Some of Dallas’ leading ladies gathered last week at City Hall to salute each other, the women who paved the way for them and the ones who lift up others in the community.

As half the women on City Council listened to a delayed briefing on plans for a high-speed rail line upstairs, Dallas City Councilwomen Jaynie Schultz, Kathy Stewart and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn King Arnold spoke to women gathered downstairs, sporting purple attire and hugging city employees and residents.

“The great thing about being a woman on the council is that we cover for each other all the time,” Schultz said, adding that she’d be reading remarks for her colleague upstairs, Councilwoman Paula Blackmon. Stewart read remarks from Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis.

“It was one of those moments where you wanted to be in two places at the same time,” Stewart said. “I think all women understand that, right? As moms and professional women, there’s so many times you feel that tug, that pull of wanting to be two different places at the same time.”

For Women’s History Month, women in public office, nonprofits and the business community reflected on their efforts to help women overcome systemic barriers that still persist.

“We stand on the shoulders of those who paved the way for us to dream bigger, reach higher and fight harder for the rights, accomplishments and recognition of women all over the world,” Schultz said.

Barriers in women’s lives

Women often experience barriers to their economic health because of the lack of affordable child care, health care, housing and education, according to Hattie Hill, the Texas Women’s Foundation’s executive in residence.

“COVID proved one big issue that we had is child care,” Hill said. “What we found is that 2.2 million Texas mothers work and need some form of child care. For Texas women who make the median income and need full-time infant care, it takes up to 21% of their earnings. The cost is just out of control.”

Since 1985, Texas Women’s Foundation has invested over $78 million in the state’s women and girls through programs that aim to improve their economic mobility.

Women are more likely to experience poverty because they are more likely than men to be raising children alone, according to the Texas Women’s Foundation. They are also overrepresented in lower-wage jobs.

Hill grew up on a farm in Arkansas as one of six girls raised by a single mom. The business leader says she’s been fighting for women her whole life.

“I’ve always been an advocate for women because I saw how hard my mother worked,” Hill said. " I’ve just been involved with so many of these organizations over the years with one single focus: leave things better than I found it. That’s what my mom said.”

Women in leadership

Despite the progress, Hill said, communities still have work to do to ensure women get equitable pay and are more equally represented in business leadership and elected office.

Schultz said that the number of women in leadership and city staff positions has increased slightly — with six women on City Council — and she wants to encourage more women to step into public service.

“It’s really changing the dynamic on the council significantly,” Shultz said. “We’re trying to do a lot more collaboration and less competition.”

Blackmon, along with Willis, launched a program that distributed over 11,000 packages of 30-day supplies of period products to the city’s libraries for women in the community to access.

“There are many women and girls in Dallas all across the city who can’t afford everything that they need when they have their periods,” Shultz said. “And it ends up being so debilitating that they lose school, they miss work.”

Schultz took stock of the number of city employees who are women, including its newest top official, Interim City Manager Kim Tolbert.

“Her groundbreaking achievement serves as a remarkable act of inspiration and hope, showcasing her commitment to championing diversity and empowering women everywhere to break barriers and pursue their dreams with courage and determination,” Schultz said.

Out of the city of Dallas’ 13,242 employees, 3,997 are women and 3,129 are women of color, according to city data. Out of the 1,455 managers and leaders in the city of Dallas, 793 are women and 604 are women of color.

Tolbert told the crowd gathered to salute women that they were beneficiaries of a dream, leaving them with a responsibility to make the dream possible for others.

“We cover each others’ back,” Tolbert said, thanking fellow women for their support throughout her career.

Tolbert said she walked into Dallas City Hall 30 years ago as an intern with a dream in her heart as well.

“I told myself that one day, I will be the city manager,” Tolbert said. “The story of women’s struggle for equity belongs to every single one of us. It’s also our privilege to work together to create positive change.”