♪ ♪ >> misspeaker i rise again to highlight the epidemic of sexual assault in the military and

decry the code of honor racists and punishes victims. i'm here to call out an entrenched chain of command that squashes reports of sexual assault because it brings unwanted attention to the unit. >> cheryl: i'm cheryl jennings, you just heard jackie speier on the floor of coning how women in the military are beak assaulted and raped by their fellow zrgs. congresswoman speers founded an organization 20 years ago to help rim. called the professionaless organization of women here in california. congresswoman, i know you want to talk about that, but i want to get to the work you are doing on military sexual, a phrase we are starting to get to know,

rape in the military. >> it's been around for a quarter of century. congress has known about it. the military has known about it. we have had hearing and reports and gao studies and in the end nothing has changed. 19,000 cases a year. 13%, only 13% reported because they are fearful of retaliation and being kicked out of the military with a label of personality disorder. then they are ineligible to get resources through services at the veterans administration because it's considered a preexisting condition. >> cheryl: so we know that the victims suffer postd traumatic stress disorder. i had the privilege of interviewing some of them and i wanted to show that reported. >> my name is megan tomas co. i'm with the u.s. marines and i was raped multiple times by a fellow u.s. marine. >> my name is katie webber, i joined the army when i was 17.

i was raped by another soldier and discharged by the time i was 19. >> my name is lamanda cummings. i'm a navy veteran. i was raped by united states sialter. >> my name is diana kuntz, u.s. air force and i was raped by a fellow airman. >> she was 17 when she was raped in the military, amanda was 18. katie was 18 and megan was 18 when she was raped the first of three times. they were patriotic teenagers when they enlisted because they wanted to serve their country. instead they were each brutally assaulted by one of their own. >> sexual assault has no place in this department. >> cheryl: the u.s. secretary of defense says there could be as many as 19,000 sexual assaults in the military a year, but only

about 3,000 actually report the crimes out of fear of retaliation. >> i was scared because my offender was in my chain of command, i felt by reporting would just aggressive it. story at meeting withage tell jackie speier. >> she he ten turned into an animal and attacked me and raped me, ripped my clothes. when i tried to get away several times, he was pulling me back by my hair. >> cheryl: when they tried to report, they were victimized again. >> they become pariahs. the present presumption is they are zbleig they had planned for long term careers but instead were discharged earlier. now, they suffer from mst --

military sexual trauma. >> the thought they would use it against me. >> the rapists are walkingund fe around free men. >> my bill would develop a sexual predator database. >> cheryl: congresswoman jackie speier has introduced the stop act. it would directly affect the way victims report assaults. >> what my bill would do would take it out of the chain of command so a victim reports it to a separate office that is staffed with experts in prosecution, investigation, case management. >> no one protected these veterans but they want to protect other defenders. >> it's our time to speak up because we f we are able to stand up and find our voices, our rapists no longer have the power, we have our power back.

we can stand and unite each other. >> cheryl: they are very brave to come forward and speak on camera. the stop act, where is it in terms of the process? >> it's been assigned to the house armed services committee. there is a lot of resistance to the bill because the chain of command ask everything in the military. to take something out of the chain of command is seen as undoing the en trier structure. we're going to work hard to make sure that this issue is dealt with as it should be. it's a violent crime. there should not be non-judicial punishment. there shouldn't be unrestricted versus unrestricted reporting. it should be handled like other violent crimes and you shouldn't be less of a citizen because you are in the military in terms of the case how it is handled than the civilian world. he has met with me and shocked

by the numbers. he wants to do the right thing. he has a lot of generals that are standing there saying you can't take it out of the chain of command. when you have victims who are dealing with their assailants who are in fact their chain of command, it's a huge conflict and we have to find a way on around it. >> cheryl: in the meantime, it's going take time to get passed but there is place where victims can go help. you have a website. >> yes, there is a nonprofit protect our defenders. if anyone wants to come forward to tell their story, i'm happy to give life to their pain and make it something that is told on the house floor. i have now told 18 stories on the floor of the house. many of the women and men who are victims as well feel there is some reality to it. in the military for the most part it's swept under the rug.

>> cheryl: you have a number of other issues. i want to get to those, too. dealing with women and healthcare. >> the affordable care provides there can be no discrimination against women. if that is overturned by the supreme court, there is a huge loss to women. we spend billion dollars more on health insurance per year than do men. it's ironic, a 40-year-old woman who doesn't smoke, pays more for health insurance than a 40-year-old man who does smoke. it's unrelated to maternity care. this is looking at those policies that don't provide maternity care. why should a woman be paying more than a man? >> cheryl: how are you dealing with that? >> under the affordable care act that discrimination can't exist any longer. i'm very village vigilant about

drawing attention to the fact. >> cheryl: we have much more to talk about. we do want to take a break right now. we'll continue our discussion when we return. we're going learn much more about the fantastic organization for women with congresswoman jackie speier. stay with us. don't go away. we'll be right back. 8x8x8x8x8x8s

>> cheryl: welcome back to "beyond the headlines." i'm cheryl jennings. in the studio is jackie speier. she has founded the professional businesswomen organization when she was a member of the state assembly. it's been 23 years since the organization started. congresswoman, i want to ask you very specific reason to get things started. tell us the change? >> the good news is things are getting better. it used to be women were making 69-70 cents for every dollar earned by men and it's creeping up. we have more womenn in ceo positions to make us feel there is some movement. we do still stove look at the data and it suggests that less than 4% of women serve in ceo positions in the fortune 500

companies. >> why don't think think that is? >> i don't think we have the number of women on board of directors. 14% of board of directors have women serving on them. as more women are in a position to to identify talent, i think we're going to be in a better position zbrooc pay equity. >> we have goodews news but we'e not there yet. working wives are making more than their husbands and it's going to go up to 50% in the next ten years. there has been a lot of roll reversion always where the stay-at-home dads are taking care of children. i think it's good as long as we keep families movi and forward d productive. i do think, though, pay equity will be with us until we move women in positions of authority. those in congress where we're only 17% in the business world

where they go about 4%. >> cheryl: is there a way to get omen into the legislative positions? i've been asked myself, it's very intimidating? >> it shouldn't be intimidating. people look at the title campaigns, there is no way i can do this. as you move down the peg a little bit you don't have that kind of scrutiny. you can carry on a regular life. i go to the grocery store like everyone else and shop at sales. my life is not all that much different except i travel between san francisco and washington, d.c. twice a week.ag able to serve in congress. >> cheryl: so it's a way to get leadership? >> ppwq, it's networking and leadership training and we also have a young woman's component for the high school girls who

are just now starting their lives. hopefully pay equity will be a thing of the past for them. >> cheryl: we appreciate your time. thank you for all what you are doing and great legislation. we do have to take another break. we're going learn about what we can expect. stay with us. we'll be right back. ♪

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>> cheryl: welcome back to "beyond the headlines," a little more than 20 years ago, "wall street journal" claimed the glass ceiling, that keeps women from rising in their careers. professional businesswomen of california helped women get in the work force. here is last year's pbwc conference to give you an idea what to expect. >> you know when the women's conference when men's bathrooms say women only. the theme was connect, explore and inspire. younger girls cast inspiration people like melissa, google's vice president. she joined the company when there was only eight people on board. >> i wanted to find the smartest people i could find. >> there were 3100 women at the conference. at the first one, there were

only 40 women, 20 years ago it was hs credit. access credit. today is the focus on helping women advance in their careers. they say more than ever silicon valley is great source of career opportunity. >> it's really on the about being a woman or a men but being a greek or being a great leader or a great executive. >> conference offered mentoring for young women. >> one thing i would want to leave you with, just try it. don't be afraid. >> facebook, chief operating officer says women are not making as much progress as they need to. >> the business community in the united states, we fell back at 16% of the total, numbers which have not changed in last nine years. >> and fortune 500 companies,

only 2% of the ceos are women. that is because ambition is not a word women like to embrace. >> there is a huge ambition gap. we're not going to close the kleesmt gap until we start with the ambition gap. >> once that gap closes, the glass ceiling will be a thing of the past. >> cheryl: this year pbwc theme is connect, innovate and inspire. it's happen tuesday, may 15th at moscone center. join me at that conference. i'll be there to emcee the opening session. joining us is president and board chair, rene kim. she is also senior vice present and operating officer

at charles schwab bank. you are an inspiration by the job you hold right now. >> thanks for having me. >> talking with congresswoman jackie speier? >> as she said we definitely made progress but diploma is so much ground to challenge. women make up half the graduate degrees and half the management positions but then something happens. the glass ceiling they don't get the next step to the ceo positions to the board positions. that is part of the work that pbwc, what do women need to do. >> cheryl: the conference is open to anyone who wants to go. who would you recommend. >> it's a great day. it's a great day of connecting as our theme indicates and it's really for women of all different phases after their

career and all industries. that is what makes us unique. you can talk about your own challenges whether you are in media or financial services like i am. its great chance to hear different perspectives and get them to work for you. we have a wonderful line of speakers. two women from the top 50 women in business. one from i.b.m. and cathly lesjack that will be joining us from video. i is our cfo. we also have the inspirational element. gretchen ruben she was will be speaking about our happinesst. completely changed her career and it's great. we'll hear from laura who is just an absolutely amazing speaker, worked with all sorts of women in very powerful

positions around this country and around the world actually. and tina brown from newsweek. we're just thrilled with the line-up we have. >> cheryl: i know you wanted to get young women t >> thatend? >> that is one of neat things. we have a conference within a conference. it's targeted at young women who are in high school and in college. jen mod moderating that part of the day for us us. from 17 magazine will also be there. >> cheryl: you can get scholarships for that possibly or sponsor someone? >> exactly. we have a great pricing schedule only $29 to send a young woman to the program. so if that person can afford or you might want to fay for that separately. >> i know that people will look at this as a class, is it worth the price? >> it's absolutely worth the price. there is a great opportunity for inspiration for new ideas, for training.

it's really, really a great way to spend the day. >> cheryl: all day, what is the charge? >> just under $300, if you buy your ticket now or closer to the may 15th date. >> and employers sponsor this? >> absolutely. employers and it really is worth it. it's a great way of developing your skills. i mentioned our key notes but we have breakout session that is orientated like negotiating skills and things of that nature that will definitely help not only in your personal career goals but in your individual jobs. >> cheryl: i think this is going to be outstanding process. i hope as many women as possible will attend. >> i would love to see them there. >> cheryl: hope i can join us. we do have to take another break. we'll be back with more about the pbwc conference in just a minute.

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>> cheryl: welcome back. we've been talking about the professional business women's conference. we're talking about what they should expect from the women' women's summit. >> we have incredible array of guests and it's for young girls who are looking for inspiration, aspiring to figure out what their passion is about and what career is the best for them. it's an opportunity for women in the professional world to spend time, lessons learned and best practices. >> cheryl: it's happening at the same time and same place at the pbwc conference. joining us is evelyn dilsaver, she will be mod rate go women in

venture captainists. >> it's very small. the last survey said there is onlen who are of women who are e vc investing world. >> cheryl: the topic of your panel and your guests? >> trail blazing women driving innovation. we have three wonderful panelists, nancy floyd who is a partner with a company that invests in alternative energy. and two others, also cloud and digital media technology. >> what kind of questions. you have a rich background. >> we had a discussion about that. first of all. one of the first questions what is the difference between venture capital and private equity. a lot of people don't know the difference. how do women play a different role in venture capital than men? it generated a lot of

interesting questions but debate between the women and three parts to investing. it's raising money, finding companies and investing in them and managing their portfolio. what role do women play in each of those stages and how does it differ for men. the greatest question is, how do women provide an advantage, being women in this field. >> what do you say? >> they pondered that. women are really good is collaboration a, empathy and working with the s understanding that it's not just about the financials but it's about the culture of the company and building that culture successful, making it successful is what makes a company successful. we hope that the women walk away from the panel really inspired by these women who have made a very successful career out of a demanding demanding but

non-traditional career path. >> you've had a demanding career path? >> yes. i startedife as a cpa and then moving into banking and wabd as charles schwab before i decided to move into the management. when i left after 16 years i was president of the mutual fund business. since then i have been on several boards, five corporate boards. >> you were definitely on the background to ask all these orwars? >> i look forwars? hearing you. thank you so much. thanks for being here. >> that is going for us. thank all of our guests for joining us today in this edition of "beyond the headlines." here is how you can find us online. i'm cheryl jennings. thanks so much for joining us. have a great week. we'll see you next time.