Issues

November 2003

Note: The online version of this newsletter has been edited to comply with Federal Election Commission regulations.

The Gender Gap Persists

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune discussed the persistent gender gap and its long-term effects. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report in September stating that the pay gap had shrunk, although women still only earn 78 percent of what white men do. This number is not clear-cut though. Many minority women earn much less and the gap has been shown to widen with age. Women fresh out of college or graduate school get paid 84 percent of what their male peers do, but by the time they have worked for five years their pay starts to fall seriously behind that of men's. By the time women reach midcareer and midlife, they are earning three-fourths of what men do. Over an entire career this adds up to a difference of $523,000 for the same quality of work in similar jobs.

Some analysts claim that women dropping out of the workforce to have children can explain the difference, but less well-intentioned forces are also at work. The socialization of women is partially to blame. It has been found that only 7% of women will negotiate for a higher wage in their first job, while 57% of men do. When women advocate on their own behalf for what they deserve, a double standard for make them appear bossy, pushy or too assertive. Failing to ask for higher pay and raises adds up over time.

The proposed federal Paycheck Fairness Act helps to fill some of the gaps. It would protect employees from being fired for discussing salary, a key to overcoming the gender gap. It also would require companies to report the state of gender pay equity among their employees. The Paycheck Fairness Act is stalled in Congressional Committees.

Another key to pay equity is union membership. Unions provide women with help advocating for better, more equitable pay. Union women currently earn 30 percent more than their non-union counterparts.

Women's Rights Department and CLUW

In October, Ohio's Coalition of Labor Union Women Conference kicked off an exciting new labor union women voter initiative in Ohio. Led by AFSCME's Take Back America Program, Ohio AFSCME and the Ohio AFL-CIO are organizing and mobilizing all union women in Ohio and forging coalitions through an ongoing, year-round, political action contract program called Partnership of Ohio Women. The Ohio project includes an effort to increase participation of AFSCME women through the Nine Plus Nine program. Each activist is asked to submit the names of nine other union women to participate in the program in an effort to communicate with greater numbers of union women.

For more information on the program contact Barbara Janis at 614-890-4770.

Female Senators Preparing to Defend Their Seats in 2004

It is less than one year from Election Day, and things are looking up for the female senators who face reelection in 2004. There was concern earlier this year that since a record number of women are up for reelection, that this would open the door for potential losses in the number of women in the U.S. Senate. According to the online news magazine Women's Enews, the five women up for reelection are looking stronger now, and their challengers are starting to back off.

This is good news for EMILY's List, an organization that gives millions of dollars to female candidates in contested races for federal office in attempt to achieve greater gender parity in Congress. They have helped women win a record 14 seats in the Senate, which is a tremendous gain since 1986 when Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) became the first Democratic woman to win a seat in her own right (that is without succeeding a husband who died in office).

Beyond the female incumbents, there are a number of newcomers trying to break into Congress in 2004. Missouri, California and Arizona all have women running for Congressional seats. The candidates, who are considered long shots at this point, are running against incumbent, Republican men. According to Rutger's Center for American Women and Politics, women have a 54 percent chance of winning open-seat races, but only a 12 percent chance of unseating incumbents. Get involved by volunteering for elections in your area; getting others registered; and activated to vote; and working toward putting more women in office at all levels of government.

Danger in Nurses' Long Hours

Although this is not surprising news to nurses, The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine issued a report in November that states nurses working more than 12 hours a day endangers patient care. The long hours cause fatigue, reduce productivity, increase the risk that nurses make mistakes and make it less likely that nurses will identify medication errors before they reach patients. The report calls on state officials to prohibit nurses from working more than 12 hours in any 24 hour period or more than 60 hours a week. They also support federally mandated minimum staffing standards for registered and licensed nurses in nursing homes. The report, Keeping Patients Safe: Transforming the Work Environment of Nurses, is available online from the National Academies Press. 

Women's Rights Department Email List

Our website has been updated recently and now has more current and changing information. We encourage you to visit the website often for updates on new issues affecting women. Also, there has been a link added to access current and archived WomENews.

We are working to build a comprehensive contact email list and would like your help. Please forward this to other AFSCME members that might not have received it and let them know they should contact us via email so we can add them to our database. Write to womensrights@afscme.org and tell us you'd like to be added to the database. Please include your name, local/council/unit number, email address, and mailing address.

WomENews is produced by the Women's Rights Department and written by Sabrina Denney Bull.

 

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