May 24, 2009

Women Rise in Academia and Beyond
The New York Times
By Albert Hunt

"Across American politics, the judiciary, academia and business, women have made enormous strides.

“In the last 40 years, we’ve gone from almost no mothers of young children working to a majority of women working,” says Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research in Washington.

For all the progress, she says, the United States still trails other industrialized nations in women’s professional achievements.

One reason is that in many other countries, family-friendly options like child care and paid parental leave for a new child or a sick one have been institutionalized, Ms. Hartmann notes."

To read the full article, visit The New York Times online.

May 10 , 2009

This Mother's Day, Let's Promise Her Equal Pay
New America Media
By Dr. Heidi Hartmann and Ariane Hegewisch

"Women’s earnings are crucial to their families, so the wage gap hurts the whole family. More than three-quarters of all children have mothers who work for pay. Almost one quarter of all mothers are the sole earners in their families.

Many observers have noted that more men than women are being laid off in this recession. Few have noted that women’s lower earning power is all that is holding up many families. Job losses have been much worse in “male sectors” of the economy, such as construction and manufacturing than in the traditionally “female sectors,” such as healthcare or education. Families who relied on two paychecks now must make do with one that is often lower paid, without benefits.

This Mother’s Day, policymakers should vow to make sure that women’s work is valued and paid the same as men’s. Mothers, and all women, need stronger laws to challenge pay discrimination and create employment protections for parents. That says, “We love you, Mom” more than any bouquet of roses."

To read the full article, visit New America Media online.

April 30, 2009

Sick System in the U.S. Helps Spread Swine Flu
The Huffington Post
By Martha Burk and Dr. Heidi Hartmann

"The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recommended that those who are sick should stay home from work or school to avoid infecting others.

Great. We're all for that, but there's one little problem. Fewer than half of workers in the U.S. have paid sick days, according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington. What's worse, only one in three are able to take their sick days to care for ill children. Many are low wage workers who not only lose wages if they stay home - they risk losing their jobs. Workers who come into direct contact with the public, such as restaurant workers, child care workers, and hotel employees, are among the least likely to have paid sick days.

It doesn't take the proverbial rocket scientist to figure out that workers who lack paid sick time are more likely to go to work with a communicable illness, and parents who cannot stay home with a sick child are more likely to send them to school or day care. Mexico closed its schools - the first step that any public health service recommends at the onset of an epidemic. According to Dr. Jody Heymann, founding director of the McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy, Mexico combines paid sick leave with child care through its social insurance system. At least 139 other countries provide some paid sick leave to workers as a matter of national law."

To read the full article, visit The Huffington Post online.

April 29, 2009

School flu closings put working moms in a bind
Christian Science Monitor
By Alexandra Marks and Sara Miller Llana

"Opponents of the bill say it would impose too many costs and restrictions on small businesses. Advocates say it would remedy the current disconnect between public-health needs and many current workplace policies.

'Even before the swine flu outbreak, there's been a growing recognition that public-health and workplace polices are indeed connected,' says Kevin Miller, a researcher at the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington. 'If a person can't stay home, there are real consequences, particularly for people who work with the public like food-service workers, who are the least likely to have paid sick leave.'

Working parents in Mexico are already coping with the problem of how to take care of their children. On Monday, Mexican officials took the unprecedented step of closing all schools nationwide. On Tuesday, Teresa Castillo was in a park throwing a ball back and forth with her two children, including a first-grader."

To read the full article, visit The Christian Science Monitor online.

April 28, 2009

Gender Pay Discrepancy Down; Gap Remains
MarketWatch
By Ruth Mantell

"However, there's no denying that women consistently earn less than men. New research from the Institute for Women's Policy Research indicates that women earn the same or more than men in only five of more than 500 occupational categories tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The analysis looked at categories with sufficient data.

The economy 'can only thrive' when opportunities are equally available, said Barbara Gault, director of research with IWPR, in a statement.

'The data paint a clear picture of a work force that remains strongly divided on the basis of sex -- with women landing in the worst jobs our labor market has to offer, and earning less than men even in the exact same jobs,' Gault said."

To read the full article, visit MarketWatch online.

April 26, 2009

Women to rally nationwide for equal pay
Colorado Springs Gazette
By Debbie Kelley

"After nearly 46 years of equal-pay laws, salaries for women who work full-time still lag more than 20 percent behind their full-time male counterparts, according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

In Colorado, full-time working females, on average, earn about 79 cents for every dollar a man earns, according to a report the Equal Pay Commission completed last year for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Nationally, it's 78 cents on the dollar.

The report also shows the salary discrepancy for minority women in Colorado is even larger: 68 cents on the dollar for Asian women, 62 cents on the dollar for black women and 52 cents on the dollar for Hispanic women."

To read the full article, visit The Colorado Springs Gazette online.

April 20, 2009

Recession Turns Up Heat For Men
Financial Times
By Sarah O'Connor

"'Women are also more likely to move in and out of the workforce, taking part-time jobs to look after children or relatives, amassing fewer benefits such as health insurance. Many households now relying on a woman’s income are struggling.

Ms Davey says having an unemployed husband has spurred her to develop her career as a stand-up comedian, but the family has lost out. “His job was definitely more financially stable than mine in that I don’t work the traditional hours he does ...but the biggest hit we’re going to take is healthcare.”

Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, says this is a growing problem. “All those low-wage jobs that women have – in retail, food service, home healthcare, babysitting – a lot of them don’t have healthcare [insurance] or if they do it would be very expensive to cover the family on it. So a huge implication of this recession is the fall-off in health insurance coverage.”

Women’s campaign groups hope such strains will put pressure for labour market reforms that benefit women. The stimulus package of Barack Obama, US president, has offered money to states that make it easier for part-time and lower-wage workers to access unemployment benefits."

March 30, 2009

The New Values Voter: Progressive Women
Religion Dispatches
By Cynthia Hess, Ph.D.

"'Progressive Women and Values
This approach to politics and public life is not exactly new. For the past several years, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research has interviewed over 100 progressive women leaders and activists working as community organizers who are, in many ways, living out a vision for politics and public life that resonates with the one Friedman and Sandel believe Americans are calling for.

These women serve their families, communities, and the nation in many ways. They strive to secure nontraditional job training for women, build schools and houses, and reserve units in low-income housing for single mothers. They design leadership programs for immigrants, create multicultural community centers that support families, and keep landmark sites in African American history from being demolished. They provide services to abused women, reform provisions for juvenile justice, and revise city-planning goals on behalf of those with low incomes."

To read the full article, visit Religion Dispatches online.

March 20, 2009

Study: 8 out of 10 Americans are Stressed Because of Economy
CNN.COM Health
By Madison Park

"'The declining state of the Nation's economy is taking a physical and emotional toll on people nationwide, and it is women who are bearing the brunt of financial stress,'” according to the survey.

They are more stressed out, because they're less economically secure than men, said Barbara Gault, vice president and director of research at the Institute for Women's Policy Research. "Many women are one divorce away from poverty. Women have more to worry in terms of economic security and are more likely to be poor in old age than men," she said.

Older Americans cited the economy as a source of stress, more so than younger generations. In the survey, 79 percent of the baby boomers and 73 percent of those who are 63 years and older identified the economy as a source of stress."

To read the full article, visit CNN.COM online.

March 9, 2009

Nurses Win Settlement Over Wages
The Wall Street Journal
By Kris Maher

"The suit, brought by two Albany, N.Y., nurses, is one of five related suits filed in 2006, in which nurses alleged that hospitals agreed to enter into a conspiracy to keep nurse wages low and did so by sharing compensation information such as wage surveys.

Heidi Hartmann, president and labor economist at the Institute for Women's Policy Research, said the settlement was significant and could have a spillover effect on the related cases. One company's settling could set a precedent for the other defendants, she said."

To read the full article, visit The Wall Street Journal online.

February 5 , 2009

As Layoffs Surge, Women May Pass Men in Job Force
New York Times
By Catherine Rampell

"Historically, the way couples divide household jobs has been fairly resistant to change, says Heidi Hartmann, president and chief economist at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

'Over a long, 20-year period, married men have stepped up to the plate a little bit, but not as much as married women have dropped off in the time they spend on household chores,' Ms. Hartmann says. This suggests some domestic duties have been outsourced, as when takeout substitutes for cooking, for example. And as declining incomes force families to cut back on these outlays, she says, 'women will most likely pick up the slack.'

A severe recession could put pressure on these roles."

To read the full article, visit the New York Times online.


January 29, 2009

Obama Signs Equal Pay For Equal Work Bill
ABC'S Good Morning America
By Claire Shipman, Susan Rucci, Imaeyen Ibanga and Nitya Venkataraman

"In earlier remarks, the president said the law bearing Ledbetter's name reached further. 'It's the story of women across this country still earning just 78 cents for every dollar men earn -- women of color even less -- which means that today, in the year 2009, countless women are still losing thousands of dollars in salary, income and retirement savings over the course of a lifetime.'

That discrepancy translates into $210,000 less for women over a 35-year, full-time work life, according to an August 2008 study from the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

At a press conference following the ceremony, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Ledbetter "a very courageous woman.

'She will not benefit at all from this legislation. Every other working woman in America will," Pelosi said."

To read the full article, visit the Good Morning America online.

December 28 , 2008

She's a Kennedy, But She's a Lot Like Us
Washington Post
By Anne Glusker

“Although the figure usually bandied about in pay-equity discussions is that women make 77 cents to every dollar men earn, a recent study by Stephen J. Rose and Heidi Hartmann of the Institute for Women's Policy Research puts the number at a shocking 38 cents. While the 77-cent figure compares full-time women with full-time men, the IWPR study looked at real women's real work histories over 15 years -- in and out of the labor force, sometimes working more hours, sometimes less, sometimes not at all.”

To read the full article, visit the The Washington Post online.



November 25, 2008

Sick-leave Issue Connects with Every Worker
The Boston Globe
By Derrick Z. Jackson

“On Election Day, 69 percent of Milwaukee voters decided that businesses must provide full-time workers nine days of paid sick leave a year. Firms of fewer than 10 employees must provide five paid sick days. Milwaukee is just the third city after San Francisco and Washington to mandate paid sick days.

[...] Undaunted by losing the sick-leave vote by more than a 3-to-1 margin, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce plans a legal challenge to the ordinance. Its president, Tim Sheehy, last week told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, ‘We face the prospect of dire economic consequences.’

But no such dire consequences were found in San Francisco. The city's overall job growth remains competitive with neighboring counties, according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research. The restaurant industry actually experienced a higher growth rate during the first year of the law than the year before. Kevin Westlye of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association told the San Francisco Chronicle, ‘Sick leave is one issue where people just looked at adjusting their policies and moved on. It hasn't been a big issue.’”

To read the full article, visit the The Boston Globe online.

November 10, 2008

Despite Presidential Losses, Women in Politics Score Gains
Detroit Free Press
By Kathleen Gray

“[Hillary] Clinton came closer than any woman before her to getting the nomination of a major party and proved that women can be credible candidates, said Susan Carroll, a senior scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics.

‘I don't think it will be unusual to see a woman running for president the next time. It will seem unusual when a woman doesn't run,’ she said. ‘Women are going to provoke strong reactions, but, over time, that will definitely diminish and people will see women who run for president, not as a woman first, but a candidate who happens to be a woman.’

That can't come soon enough, said Erica Williams, a study director at the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington.

‘This election provided a little bit of an improvement. But women are inching ahead at a snail's pace,’ she said. ‘So we certainly need to do more to motivate women to run for office and get them started in the pipeline.’”

To read the full article, visit the Detroit Free Press online.

October 21, 2008

Group Supports Paid Sick Days
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By Georgia Pabst

“In the first year after a paid-sick-days law passed in San Francisco, job growth was as strong as in neighboring Bay area counties, a new study shows.

The study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., was released Tuesday at a news conference held by 9to5 National Association of Working Women. The group is working to pass a referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot in Milwaukee that would mandate paid sick days for permanent, part-time and temporary workers.

[...] Under the paid sick days proposal, an employee would earn a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. That means a full-time employee for a large business would earn nine days a year. A business with 10 or fewer employees would be required to provide 40 hours of paid sick days a year, or five days.

The new study uses data from the California Development Department, said Vicky Lovell, one of the authors, who spoke in Milwaukee. In spite of the economic slowdown, in the 12 months after the enactment of the sick-day policy, employment in San Francisco expanded by 1.1%, the same rate as in Marin and San Mateo counties, and above that in three other area counties.”

To read the full article, visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online.

October 7, 2008

Study: 8 Out of 10 American Stressed Because of Economy
CNN.com
By Madison Park

“As many as 80 percent of Americans are stressed about their personal finances and the economy, according to the annual survey conducted by the American Psychological Association.

[...] Women are more worried than men, in terms of their personal finances, the economy, work, housing costs and job stability, according to the survey.

‘The declining state of the nation's economy is taking a physical and emotional toll on people nationwide, and it is women who are bearing the brunt of financial stress,’ according to the survey.

They are more stressed out because they're less economically secure than men, said Barbara Gault, vice president and director of research at the Institute for Women's Policy Research. ‘Many women are one divorce away from poverty. Women have more to worry about in terms of economic security and are more likely to be poor in old age than men,’ she said.”

To read the full article, visit CNN.com.

October 2008

Obama vs. McCain: Who’s Your Guy?
Glamour Magazine

“Equal Pay for Women and Men

McCain
‘I'm committed to making sure there is equal pay for equal work.... You can count on it.’

His stand: Opposed the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would have made it easier for women to sue their employers for paying them less than men doing similar work; his campaign said the bill would lead to a swarm of new lawsuits.

Expert view: Observers know that McCain opposes big-government solutions. So ‘he is not pursuing the goal of pay equity as a senator,’ says Vicky Lovell, Ph.D., of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Institute for Women's Policy Research.

Obama
‘I don't accept an America where a woman earns less than a man for the same work.’

His stand: Returned to the U.S. Senate from the campaign trail to vote for the Ledbetter Act. He cosponsored another bill that would require employers to disclose their pay scales; his rationale is that doing so would help women more easily determine whether they are being discriminated against.

Expert view: ‘He has sponsored and voted for policies that would enhance pay equity,’ says Lovell. ‘Obama's actions as senator are in line with his pronouncements as a candidate.’”

To read the full article, visit Glamour Magazine online.

September/October 2008

The Pink Election Guide 2008: Cutting to the Chase
Pink Magazine
By Taylor Mallory

“For most Americans, the first three quarters of this year have been trying times. [...]Inflation and the economic downturn can be particularly tough for women, “who face barriers to advancement in the economy and are still affected by a pay gap,” says Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., president of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

[…] Women represent 57 percent of all Social Security beneficiaries age 62 and older, and 70 percent of beneficiaries age 85 and older, according to the Social Security Administration. “Social Security is adjusted for inflation, which is most important for women because we live longer,” explains Hartmann. “Privatizing would put retirement benefits at risk, especially in economically uncertain times like those we’re living in right now. Without Social Security, more than two-thirds of elderly women would live in poverty.”

To read the complete article, check out the September/October issue of Pink, on newstands now.

August 5, 2008

Why More Visas for Foreign Nurses?
CNN, Lou Dobbs Tonight
Host: Kitty Pilgrim

“PILGRIM: The United States faces a critical shortage of qualified nurses. The hospital industry says there could be a shortfall of more than half a million nurses over the next decade. But rather than recruit nurses and pay them a fair wage, the health care industry and Congress want to bring some 60,000 foreign nurses into the country. Bill Tucker reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 2007, the national vacancy rate for registered nurses was eight percent according to the American Hospital Association. Demand has grown by two to three percent a year and the shortage could reach as high as 500,000 by 2025 according to a report on the Future of Nursing released in March. There is no doubt that there is a nursing shortage.

Part of the reason for the shortage appears to be purely economic. A study of nursing wages in 2004 by the Institute for Women's Policy Research found that nursing wages fell from 1996 to 2000 and that it wasn't until 2001 that wages actually began to rise. But according to working nurses.”

To read the full transcript of the show, visit CNN online.

July 31, 2008

House Passes Bill to Help Enforce Pay Equity
The Associated Press
By Jesse J. Holland

“House Democrats pushed through legislation Thursday that would give women new tools to combat pay discrimination.

[…] Congress passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, but Democrats said companies continually have found ways around it. The Institute for Women's Policy Research says wage disparity will cost a woman as much as $2 million over her lifetime in lost wages.”

To read the full article, visit The Houston Chronicle online.

July 8, 2008

Women & the Economy
CNN, Issue Number One
Host: Ali Velshi

(edited excerpt from CNN transcript)

“VELSHI: Well, pretty much everybody's feeling the effects of this tough economy, but are women feeling the pain more than men? Our next guest says they are. Heidi Hartmann is the president of the Institute for Women's Policy Research and joins us now from Washington.

Heidi, welcome to the show. Tell us what you found.

HEIDI HARTMANN, INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN'S POLICY RESEARCH: Well, in general, women are more vulnerable to an economic recession than men, but it's primarily because they have lower family income. They earn less than men. They're more likely to be raising children on their own. They live longer than men. So, for all these reasons, they have a lower family income. So if prices are rising, as they are now, or people's hours are being cut, or the recession is affecting them in other ways, they're going to have a harder time adjusting their family economic standards to what's going on.

VELSHI: Although in this recession, I mean one of the things that's interesting, whether we're in a recession or not, is that there are some people in this country who will tell you we're not in a recession. This is not effecting everybody equally. So do we really have evidence that women are getting harder hit than men are?

HARTMANN: Well, yes, we do. I mean for six months we've had job losses. Men and women have lost jobs. And, in general, in this recession, more men than women have lost jobs just as common . . .

VELSHI: Right, because men have been in the jobs that have been largely lost, the manufacturing and construction jobs.

HARTMANN: That's right. But even in those industries, women are also losing jobs. And then there are some industries where women are much more affected than men. An example is financial services, women have lost many more jobs than men. And in real estate, women have lost twice as many jobs as men.

So there are certain sectors of the economy where women work that are being disproportionately affected in this particular recession because of the leading problem basically in the banking and financial services and real estate. And those are areas where women are disproportionately employed.

VELSHI: OK, no time like the present. We're in the middle of an election campaign and candidates should have their ears open to these sort of things. You're suggesting that there are some structural changes that can be made that can at least spread the pain around a little more evenly between men and women.

HARTMANN: Absolutely. One thing, of course, is always to extend unemployment benefits wherever we have a recession. And really with six straight months of job losses, I think most economists would agree we're now in recession, even though we haven't yet seen that downturn in total economic output. But extending unemployment benefits to those who have been unemployed longer.

And, you may know, for women, many states don't actually cover them. If you're working part-time in a regular job, but part-time, you may not be covered in some states. If you're a lower-wage worker, you may not have earned enough in the last quarter or the last five quarters to get unemployment benefits. So these are the kinds of changes that policymakers at the state and national level can make.

And if we're thinking about job creation, which, believe me, the political leaders will certainly be thinking about now because we've lost nearly 500,000 jobs since January, you know, we usually think in terms of building roads and bridges. Well, what about improving schools, educational services, health care services? These are the areas that women work in. And state budgets are going to really face the crunch because they rely so much on property taxes."

To read the full transcript of the show, visit CNN online.

July 7, 2008

Cuts in Paid Sick Days Leave Unhealthy Employees Stuck in the Workplace
Los Angeles Times
By Shari Roan  

“Stay home if you're sick. That's the best way to stop the spread of contagious diseases, such as influenza, tuberculosis and gastrointestinal viruses. Besides, you can't do your job capably or safely if you don't feel well. But many Americans simply tough it out when ill, going to work with pain, cramps, headaches, fevers or worse. Often, they have no choice.

As many as 43% of American workers in private industry don't have paid sick days, according to 2007 data from the federal government. If they call in sick, they lose their pay and, sometimes, their jobs.

[…] An estimated 79% of low-wage workers and 80% of part-time workers do not have paid sick time, according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research, a Washington, D.C-based organization that based its analysis on U.S. Department of Labor statistics. The demand for workers in the service sector has grown substantially over the last two decades, but those jobs are much less likely to carry sick pay, says Jeremy Smith, a lobbyist for the California Labor Federation. Fewer workers today are covered by union contracts, which traditionally dictate paid sick time for their members, he adds."

To read the full article, visit the Los Angeles Times online.

July 2, 2008

Troubled Economy Hits Women Hard
The Christian Science Monitor
By Alexandra Marks

“This economic downturn is taking a particularly hard toll on women, according to some experts.

The reasons: Much of the downturn is focused on the real estate market, where a disproportionately large number of women work, and substantially more women than men have subprime mortgages. But experts point to another cause: Women simply earn less than men, an estimated average of 80 cents for every dollar made by a man.

‘Even though women may not lose as many jobs as men, they are more vulnerable simply because their incomes are lower to start with at the beginning of the downturn,’ says Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington. ‘They're also more likely to be supporting children, so for them any disruption in their income is very, very serious.’”

To read the full article, visit The Christian Science Monitor online.


June 26, 2008

New York Women Faring Worse Economically
Reuters
By Burton Frierson

“Women in New York state face tougher economic conditions than they did two decades ago and are more likely to live in poverty than the U.S. average, according to a study released on Thursday.
The report, written by the Institute for Women's Policy Research in conjunction with the New York Women's Foundation, paints a troubling picture for a state that is home to the financial capital of the world's richest nation.

Its release comes at a time when the divide between rich and poor has vaulted to national prominence during a U.S. presidential election year, while the economy is struggling amid the worst housing slump since the Depression.

‘Our report underscores how the lower economic status of women compared with men makes women and especially women of color particularly vulnerable to economic downturns like the one we're currently experiencing,’ Heidi Hartmann president of the institute for Women's Policy Research, told a conference call with journalists.

The study was not entirely bad news for women in New York, who do better by some measures than their nationwide peers.
Still, women among minorities tended to do worse compared with their peers in the state, though this disparity was less pronounced in some areas of the study than elsewhere in the country.”

To read the full article, visit Reuters online.

June 26, 2008

New York Women’s Median Pay Down from ‘89
The Associated Press

“New York women are losing economic ground, according to a report released Thursday.

Women in the state were more likely to be poor in 2005 than they were in 1989. During the same period, median pay for full-time, year-round work also fell, according to the report by the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

[…]One reason New York may have lost ground is that its population of immigrant women increased, said Erica Williams, study director at the institute. In 2005, more than one-fifth of the women in the state were foreign-born, nearly twice the national figure. Roughly half of New York's immigrant women are not U.S. citizens.

‘Immigrant women, particularly those who are not naturalized citizens or are undocumented, face gigantic obstacles when it comes to finding decent employment,’ Williams said.

Another possible reason for women's overall pay stasis is the increase in the total number of low-paying jobs in the service sector, such as home health aids.

Asked if the bad jobs have gotten worse, Williams said, ‘The real issue is that more and more women are working in bad jobs.’

For instance, the study found that the 16,863 Latina women working in childcare had median earnings of $11,200 a year — meaning half the women earned less than that.”

To read the full article, visit MSN Money online.

June 26, 2008

Report: New York Women’s Poverty Levels Rise
Newsday
By Olivia Winslow

“A report released Thursday assessing women's economic status in New York gave the state a C+ overall, but raised concerns about an increase in poverty rates among women, stagnant wages and a growing income gap between rich and poor that the report called the worst in the nation.

The report showcases a "tale of two New York states: one of great opportunity and one of deep disadvantage," said Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

The report was commissioned by the New York Women's Foundation and conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, based in Washington, D.C. It found that New York scored well in women's employment in managerial and professional jobs, ranking ninth among all states, and in women's earnings, ranking 13th, and in the percentage of women-owned businesses, ranking 8th.

Yet, the report found the median earnings for New York women in 2005 had stagnated and that, at $33,300, was $100 lower than it was in 1989.”

To read the full article, visit Newsday online.

June 11, 2008

Flexible Work Gains Attention of Lawmakers
Workforce Management Magazine
By Jessica Marquez

“The U.S. is behind the majority of developed nations when it comes to having statutes in place to allow for flexible work arrangements, according to a study published in May by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings College of Law. Of the 21 “high income” countries examined in the study, the U.S. finished last.

A number of governments abroad are trying to deal with falling birthrates and the pending retirement of older workers, says Ariane Hegewisch, scholar in residence at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and co-author of the study. As a result, they have introduced legislation to make it easier for caregivers to reduce their work hours, she says.

The reality of an aging workforce along with a confluence of other factors is just now instigating formal discussions about flexible work arrangements in the U.S., experts say.
During the past 10 years, the number of women workers in the U.S. ages 25 to 54 has stalled, according to the report, “Statutory Routes to Workplace Flexibility in Cross-National Perspective.” However, 19 of the 20 other countries surveyed saw an increase of women workers in this age bracket during the same period.

The trend, compounded by the fact baby boomers are starting to retire, is causing legislators to discuss what can be done to address a pending talent shortage, says Janet Gornick, professor of political science and sociology at the City University of New York and co-author of the study.

“Mothers and older workers are the two populations that if they don’t have some flexibility, they will just cease to exist in the labor market,” she says.”

To read the full article, visit Workforce Management Magazine online.

June 8, 2008

Will You Be Paid for Sick Days?
Parade Magazine
By Matt Bushlow

“Nearly half of all Americans who work in the private sector—including more than 75% of low-wage workers—do not get a single paid sick day.

[…] According to a cost-benefit analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, passage of the federal sick-leave bill—called the Healthy Families Act—could save the U.S. economy $8.1 billion a year by preventing lost productivity due to sick workers, the spread of illness to co-workers and customers, and worker turnover.”

To read the full article, visit Parade Magazine online.

June 2008

Raising the Grade
Madison Magazine
By Ray Anderson

“It's the kind of first day on the job nobody wants. Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton had barely settled into her new office at the state Capitol when a batch of discouraging figures hit her desk. It was January 2003, and the ‘Status of Women in Wisconsin’ report had given the state a depressing C-minus.

Determined not to let the news ‘get a little flare of publicity, then sit on a shelf and not actually inform public policy,’ in the months that followed Lawton assembled women leaders from around the state to form what would ultimately become Wisconsin Women = Prosperity [WW=P], an ambitious think tank cum grassroots lobby created to close the state's woeful gender equity gap in the workplace. Five years later, the economic initiative has morphed into one of the key programs of her post, now in its second term.

[…] ‘We've made some gains,’ Lawton says. ‘We've started to reframe the way that we think about (workplace gender issues), and I think quite successfully. We continue to insist this is an economic development issue. It is a great expense (to the state) if we sideline that much talent and don't bring it into the mainstream.’

[…] Meanwhile, more research pours in, painting similarly grim pictures. A 2006 study on "The Best and Worst State Economies for Women," conducted biennially by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, ranks us well below the national average on several key benchmarks. While more than sixty-six percent of women age sixteen and over hold jobs--the fifth highest in the nation in overall female employment--we were in the bottom third in earnings ratio between men and women who work full-time, with women earning on average seventy-five cents to the dollar that men make. Wisconsin also achieved a dubious ranking of forty-sixth in the number of women in managerial and professional positions. Overall, the state received a ‘C’ grade, fractionally better than the C-minus in the 2002 report that jump-started WW=P.”

To read the full article, visit Madison Magazine online.

May 11, 2008

Hard Times Tougher for Mothers
The Miami Herald
By Cindy Krischer Goodman

“In 2007, women earned median weekly wages of 80.2 cents for every dollar earned by men, down from 81 cents in 2005, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And, mothers are twice as likely as fathers to have to pass up buying something their child needs because they can't afford it, according to a new report issued by the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

The report also shows mothers face a 50 percent higher risk of losing their jobs than fathers.

‘Whether the issue is retirement savings, or feeding your children or paying for medicine, women are more worried about economic security than men,’ said Margot Brandenburg, an associate director at the Rockefeller Foundation, which funded the study. ‘And single moms are the hardest hit.’”

To read the full article, visit The Miami Herald online.

May 8, 2008

Economic Anxiety Hits U.S. Women Harder Than Men
Reuters
By Burton Frierson

“The U.S. economic downturn has spread personal financial worries far and wide, but women are more worried about paying bills, losing jobs, providing for children and saving for retirement, according to a study released on Thursday.

The study comes as the U.S. economy has been mired in a half-year-long period of stagnation accompanied by a shrinking job market, rising energy prices and a downward spiral in consumer confidence.

The report said women, particularly among minorities, have more financial worries than men. It was based on a survey commissioned in February 2007 by the Rockefeller Foundation and an analysis by the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

‘Since the survey was conducted in 2007, we can only imagine that economic anxiety has heightened since that time,’ said Barbara Gault, vice president and director of research at the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

‘As our economy gets worse, women are going to feel the pain the most,’ Gault added. She was speaking to a news conference held for the report's release.”

To read the full article, visit Reuters.com.

May 8, 2008

Equal Pay for Mother’s Day
Forbes.com
By Dina Bakst

“Save the flowers and choco­lates. This Mother’s Day, let’s give moms what they really need: equal pay.

Raising children may be the most important job in the world, but it comes with a steep price tag. The devaluation of the work moms do, combined with a lack of supportive fam­ily policies in the workplace, results in economic penalties that can be devastating. According to a recent study by Dr. Heidi Hartmann, of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the responsibility for family labor over a 15-year period caused women to earn only $273,592 while the aver­age man earned nearly three times as much—$722,693.

The motherhood penalty has gained significance as more mothers have entered the paid workforce. Since 1975, the labor force participation of mothers with children under 18 has increased from 47% to 72%: Among mothers with children under the age of 3, participation has surged from 34% to 61%.”

To read the full article, visit Forbes.com. 

April 25, 2008

Working Women Fare Better in Retirement
U.S. News & World Report
By Emily Brandon

“Employment, health, and marital status are the critical factors that influence whether older women will become or stay poor during their retirement years, according to AARP. Divorce, widowhood, or never having married typically reduce women's retirement nest egg.

But a new research report put out by AARP found that baby boomers and younger generations of women who rely on their own earnings and retirement plans rather than a spouse's will fare better in retirement than the current crop of elderly women. The report, by Sunhwa Lee and Lois Shaw of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, says:

Retirement income for younger generations of women will more likely be based on their own employment and earnings, not their spouses'. While marriage for older women has been crucial in protecting themselves against poverty, marriage is not likely to play an important role for younger women who have very different marital histories—high rates of divorce, re-marriage or never being married.

Younger women are more likely to have continuous work experience compared to the older generation in this study, most of whom left work when their children were young but returned to work as their children grew older. With a continuous work record, younger women are likely to have higher income from Social Security and pensions.

Of course, younger people are also less likely than their elders to have defined-benefit pension plans that guarantee income for life.”

To read the full article, visit U.S. News & World Report online. 

April 24, 2008

Take Two on Time Off
The Washington Post
By Nancy Trejos

“There is no federal law requiring paid sick leave. The D.C. Council voted last month to make the District the second city in the nation to mandate some paid sick leave. San Francisco is the other city with such a law. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 57 percent of workers in private industry had access to paid sick leave in 2006.

Some changes have been made. In January, Congress passed and President Bush signed an act that allowed military families to take extended leave to care for an injured service member.
That has buoyed other efforts. Democrats in Congress have introduced a number of bills that would guarantee more time off when family needs arise. The Healthy Families Act, for one, would give workers seven days of paid sick leave to care for their own medical needs as well as those of a family member. The Balancing Act would provide paid family medical leave, benefits for part-time workers and time off for activities that require parental involvement, such as medical appointments.

Although Democrats control Congress, it is unclear how far such bills would go. Even if they made it through the House and Senate this session, getting past a Republican in the White House could prove difficult, according to a Democratic staff member in the House and some FMLA advocates.

‘There's growing support among policymakers and growing understanding for the importance of these measures,’ said Vicky Lovell, director of employment and work/life programs at the Institute for Women's Policy Research, a Washington nonprofit organization promoting women's issues. But, she added, ‘once a new administration is in place that would definitely add a lot of uncertainty.’”

To read the complete article, visit The Washington Post online.

April 13, 2008

Races Expected to Depend on Women
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Gracie Bonds Staples

“Before she met him 20 years ago, Grace Hawkins says her husband never voted. Maria Benitez contends her husband wouldn't bother if she didn't take him to the polling place.

But does this mean women are more politically active than their male counterparts?

Women say yes, they vote more, particularly when it comes to the presidential election. Men say yes, women vote more, but only because there are more of them.

Either way, political experts contend women will play a critical role in the 2008 election as they have in every presidential election since 1984, when they first outvoted men nationally.

‘It's true women outvote men and there has been a substantial gender gap in elections for years,’ said Amy Caiazza, director of democracy and society programs at the Institute for Women's Policy Research, a think tank in Washington, D.C. ‘I don't suspect it will be different this year. It's very probable women will decide this election.’

According to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Georgia Secretary of State's office, in 2004 turnout was higher for registered women voters, 65 percent, than for men, 62 percent. In Georgia, 79 percent of registered women voted compared to 75.6 percent of registered men. In Gwinnett, the difference was 83.6 percent of registered women, 80 percent for registered men.

To read the complete article, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  online.

April 12, 2008

Women at Risk Long After Katrina
Sun Herald (Mississippi)
By Megha Satyanarayana

“The lack of housing, child care and health care after Katrina has left a large number of women and children in danger of abuse and exploitation, according to a new study released Friday by a Washington women's policy group.

The Institute for Women's Policy Research study, ‘Women in the Wake of the Storm: Examining the Post-Katrina Realities of the Women of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast,’ chronicles interviews with 38 women. It is the culmination of a series of reports about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on women's ability to recover. The first studies covered statistics. This study, said author Avis Jones-DeWeever, is about people.

‘I think it's critical for people to see it's humans - mothers, sisters, daughters and granddaughters— behind those stats,’ she said.
The studies address how women fare during natural disasters, said Jones-DeWeever. Her findings suggest women, especially the poor and minorities, face the largest recovery hurdles.

And though Jones-DeWeever's sample set included women of many races and classes, she said there were common threads - access to affordable housing, health care and child care - all critical to returning to the work force and gaining independence.

The rental crisis has created an environment ripe for domestic violence, child abuse and molestation, said Jones-DeWeever. To this day, she said, multiple families live together in tight quarters. Some women, finding shelters full, have returned to batterers for lack of affordable housing.

[...]Though medical professionals are returning to the Coast, women without jobs don't have access to insurance for themselves or their children. Low-cost health care and Spanish-speaking providers are still hard to find and mental-health care even harder, said Jones-DeWeever.”

To read the complete article, visit the Sun Herald online.

April 11, 2008

Studies Show Housing Crisis Disproportionately Affects Women
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Michael E. Kanell

“Women on average were already in a more precarious economic position than men, and they appear to be taking much of the housing crisis hit.
Sales and prices are down. Foreclosures have spiked in Georgia and across the nation.
No one yet has a breakdown of the damage by gender. But studies show that women accounted for more than their share of the risky loans at the crest of the lending and buying boom.

‘Women are disproportionately impacted by the fallout from the housing crisis,’ said Avis Jones-DeWeever, an affiliated scholar with the Institute for Women's Policy Research.
‘People are losing their homes, or they are on the cusp of losing their homes,’ said Jones-DeWeever, in Atlanta for a three-day conference on economic justice that began Friday.

[...] During years of spectacular sales that ended in 2006, home prices in much of the country leaped by double digits annually.

In Georgia, where builders were adding more than 50,000 homes a year to the market, prices rose less sensationally, but still steadily.

Homeowners took enormous amounts of money from their homes by cashing out equity — while assuming that their home value would keep rising.
When the bubble burst, many homeowners found themselves owing more on their mortgage than the house as worth.
They couldn't refinance. They couldn't get cash for equity.
Worse, many faced higher rates or other financial trouble and couldn't make their monthly payments.

For women, who tend to have less income and wealth as a cushion, that adds up to danger, Jones-DeWeever said. ‘Women are more likely to fall into a financial crisis and when they are in crisis, it's harder to get out.’

[...] In 2005, about one-third of women homebuyers took mortgages with interest rates of more than 7.66 percent — at a time when the average prime mortgage rate was 5.87 percent, according to the CFA.

Just one-quarter of men took rates at that higher level. As many of the loans go bad, much of the damage may be concentrated in the black community, said Jones-DeWeever.

‘In the black community, half of home purchases are black women,’ she said. ‘And a disproportionate number of them are single mothers.’

To read the complete article, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution online.

|April 10, 2008
Assembly bill would mandate paid sick days
Ventura County Star (California)
By Timm Herdt

“State lawmakers on Wednesday took the first step toward making California the only state in the nation to require employers to provide paid sick days to workers.

Although paid sick days have long been a benefit enjoyed by higher-income workers, sponsors of the bill say 6 million California workers, or about 42 percent of the work force, must choose between going to work sick or missing a day's pay.

[...] The bill is sponsored by the California Labor Federation, which on Wednesday released a new study conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research. Among its findings: Newly covered workers would use an average of 1.7 sick days per year, the program would cost employers $1.3 billion a year, and employers would save $2.3 billion annually, mainly from reduced turnover costs.

‘Our research shows that it is possible to provide Californians with paid sick days without negatively impacting California employers,’ said Vicky Lovell, author of the report.

Although opponents expressed fear that mandated paid sick time would create the potential for abuse — employees calling in sick when they are not — Lovell noted the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that half of workers who now have paid sick days do not take any days off for illness in a given year.”

To read the complete article, visit the Ventura County Star online.

February 29, 2008
Texas on Pace for Record Voter Turnout
The New York Times
By Ralph Blumenthal

“Texans have never seen anything like this stampede to the polls for the March 4 face-off that could prove crucial to the presidential hopes of Mr. Obama’s Democratic opponent, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and provide perhaps the final boost to the all-but-anointed Republican nominee, Senator John McCain.

[...] In the state as a whole, early primary voters account for about 40 percent of the eventual vote total, said Kelly Fero, a leading Democratic strategist who is not working for either candidate. But in heavily Hispanic South Texas, where Mrs. Clinton is favored, the proportion is reversed, Mr. Fero said. If the Democratic momentum is moving in Mr. Obama’s direction, as polls suggest, the votes Mrs. Clinton has been able to bag early will prove particularly important, he said.

[...] The Texas women’s vote is also considered crucial. Older white women are Mrs. Clinton’s mainstay, nationwide results to date have shown. But, said Richard Murray, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, “women are younger in Texas than in Ohio and Pennsylvania.”

And studies show that Texas women rank at the low end of voter participation, said Elisabeth Crum, a spokeswoman for the Institute for Women’s Policy Research in Washington. In the Congressional elections of 1998 and the presidential election of 2000, Ms. Crum said, less than 42 percent of registered Texas women voted, ranking them 49th out of 50 nationwide.”

To read the complete article, visit The New York Times online.

February 25, 2008
On Diversity, American isn’t Putting its Money Where its Mouth is
The Wall Street Journal
By Carol Hymowitz

“[...] More than 40 years after job discrimination was outlawed, the wage gap between white men and just about everyone else persists.

[...] Women, overall, are substantially lagging behind men in pay. Full-time female employees earned 77% of all men's median wages. Breaking it down in terms of race, Asian-American women earned 78% of the median annual pay of white men; white women earned 73%; black women, 63%; and Hispanic women, 52%.

[...] The wage gap persists among young women who have more education than men their age. Last year, 45% of women ages 25 to 34 had a college degree, compared with 36% of young men. But women's median earnings overall were 14% lower, according to an analysis of recent Census Bureau data by Timothy Casey, a senior staff attorney at Legal Momentum, a New York advocacy group. Again, the gap may partly reflect that far fewer women than men major in engineering, business and other fields leading to high-paying jobs. Still, it is a reminder of how girls need to be encouraged to recognize their math and science abilities.

Young women earned 20% to 25% less than young men at the same education level -- about equal to men at an education level below theirs. ‘It's disheartening because the rate of progress toward equality that we saw in the 1970s and 1980s has slowed in recent years,’ says Heidi Hartmann, president and economist at the Institute for Women's Policy Research. ‘At the current rate, equal pay will take another 50 years.’”

To read the complete article, visit The Wall Street Journal online.

February 3, 2008
Stimulus Plan Falls Short in Female-Friendly Audit
Women’s eNews
By Allison Stevens

“[...] Although unemployment affects men and women equally, 37 percent of unemployed men receive unemployment benefits versus 33 percent of women, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The discrepancy is due to anachronistic eligibility rules written for a Depression-era labor market dominated by men, said Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, a think tank in Washington, D.C., that focuses on the economy. At the time, unemployment benefits were mainly designed as a safety net for those who worked full time, met a certain income threshold and lost their jobs solely because of an employer's decision.
Fewer women than men meet these criteria because they are more likely to hold lower-wage jobs, and therefore less likely to meet the system's earnings thresholds. Women are also more likely to work part-time, making them ineligible for unemployment benefits. And they are more likely to leave their jobs to take care of their families, because of domestic violence, harassment or stalking, or to follow a spouse.

‘While job loss in these situations is described as a 'voluntary' quit, in a very real sense it is not voluntary; it is a worker's only option,’ Vicky Lovell, an employment expert at the Institute for Women's Policy Research, wrote in the report.”

To read the complete article, visit womensenews.org.

January 27, 2008
No-nonsense Advice for Working Women
USA Today
By Linda M. Castellitto

“Even after all these years of struggle, women still are paid less than men for the same job. True, too: Women are free to pursue any job.

That bad-news-good-news scenario riles Kelly Love Johnson, author of Skirt! Rules for the Workplace: An Irreverent Guide to Advancing Your Career.

One 2006 study from the Institute for Women's Policy Research states women who work full time earned 76.5% as much as men in 2004. ‘The wage gap seems to be the last bastion of gender discrimination in the workplace, but it's a big one,’ Johnson writes.”

To read the complete article, visit USA Today online.

January 9, 2007
Starting From Scratch At 50
Forbes.com
By Elizabeth G. Olson

“For women--especially those who have been out of the workforce for years--the transition can be particularly tough. ‘Most women have devoted more time and effort to their families,’ says Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women's Policy Research. ‘Then, when there's a divorce or spousal illness, they suddenly realize they need to get cracking.’

In 2000, the percentage of working women 55 and over was 26.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last year, that number crept up to 33.2 %. ‘Clearly, women don't do as well financially when there is a divorce,’ says David Popenoe, co-director of the National Marriage Project, a Piscataway, N.J., research group.

Consider, too, that fewer than one in three women have pensions (compared to one out of every two men), and those that do typically receive about half the amount men do, according to a December report by the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington, D.C."

To read the complete article, visit Forbes.com.

December 13, 2007
Union Pushes to Mandate Sick Leave
The State Journal (West Virginia)
By Walt Williams

“A union representing health care and social service workers in three states says that more than a quarter-million West Virginians are not getting paid when they're out sick from work and is proposing a new law to do something about it.
The Service Employees International Union wants state lawmakers to require that any employer with 25 or more employees provide at least seven days of paid sick leave per year for workers.

...There currently is no federal law that requires that workers receive paid time off, according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization promoting women's issues.
Federal workers receive paid sick leave, as do most state and local government employees. Only 52 percent of private-sector jobs are entitled to paid sick days, IWPR reported.

‘We do know there are employers who would like to offer paid sick time, but their competitors don't offer it, so they think it will put them at a disadvantage,’  said Vicky Lovell, director of employment and work/life programs for IWPR.

Lovell said research has shown businesses that offer paid sick leave have lower turnover of employees and have healthier work environments because workers stay home rather than come to work and pass off the flu or other diseases to fellow employees.”

To read the complete article, visit The State Journal online.

December 9, 2007
With No Federal Law for Paid Sick Leave, Ailing Families Need Backup
Omaha World-Herald
By Joe Ruff

“Working parents often scramble to find someone to care for their children when the kids come down with a minor illness like an earache, a sore throat or a runny nose.

Now there are efforts in Congress to make sick leave, including leave to care for sick children, mandatory at many businesses.

...Federal law does not require employers to provide paid sick leave -- and about half of all workers in the private sector do not have it, according to surveys by the U.S. Department of Labor. More than 80 percent of part-time workers around the country lack paid sick leave, reports the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington, D.C.

Those percentages hold true in Nebraska, State Department of Labor records show.

Lack of paid sick days can leave parents who are ill -- or who are well but whose children are sick -- in a difficult position, said Vicky Lovell, director of employment and work-life programs at the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

Even people with paid sick leave sometimes find it applies only to them, and they cannot use it to take care of their loved ones, Lovell said.

‘We don't have very good compensation packages in the United States,’ she said. ‘They are all voluntary.’

... Benefits of paid sick leave include people staying home and healing instead of spreading illnesses to co-workers, said Lovell, whose group researches workplace, health and family issues that affect women.

Productivity also is hurt when sick people drag themselves into work, and employee retention rates are higher among businesses that grant paid sick days, Lovell said.

Women in particular are affected by a lack of paid sick leave at work, because traditionally they are expected to stay at home with sick children, she said. Her group has estimated paid sick leave would save employers more than it costs because of lower turnover rates and higher productivity.”

To read the complete article, visit the Omaha World-Herald online.

December 4, 2007
Job Security for 50-Plus at Stake in Bias Case
Women’s eNews
By Allison Stevens

“Age discrimination is certainly not only a women's rights concern.

... Loss of employment, meanwhile, can be harder on women, says Erica Williams, study director at the Institute for Women's Policy Research, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

The combination of women earning less throughout their lifetimes, having less in the way of pensions or retirement accounts and having a longer life expectancy means that women in older age are more likely to be poor or disabled, to live alone, to rely on a single income or to depend on public service programs, says Williams.

...’All of that has important implications for older women who are trying to secure some employment in their retirement-age years,’ Williams said. ‘If they're also facing age discrimination, they may not be able to get a job to help them supplement Social Security benefits or what little retirement income they have.’”

To read the complete article, visit womensenews.org.

November 25, 2007
Mandating Humanity
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Editorial

“Too many American workers risk their jobs by getting sick. Half of all private-sector workers lack sick leave. They often trudge to work anyway when ill, grimacing through the pain.
But the tougher bind comes when their children become sick. Taking off to care for the children can lead to discipline at work. Yet parents often find they have little choice but to do so.
Lawmakers, both state and federal, could ease this dilemma by mandating that companies give sick leave when employees or their family members become ill - a standard requirement in most nations, including all other highly developed nations.

... The Institute for Women's Policy Research found that the Healthy Families bill, which would mandate seven paid sick days a year, would cost employers $20.2 billion annually in wages, payroll taxes and administrative expenses but would save them $28 billion by stemming productivity losses from the spread of the flu and the high turnover the lack of sick days engenders.”

To read the complete article, visit The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  online. 

November 12, 2007
Diversity: Cable Should Take Lead on Pay Equity
Cable World
By Benita Fitzgerald Mosley

“In the past five years, American corporate giants like Wal-Mart, Morgan Stanley, Home Depot, FedEx and General Electric, to name a few, have faced expensive discrimination suits. In 2007, Congress and contenders for the White House addressed the issue, with a recent Supreme Court decision prompting women's groups to push for passage of the Fair Pay Restoration Act this fall. The message for corporate America should be clear -- the issue of pay equity is an opportunity and a threat.

In many ways cable is at the forefront of innovative pay policies. When WICT's PAR Initiative launched in 2003, 71 percent of companies lacked formal pay equity policies. Today, 60 percent have them. Pay equity policies are just a starting point, however.

A 2006 study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research found wage disparities by gender, race and ethnicity in the communications and media sector. The multitude of services provided by our industry doesn't fit neatly into one of the Institute's categories, but the wage gap persists across the sector: Women employed by Internet Service Providers fared best, earning 99 percent as much as men; women in Wired and Wireless Telecommunications earn only 71 and 72 percent, respectively, of what men earn. The Radio/TV/Cable sector came in between the two, with women earning 90 percent as much as men.”

To read the complete article, visit Cable World online. 

November 7, 2007
Paid sick-day bill right prescription, doctors, labor say
The Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By John J. Monahan

“Vicky Lovell, author of the [IWPR] employer cost-and-benefit study [on paid sick days], told the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development at its first hearing on the bill that an estimated 1.4 million workers in Massachusetts, 47 percent of the work force, have no paid sick days as part of their job benefits. For lower-wage workers, she said, 80 percent are not given paid sick days.
She said one sick worker can start a chain of infectious contacts that ultimately can be much more expensive for an employer than the cost of paid sick days for that first worker. She cited scientific studies showing a worker with the flu may infect one of every four co-workers.
Children and classrooms are also affected by workers without sick days, she said. Other studies she said show every day in Massachusetts 7,000 children too sick to be in school bring their germs to classrooms because their parents cannot take a sick day to stay home with them. ‘This is even a greater public health risk than adults being on the job when sick because children are more efficient disease vectors than adults,’ she said.
Beyond the flu, she and others said some businesses such as restaurants that have no sick days run a greater risk of other, sometimes more serious illnesses, such as the noroviruses and hepatitis A. A panel of Boston-area doctors gave the committee numerous examples of sick children getting sicker when parents were unable to care for them at home. ”

November/December 2007 

Sex change for the better?
Pink Magazine
By Christine Van Dusen

“Testimonials and statistics tell of the problem. The wage gap for women didn’t narrow in 2006 (hovering around 77 cents to the dollar), which means equal pay could ‘take another 50 years,’ says Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., president and economist at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. And a new study from Catalyst suggests that persistent gender stereotypes place women in “double-bind” dilemmas that hinder their advancement at work.

But for decades there have always been excuses. Naysayers shake their heads at the stats and suggest the issue is more subtle, that it’s the particular people and personalities—not their genders—that are the cause of the disparities... And sadly, the lame explanations always raise just enough reasonable doubt that nothing much has changed.”

To read the complete article, check out the November/December issue of Pink, on newstands now.