AAUW Sets Latest Agenda
POTSDAM - The American Association of University Women (AAUW) recently released its 2011-12 federal policy agenda, a comprehensive set of goals aimed at improving equity for women and girls.
The priorities for the next two years will address the breadth of issues from AAUW's member-endorsed Public Policy Program while focusing on closing the persistent gender pay gap, expanding workplace and educational opportunities for women and girls, and ensuring civil rights.
Since the American Association of University Women's founding over 130 years ago, women have made great strides toward achieving equality of opportunity, and AAUW has long been a key catalyst for such change. Women now earn the majority of bachelor's degrees, and represent half of the paid workforce.
AAUW's 100,000 members and donors are proud of the role they have played in the important gains women have made, and remain steadfast in the commitment to creating a level playing field for all women and girls.
However, gender gaps persist, from grade school through employment and into retirement. Women who work full time earn on average 77 cents for every dollar men earn.
High school girls represent only 17 percent of computer science Advanced Placement test takers, and college-educated women earn only 29.1 percent of bachelor's degrees in mathematics and computer science (down from 39.3 percent in 1984).
Only 15 Fortune 500 CEOs are women, and for the first time in decades there are fewer women in Congress today than the year before. In addition, women tend to be overwhelmingly clustered in low-wage, low-skill fields, making up less than 25 percent of workers in high-wage, high-skill fields.
Further, many of these jobs do not provide women with important health care and retirement benefits or work-life balance supports such as flexible scheduling, paid sick days, or paid parental leave.
AAUW's federal policy agenda builds upon more than a century of advocacy by AAUW members at the local, state, national and international levels; strives to break through barriers so all women and girls have a fair chance; and moves us closer to true economic and educational equity for all. The entire policy agenda is available on the AAUW website www.aauw.org/act/issue_advocacy/upload/federalPolicyAgenda.pdf .
"Women make such crucial contributions to their families and communities," said AAUW Executive Director Linda D. Hallman, CAE.
"But the simple truth is that our contributions are often undervalued and underpaid. Given the nation's ongoing economic struggles, there is no better time to capitalize on the unique strengths of women as workers and caregivers. Investing in women is smart economics as we are the critical drivers of the country's financial recovery."
"Voters generally remain concerned first and foremost with the economy and job creation, and women are clear about these priorities as well. Women make up more than half the workforce, and, as such, are an important part of the 21st-century economy," said Lisa Maatz, AAUW director of public policy and government relations.
"AAUW's agenda reflects women's key roles and advocates for improvements that will benefit the nation as a whole. All American workers must have an opportunity to provide for their families, so our priorities include fair pay, job training, higher education, and other ways to jump start the innovation economy," Maatz continued.
Some of the highlights from AAUW's 2011-12 federal policy agenda include
* Expanding educational opportunities: AAUW will work to ensure that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is reauthorized, the achievement gap is addressed, and access to higher education is increased. Once in the workforce, workers looking to retool and retrain must be able to affordably access the training they need, without the barrier of occupational segregation.
* AAUW also supports strengthening both Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and education in science, technology, engineering, and math - areas crucial to American competitiveness - especially for women and other underrepresented populations.
* Promoting economic security: As pay inequities undermine the economic security of families, AAUW will continue to urge the passage of appropriate measures and regulations that address the pay gap. AAUW also supports policies that promote work-life balance, improve retirement security, and supplement the legal advances made in health care security for women.
Equal Pay is April 12 this year, the day when the paychecks of American women finally catch up to the amounts their male counterparts earned in calendar 2010. Equal Pay Day usually falls around Tax Day which is ironic considering that women pay equal taxes but don't make equal pay.
Ensuring civil rights: AAUW's policy priorities include continued attention to judicial and executive branch nominations; ensuring civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning Americans; reauthorizing the Violence against Women Act; and protecting women's reproductive health services.
For more information about AAUW locally, contact President Lisa Wilson at 353-2513 or e-mail lwilson17@aol.com or Public Policy Chair Kathleen Stein at 386-3812 or kstein1@twcny.rr.com .
