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NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund Changes
Name to Legal Momentum
After 34 years, the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund has changed
its name to Legal Momentum. Its new tag line will be "Advancing Women's
Rights." In an open letter, President Kathy Rodgers says the new name
captures the mission of the organization: "to advance the rights of
women and girls by using the power of the law and creating innovative
public policy." Legal Momentum will continue its well-established
partnership with the National Organization for Women and will continue
to focus on economic justice, ending gender-based violence, and equality
under the law. For more information, visit www.legalmomentum.org.
Survey Says: U.S. Will Have Woman President
in 20 Years or Less
A survey by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and
the Allstate Foundation concluded recently that 61 percent of people
believe the United States will have a woman president in 20 years
or less. Of this group, 24 percent believe a woman will be elected
president in 10 years or less. At the National Conference for College
Women Student Leaders, AAUW President Nancy Rustad said, "With women
continuing to advance into leadership positions throughout the public
and private sectors, it is encouraging to see that we are moving closer
to a time when there will no longer be a question of 'if' a woman
will be elected President but 'when.'"
The survey also found that 51 percent of respondents believe a man
from a minority group will be president of the United States before
a woman and that 87 percent of people believe young women have greater
leadership opportunities than women did 10 years ago. Moreover, 83
percent of respondents believe community service prepares young women
somewhat well or very well for leadership roles. Women respondents,
in particular, valued community service as a way to develop strong
women leaders. Visit www.aauw.org/about/newsroom/press_releases/040603.cfm
to read more about the survey's findings.
Women Still Second-Class Citizens at Work
The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) notes that women are still
second-class citizens in the workplace. Without a doubt, significant
gains have been made since 1964 when women were excluded from many
jobs and when women working full-time earned 61 cents for every dollar
men earned. For example, today women make up more than half of the
law students and 30 percent of lawyers in the United States. However,
discrimination and inequities still exist:
- Women who work full-time year-round earn only about 77 cents for
every dollar men earn. For women of color, the wage gap is even
worse, with African-American women earning 66 cents, and Hispanic
women earning only 54 cents, to each dollar a white man earns.
- Women continue to be overrepresented in occupations traditionally
reserved for women. In 2003, secretarial work, elementary and middle
school teaching, and nursing were still the leading occupations
for women. In fact, women constituted 96.3 percent of all secretaries
in 2003. However, women were only 1 percent of plumbers and 2.1
percent of electricians, which are often higher-paying occupations.
- Women continue to encounter a glass ceiling. While 80 percent
of office and clerical workers are women, only 34 percent of officers
and managers are women. Women make up only 16 percent of corporate
officers in the 500 largest American companies. And just 2 percent
of these officers are women of color.
For more information, visit the National Women's Law Center at www.nwlc.org/details.cfm?id=1925§ion=infocenter.
Restore Civil Rights: Support the FAIRNESS
Act
Congress intended for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX, and
the Age Discrimination in Employment Act to protect the rights of
people of color, women, girls, older workers, and others in education
and the workplace. However, recent federal court decisions have eroded
those protections and restricted civil rights laws. To counteract
this attack on civil rights, members of Congress have introduced Fairness
and Individual Rights Necessary to Ensure a Stronger Society: The
Civil Rights Act of 2004 (the FAIRNESS Act).
According to the National Women's Law Center, over 180 women's and
civil rights groups have endorsed the FAIRNESS Act. The FAIRNESS Act
aims to restore protections for women and girls against sex discrimination
in several ways and would:
- ensure that women and girls can sue in court to challenge discriminatory
practices in education;
- ensure that young women are protected from sexual harassment in
school;
- strengthen equal pay protections for women in the workplace; and
- ensure girls and women have access to effective remedies, including
the right to receive punitive damages.
Further, the FAIRNESS Act not only restores Congress' purpose of
protecting victims against discrimination based on sex, but also of
protecting victims of discrimination based on race, color, national
origin, disability, and age as well.
The bill is currently under consideration in both the House and Senate.
To read more about the FAIRNESS Act and learn how you can support
it, visit www.civilrights.org/campaigns/civil_rights_act/.
Taxes ARE A Women's Issue!
The National Council for Research on Women (NCRW) will release Taxes
ARE A Women's Issue! this fall. The report examines the current
tax system and focuses on how it puts women, their families, and their
communities at a disadvantage. Women and their families often benefit
from tax-supported services and thus have the most to lose when tax
cuts lead to spending cuts. Further, most women do not benefit from
the recent tax cuts, which primarily benefit those in the higher tax
brackets. Women, however, account for 65 percent of those in the lowest
tax bracket, and most of the 27 percent of taxpayers who receive no
tax cut under the recent plan are women. Taxes ARE A Women's Issue!
is intended to educate women about these issues and motivate them
to speak out about current tax policy. To order an advance copy of
the report, contact Nellie Pearson at npearson@ncrw.org.
NCRW also facilitated dialogue about women and the economy at its
annual conference held in June in Washington, D.C. The conference,
which was titled Women's Voices Matter: Women Elect to Speak, also
included panels about women in the 2004 elections and the war in Iraq
and was attended by representatives from NCRW member organizations
and members of the public.
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