Women's Equality Day underscores the fact that in wages and other economic factors, American women have a way to go to achieve equality.
by Lacey McLaughlin August 26, 2009
Today, National Women's Equality Day commemorates the 89th anniversary of women's suffrage, the day that women gained the right to vote in the U.S. While women have reached several milestones since then, research shows that there is still much progress to be made.
The National Women's Law Center reports that in Mississippi women are paid 73 cents for every dollar paid to men. This falls 5 percent below the national average of 78 cents paid to women for every dollar men earn.
The Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women finds that the Magnolia State ranks near the bottom for women elected to office compared to other states in the nation. Currently, Mississippi is one of only two states that have never elected a woman either as governor or as a member of Congress, states a report issued this month.
The report also shows that the average support payment per child is less than $600 a year. The state's current child-support formula is based on a fixed formula that does not include expenses for child-care or health-care expenditures.
Dr. Marianne Hill, senior economist at the Mississippi Institute for Higher Learning, is a member of the commission. Hill points out that high child-care costs coupled with low child-support payments and wages are just a few of the issues the commission is working to improve.
The Mississippi Legislature created the commission in 2001 as part of a nonpartisan effort comprised of 13 appointed members. The commission was designed to assess and influence policies that affect women.
"The average child-support payment is less than $100 per month," Hill told the Jackson Free Press. "In addition to that, there is no adjustment for inflation. That means the same amount will be paid each month from the time the child is one to 16—unless the mother goes to court."
The commission's report includes findings from a survey of state agencies. The survey collected data from state agencies including the Department of Health and the attorney general's office. The report recommends that the Department of Health place more focus on education for reproductive health and violence against women, and praises the attorney general's office for recent efforts to combat domestic violence through the creation of the Domestic Violence Unit.
Currently, the commission is planning a series of legal seminars this fall to address issues facing women. The commission has also circulated a paper on child support issues in an effort to gain support and feedback for legislation that would provide annual adjustments for inflation for child support payments.
Today (Wednesday) is Women's Equality Day, a celebration of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution which acknowledged the right of women to vote.
While it seems like ancient history -- the amendment became law in 1920 -- we still have a long way to go. Gender discrimination still exists, most notably in the work place. Women are paid 78 cents on average for every dollar earned by men. The disparity is even greater for women of color. We in New York have every right to be proud of our civil rights history. In 1849 Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott issued the Declaration of Sentiments, in the Finger Lakes town of Seneca Falls, demanding that the equal status of women be officially recognized and that women be given the right to vote. It was our own Congresswoman, Bella Abzug, who initiated the annual Women's Equality Day commemoration. New York was the first state to enact civil rights legislation outlawing discrimination based on gender, race, creed, a law that continues to be updated to reflect changing social conditions most recently adding protections for victims of domestic violence.
But to borrow a line from President Barack Obama "we cannot make the mistake of ignoring the fact that discrimination is still felt in America."
According to data compiled by the American Association of University Women ("AAUW"), females of all ages, races and education levels are paid, on average 22 percent less than males. African American women earn 30 percent less than males and Latinas earn 42 percent less than men. The median income of older women is half what it is for older men.
The AAUW states that female workers are still concentrated in traditionally female dominated professions, especially education and health industries, which continue to be lower paying than male dominated professions. Even in so-called male dominated fields the disparity is great--female marketing and sales managers earned $46,696 compared to $74,932 for males according to a 2005 survey.
This is more than a pure gender issue: working families lose $200 billion in annual income nationwide due to the gender gap; if married women received comparable pay families' poverty rates would fall from over 2 percent to less than 1 percent. Single working women would be the biggest beneficiaries of equal pay with their family poverty rate being cut in half. Progress is being made. On Jan. 29, President Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act which allows women to challenge pay discrimination by extending the time during which a complaint may be filed.
A motto in our office is, "Discrimination really hurts. If you see it or experience it, call us." That responsibility goes beyond the Division of Human Rights. That is the responsibility of every citizen, because if we are silent, discrimination by gender will continue and hatred will flourish. Whenever there is an act of individual bigotry or systemic discrimination we are all diminished because the humanity in our society is undermined and our efforts to evolve as a society are cut short.
I don't like Huff po but this article is important.
Evelyn Gandy - Ms. Native Ms. State Rep. Forrest Co. State Treasurer Commissioner of Insurance Commisssioner of Human Services Asst. Att. General Lieutenant Governor
"In the Battle that goes on in life I ask but a field that is fair A chance that is equal with all in the strife The courage to strive and to dare And if I should win, let it be by the code With my faith and my honor held high And if I should lose, let me stand by the road And Cheer as the winners go by."
-- Edited by Building 4112 on Thursday 27th of August 2009 12:40:42 AM