Updated January 22, 2012
The newly opened Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) established its Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) this week. OMWI will develop standards for equal employment opportunity, workforce diversity, and inclusion at all levels of the CFPB; increased participation of minority- and women-owned businesses; and assessment of diversity policies and practices of the CFPB’s regulated entities.
AAUW supports administrative efforts to make the enforcement of equal opportunity laws a priority. The administration has a number of tools at its disposal to make significant — and, in some instances, immediate — progress that does not require resorting to the often-cumbersome legislative process.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for Januray 20, 2012.
Census data reveal that in the second quarter of 2010 approximately 48.6 percent of the national population lived in a household that received some form of government benefit. Since the start of the recession in 2007, more Americans than ever are seeking outside assistance through unemployment benefits, subsidized housing, Social Security disability, or the food stamp program (SNAP). Means-tested programs were the largest source of benefits to families; in the second quarter 34.4 percent lived in a household benefitting from food stamps, subsidized housing, Medicaid, or other programs.
AAUW promotes the economic, social, and physical well-being of all persons. Essential to that well-being are an economy that provides equitable employment opportunities, a reduction of poverty, and a livable wage.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for Januray 20, 2012.
Approximately two-thirds of Americans now believe there are strong conflicts between the rich and the poor in the United States, according to survey data released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center. Class conflict has surpassed tensions stemming from both race and immigration issues, both of which were previously cited as the greatest sources of tension in American society. The survey showed that virtually all major demographic groups perceive significantly more class conflict than two years ago, but women are more likely than men to say there are serious disagreements between the rich and poor, at a rate of 71 percent vs. 60 percent.
AAUW promotes the economic, social, and physical well-being of all persons. Essential to that well-being is an economy that provides equitable employment opportunities, reduction of poverty, a livable wage, quality affordable dependent care, paid family and medical leave, decent and affordable housing, quality affordable health care, and a clean and healthful environment.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for Januray 13, 2012.
December marked the first month that women saw a net job gain since the economic recovery began in June 2009, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the unemployment rate for women was higher in December – at 7.9 percent – than the 7.6 percent rate at the start of the recovery. Women have gained 43,000 net jobs since the recovery began, just 3 percent of the 1.4 million net jobs added to the economy in that time period.
AAUW strongly believes that access to high-wage, high-skill jobs should be a right for women and girls from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, age, and disability backgrounds, and that access should include training for nontraditional jobs. AAUW maintains that creating opportunities for women – and opportunities that promote equal pay – is an essential part of the economic recovery.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for Januray 13, 2012.
The Department of Labor announced Friday that employers added 200,000 jobs in December, pushing the unemployment rate down to 8.5 percent. Yet deeper analysis showed a troubling trend – men got nearly 2 out of 3 new jobs created last year. Nearly 1.28 million men gained jobs in the 12 months that ended in November, compared with 600,000 women. This gain was primarily in retail, a field traditionally dominated by women, with retailers hiring 216,900 men compared to about 9,000 women.
Faced with a still-bleak job market, women are dropping out of the labor force in large numbers, many to pursue graduate and professional education. The New York Times reports that among all age groups, unemployed women are 35 percent more likely to leave the workforce than are unemployed men. Both men and women are entering higher education programs at higher rates than in the past. However, in the last two years, the number of women in school age 18 to 24 rose by 130,000 while the number of men age 18-24 rose by only 53,000.
AAUW believes that to promote economic recovery, the president and Congress must focus on creating jobs, training our workers, and ensuring those jobs are good ones — the kind that pay equitably and provide economic security. AAUW strongly believes that access to high-wage, high-skill jobs should be a right for women and girls from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, age, and disability backgrounds and that access includes training for nontraditional jobs. Additionally, any job creation legislation must promote equal pay — women who work full time earn about 77 cents on average for every dollar men earn.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for Januray 6, 2012.
Layoffs of public sector and school support-staff employees in New York City in October had a disparately severe impact on black women, Women's eNews reported last month. Women of color held the majority of the 642 jobs the city laid off that month, many of which have now been outsourced to private contractors. This fits with a national trend toward eliminating public sector jobs and turning to contractors to provide the same services. Women have accounted for 66 percent of the public sector job losses; black women are 22 percent more likely to work in the public sector than are non-black women and so have been doubly affected. Additionally, the contract employees hired to fill positions vacated by layoffs are often paid less and have more limited access to benefits such as paid sick leave than did the public sector workers.
AAUW supports greater availability of and access to benefits and policies that promote work-life balance, which are critical for women to achieve equitable access and advancement in employment. AAUW is concerned at the disparate impact layoffs have had on women of color and will continue tracking how high unemployment is affecting all women.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for Januray 6, 2012.
The Obama Administration announced on Thursday that it will propose establishing federal protections for home-care workers. Home-care workers have been exempted from the Fair Labor Standards Act, which ensures minimum wage and overtime, since the bill passed in 1974. While most home-care workers today receive above minimum wage, they are often not paid overtime and not compensated for their time spent traveling between patients’ houses. Currently 92 percent of home-care workers are women. In a statement on Thursday, president Obama stated that “in-home care workers across the country should not have to wait a moment longer for a fair wage.”
Wage discrimination in professions typically held by women impacts the economic security of families today and directly affects retirement security as women look down the road. AAUW strongly supports initiatives that seek to close the persistent and sizable wage gaps between men and women, and minorities as well. To that end, AAUW supports legislation to promote pay equity.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 16, 2011.
Women continue to struggle more than men in the post-recession job market. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released last week showed that the unemployment rate decreased in November – to 8.6 percent – and that women gained more than half of the 120,000 jobs added. Yet the Institute for Women’s Policy Research analyzed the new data and found that the job gap between men and women remains significant at 1.5 million jobs. Of the 1.6 million jobs added between November 2010 and November 2011, IWPR found that 474,000 were filled by women and 1,126,000 were filled by men. In addition, the female labor force participation rate fell from 58.2 percent in October to 57.9 percent in November – a decrease of more than 300,000 women and the lowest female labor force participation rate since September 1993. Female dropouts have exceeded male dropouts recently in part because state and local government layoffs have disproportionately hit women.
AAUW believes that to promote economic recovery, the president and Congress must focus on creating jobs, training our workers, and ensuring those jobs are good ones — the kind that pay equitably and provide economic security. AAUW strongly believes that access to high-wage, high-skill jobs should be a right for women and girls from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, age, and disability backgrounds and that access includes training for nontraditional jobs. Additionally, any job creation legislation must promote equal pay — women who work full time earn about 77 cents on average for every dollar men earn.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 9, 2011.
The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate of 9 percent in October has now decreased to 8.6 percent, the lowest rate in two-and-a-half years. The dip in unemployment comes despite the fact that only 120,000 jobs were added in November. The decrease is partially because about 315,000 people have stopped looking for work and are no longer classified as unemployed.
AAUW believes that to promote economic recovery, the president and Congress must focus on creating jobs, training our workers, and ensuring those jobs are good ones — the kind that pay equitably and provide economic security. AAUW strongly believes that access to high-wage, high-skill jobs should be a right for women and girls from diverse racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, age, and disability backgrounds and that access includes training for nontraditional jobs. Additionally, any job creation legislation must promote equal pay — women who work full time earn about 77 cents on average for every dollar men earn.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 2, 2011.
A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report released this week found that the economy is still benefitting from the effects of the 2009 stimulus. The report estimated that stimulus funds added up to 3.3 million new full-time jobs in the third quarter of this year and raised GDP by 0.3-1.9 percent. The nonpartisan CBO estimated that while the stimulus reached its peak impact in 2010, it will likely add up to 1.1 million jobs and raise GDP by an additional 0.1-0.8 percent next year.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 2, 2011.
A Census Bureau analysis released this week showed that the share of women given time off for pregnancy, birth, and child care has decreased, with about half of working first-time mothers forced to pass up paychecks to stay at home. Unlike many other countries, the United States does not have a federal policy on paid parental leave. The lack of paid leave is more likely to affect those with less education.
AAUW believes that creating a work environment that helps employees balance the responsibilities of work and family is smart for businesses and good public policy. AAUW is committed to greater availability of and access to benefits and policies that create a family-friendly workplace environment, which are critical to women's equitable access and advancement in employment.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for November 11, 2011.
AAUW Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Lisa Maatz lent her expertise to a Voice of America story about the difficulties working mothers face in the United States. Maatz said many people still assume that the woman should be the one to stay home to look after kids and that a working mother "won't be as loyal an employee” or that “she'll take more time off, she won't be free to travel." Additionally, the story said that although women constitute up to 52 percent of the nation's population and are more likely to vote than men, they claim less than 17 percent of congressional seats and have lost 80 seats in state legislatures in the past year. Maatz said it is crucial to have women at the table because they care about different issues and pay attention to family in a different way than men. She said studies have shown that women lawmakers were more likely to introduce legislation, debate issues and "contribute to the process in a way that was markedly different from their male counterparts."
AAUW believes that creating a work environment that helps employees balance the responsibilities of work and family is smart for businesses and good public policy.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for November 4, 2011.
Research shows that U.S. women's mortgage rates are higher than men's on average, despite women being paid less on average. A team of researchers led by Ping Cheng of Florida Atlantic University said that the disparity cannot be fully explained by traditional variables such as mortgage features, borrower characteristics, and market conditions. They believe that women pay higher rates because they are more likely to choose lenders by recommendation while men tend to search for the lowest rate. The researchers propose that the gender disparity in mortgage rates can be addressed by policies aimed at improving women’s financial literacy and search skills.
AAUW recognizes the difficulties families with female wage-earners face in making ends meet. AAUW research shows that the gender pay gap is firmly in place when women graduate from college and it grows over the course of a career. The pay gap must be closed so that women are able to pay for their and their families’ basic needs, including mortgages.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for November 4, 2011.
SmartGirls' Way is a social-venture dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs to create significant economic breakthroughs for themselves, their communities and the next economy. We believe a world with more women leaders in real positions of influence will be a better world. And we believe entrepreneurship is the fastest, most direct and interesting path to that leadership position.
We help women leverage their unique feminine strengths and access the critical knowledge, networks, people, and capital they need to build successful businesses.
To celebrate the impact of female entrepreneurs on the future of the economy, SmartGirls' Way launched the 100x100 Project on Sept. 6, according to a Market Watch press release. The 20-week video series documents female entrepreneurs from over 40 industries across the United States.