|
|
|
|
Feb. Branch Meeting: A New You from the Outside In and more...
Feb. Branch Meeting: A New You from the Outside In
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9b6329d2-a3a7-4d08-af55-25de83d39ae5)  Celebrate the progress we've made: girls and women in sports Image by Shutterhack via FlickrSince the passage of Title IX in 1972, female participation in college sports has increased 400 percent; female participation at the high school level more than 800 percent. Female athletes are more likely to develop positive school and lifestyle habits. High school girls who participate in sports are less likely to experience an unintended pregnancy or to smoke or use illicit drugs, while they are more likely to have a positive body image than girls who don't play sports. What fostered that increase? Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities. It is one of the country's greatest success stories and AAUW was instrumental in in its passage. Despite the significant gains girls and women have made since its enactment lack of data reporting presents a significant drawback to the law's enforcement at the high school level. The U.S. Department of Education does not require high schools to make athletic opportunity, participation, and funding statistics publicly available, even though they already collect this data. It's estimated that female high school students have 1.3 million fewer opportunities to play high school sports than do male students. But nationally there's no way to know for sure. Colleges are required to report this data; it's time our high schools are, too. There are two things we can do:
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=5cc91ba0-44d3-45bd-828d-2c6135070b78) 
Lilly Ledbetter sent me an email this morning Lilly was reminding us that it's been a year since the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into law, President Obama's first piece of legislation. We all acknowledged then that it was half a loaf. The Paycheck Fairness Act is the other half. And it's stalled in the Senate. Data released recently by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that, in 2008, women continued to earn just 77 cents for each dollar earned by her male counterpart. What will the Paycheck Fairness Act do? It provides a much needed update of the 46-year-old Equal Pay Act by creating stronger incentives for employers to follow the law, empowering women to negotiate for equal pay, and strengthening federal outreach, education and enforcement efforts. The bill would also deter wage discrimination by strengthening penalties for equal pay violations and by prohibiting retaliation against workers who ask about employers' wage practices or disclose their own wages-provisions that would have helped Lilly. In short, the bill updates the law to reflect the practices and processes under more recent civil rights laws. So, Lilly emailed me, asking me to take action -- to tell my senators to get on the stick and pass this legislation already. I know my senators in NY are in favor, but I need them to show leadership in getting this moving. Take Action! Please join Lilly and me, and many other men and women accross the country in urging our senators to quickly pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. Simply click on this "Take Action!" link . Then follow the instructions to compose and send your message. ![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=54562854-d141-499c-99db-15325b327adb)  AAUW responds to the State of the Union addressIt's the same old pay equity storyPercentage of Women Breadwinners Rise, But Pay Inequity Remains Prevalent
 The Pew Research Center released a report on the affects that women's advancement on college campuses and in the workforce has had on various aspects of marriage. Women, Men, and the New Economics of Marriage analyzed demographic and economic data and found that more men in 2007, compared with men in 1970, were married to women whose education and income exceeded their own. The report found that, in 2007, 22 percent of men were married to women who made more money that they did, compared to just 4 percent of men in 1970. While AAUW celebrates the fact that women have made remarkable strides in education and the labor force during the past four decades, these gains have yet to translate into full equity in pay - even for college-educated women who work full time. Women continue to make, on average, just 77 cents on the dollar to their male counterpart. Research released in April 2007 by AAUW shows that just one year out of college, women working full time already earn less than their male colleagues, even when they work in the same field. ACTION: The current recession, where job losses have hit men harder than women, is also responsible for propelling the number of women breadwinners to unprecedented numbers. In these tough economic times, when more and more families are counting on a women's salary to make ends meet, fair pay is even more critical, not simply to family economic security but also to the nation's economic recovery. Urge your senators to take the next critical step in the fight for pay equity by quickly passing the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182). Photo by Napalm filled tires  More Recent Articles |
|
