/treasurers-symposium-on-covid-women-the-economy-tickets-151231921749.