WHEREAS:

Over one-half of all adult women in the United States work outside of the home; and

WHEREAS:

In 1985, 70 percent of all full-time female workers were employed in occupations in which over three-quarters of their co-workers were women; and

WHEREAS:

More than one-third of all working women are employed in clerical jobs; and

WHEREAS:

The concentration of women in low-paying jobs and the lack of upward mobility within female-dominated job classifications leads to lower average wages for women; and

WHEREAS:

The wage gap between men and women increases with age. A 55-year-old woman on the average makes about the same as a woman at age 25, although males between the ages of 35 and 55 average twice the wages of younger men; and

WHEREAS:

The slight improvement in the wage gap between men and women workers is primarily due to the creation of lower-paying positions in male-dominated jobs, not the movement of women into higher-paying classifications; and

WHEREAS:

Female-dominated positions have traditionally been and remain undervalued even though AFSCME has been highly successful in achieving pay equity for a large number of jobs in the public sector.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That ending segregation in the workplace on the basis of sex as well as race, color, religion, national origin or age be a priority of AFSCME; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That employers' affirmative action programs be reviewed by the union to ensure that emphasis is placed upon identifying and ending segregation within the workplace; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That, along with pay equity and career mobility, workplace integration will be on AFSCME's agenda whenever the underpayment of women's work is addressed.

SUBMITTED BY:

International Executive Board