Public Employee Press

Current economic crisis wallops women harder

A deluge of dismal economic developments threatens to drown ordinary working and middle-class Americans, who are struggling to stay afloat. Because the economic squeeze is having an even worse impact on the lives of women, Cornell University’s Institute for Women and Work recently assembled a panel of speakers from the worlds of politics, policy, business and labor to address this topic.

Institute Director Francine Moccio surveyed the packed room and noted that the research studies and collaborative relationships forged by the Institute have provided a solid foundation for the activism of the legislative, labor and policy groups that participated in the forum Oct. 20.

As keynote speaker, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) eloquently dissected discrimination on several fronts — unequal pay, unpaid family and sick leave, and the lack of quality, affordable child care. She enumerated some stark facts: It still takes a woman 16 months to earn what a male earns in a year. The United States ranks last, 169th,, among nations in paid family leave. “We’re right there with Lesotho, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea,” she said. “What an embarrassment!”

Maloney succeeded in getting a laugh and lightening the mood with another sad fact: “The only area where women have achieved equality is in job loss,” she said.

Assistant Director Moira Dolan of the DC 37 Research and Negotiations Dept. concentrated on the ways the union supports the economic viability of families. She pointed to the state-funded voucher program that helps low-income families pay for child care, which DC 37 won together with a coalition.

Dolan also cited the union program to help members get affordable housing and renegotiate troubled mortgages, the education programs that give members a boost on the ladder to economic advancement, DC 37’s constant advocacy for working families, and the health and security benefits that are so important to union families. She pointed out that only 9 percent of workers have similar benefits.