Perhaps the most uncomfortable secret lingering under the corporate reaction to Roe’s reversal is that we could have severely diminished the likelihood of ending up in this situation had we closed the gender equity gap decades ago.

Patagonia went as far as offering to bail out employees who “peacefully protest for reproductive justice.” As a CEO myself, I also implemented immediate changes to employee benefits following the Supreme Court’s announcement (more on those changes later).

However, reacting to inequitable public policy cannot excuse us from taking steps to close the gender equity gap at our companies. Because equity in the workplace begets equity in politics. As we approximate the latter, we can not only tap into gender equity’s $3.1 trillion potential, we can also sublimate toward a more genuine form of democracy.

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