–Barack Obama, Speech in Washington, DC

November 10, 2005

Fixing the Nation’s Health Care System: More than 19 million women are uninsured in this country, and women are more likely than men to delay or not get medical care because of high costs.

Empowering Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last twenty years.

Supporting Research into Women’s Health: Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women, accounting for nearly 39 percent of all female deaths. Also, arthritis, asthma, autoimmune diseases, and depression.

Fighting Cancer: Ovarian cancer is the fourth-leading cause of cancer-related death among women in the United States

Reducing Health Risks Due to Mercury Pollution: More than five million women of childbearing age have high levels of toxic mercury in their blood and more than 630,000 newborns are born every year at risk.

Supporting Stem Cell Research: President Obama and Vice President Biden believe that we owe it to the American public to explore the potential of stem cells to treat the millions of people suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases.

Supports a Woman’s Right to Choose: President Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him.

Preventing Unintended Pregnancy: President Obama was an original co-sponsor of legislation to expand access to contraception, health information, and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies. Introduced in January 2007, the Prevention First Act will increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods. The Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims.

Reducing Domestic Violence: One in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. Family violence accounted for 11 percent of all violence between 1998 and 2002.

Strengthening Domestic Violence Laws: Approximately 1,400 women a year — four every day — die in the United States as a result of domestic violence. And 132,000 women report that they have been victims of a rape or attempted rape, and it is estimated that an even greater number have been raped but do not report it.

Fighting Gender Violence Abroad: The genocide in Darfur has had particularly devastating consequences for women. Tens of thousands of women have been killed, raped, and displaced since the conflict began in 2003.

Fighting for Pay Equity: Despite decades of progress, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.

Expanding Paid Sick Days: Today, three-out-of-four low-wage workers have no paid sick leave. It is fundamentally unfair that a single mom playing by the rules can get fired or lose wages because her child gets sick.

Investing in Women-Owned Small Businesses: Women are majority owners of more than 28 percent of U.S. businesses, but head less than 4 percent of venture-capital-backed firms.

Protecting Social Security: Americans are increasingly at risk of working their entire lives only to face retirement in poverty.

Raise the minimum wage: President Obama and Vice President Biden will raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs.

Helping Low-Income Workers: The President and Vice President will invest $1 billion over five years in transitional jobs and career pathway programs that implement proven methods of helping low-income Americans succeed in the workforce.

Protecting Title IX: President Obama and Joe Biden support eliminating gender discrimination in American schools.

Expanding Early Childhood Education: President Obama has been a champion of early childhood education since his years in the Illinois legislature, where he led the effort to create the Illinois Early Learning Council.

Post from: Blisstree

Obama Administration Agenda On Women

There is an article in the Wall Street Journal by Sue Shellenbarger about Pregnancy Discrimination explaining that claims are up and pregnant women are shocked to learn they have very few rights.

“Pregnancy-bias complaints recorded by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission surged 14% last year to 5,587, up 40% from a decade ago and the biggest annual increase in 13 years.

The agency also received 20,400 pregnancy-bias inquiries at its call center last year, the center’s first full year of operation; that doesn’t include thousands more walk-ins asking about the same topic at fair-employment offices.

“I thought we were protected,” said an advertising executive during a recent gathering of 100 working mothers. “Then I find out we can be fired while we’re pregnant, employers can refuse to hire us — what exactly are our rights?”

While employers can indeed fire, lay off or refuse to hire pregnant women, they can’t single them out for worse treatment.

Many hotline callers also don’t realize they aren’t entitled by federal law to paid childbirth leave, says Melissa Josephs of Women Employed, an advocacy group that runs a hotline,” the article states.

The Family Medical Leave Act only guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave and only if they have over 50 employees. Many women use their disability insurance and vacation days to keep getting a paycheck for 6-8 weeks.

Both times I was pregnant I experienced pregnancy discrimination. The second time I was fired at 8 months after repeated comments about my pregnancy being inconvenient to them and losing their training investment. My final firable infraction? Placing labels on a newsletter I wrote for them crooked. What I could do about it? Nothing.

‘”Employers can’t justify adverse actions by using stereotypes, either, such as “now that you’re pregnant, the best thing for you to do is go raise your kid,” says Elizabeth Grossman, an EEOC regional attorney,”‘ says the article.

Oh, you mean like when my boss told me that No I couldn’t work from home, even though he allowed one male editor to work from his San Francisco home and then explained when I quit that he respected my decision to stay home with my baby cause he believed that was best.

It was shocking to me too how few rights pregnant women have against discrimination. Perhaps you too have been thinking you have more rights than you do?

What action can we take? Join MomsRising.org and join the Mother’s Movement to end pregnancy discrimination and expand the Family Medical Leave Act.

Here’s MY family values - Stop Sacrificing MOM!

Post from: Blisstree

Stop Sacrificing Mom!

Post from: Blisstree

Family Medical Leave Act Petition

I had this boss last year who was a “mean girl.” She was such a cliché that I found it rather funny and was able to see her from the outside of the situation and not internalize her opinion of me – sort of.

She pulled me out back where she would smoke and pretend to be my friend and very seriously she said,

You can’t keep coming to work with your hair like that. It is not appropriate for it to be pulled back and it looks horrible. You really shouldn’t get highlights if you can’t afford to keep them up. Who is your hairdresser? 

And something has to happen with your clothes. I mean, don’t you own anything brown? I think brown would be a better choice. I’m embarrassed for our customers to see you, which is why I keep you hidden in the back.  

You must understand why I was simply stunned by these comments. This was a casual work environment with no dress code. Everyday she and her husband, the owners and therefore the people who I looked to for my clothing direction, wore shorts, flip-flops and jeans. I was growing out my hair and had taken to pulling it back in a neat bun or pony tail to keep it from hanging in my face. I had roots, for sure, because I was working this part-time job to pay off debt not to keep up my highlights.

I agonized over what exactly the difference between my clothes and theirs were and the only thing I could come up with, because we were all wearing shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops, was the fact that their flip-flops were designer and mine were $3 from K-Mart. Their shorts were from the Gap and mine from a garage sale. Their t-shirts had a designer logo and mine did not.

So I made a trip to the Gap and spent a staggering $240 of our emergency fund – you know the fund that’s supposed to pay the rent if the primary income disappears for some unforeseeable reason. I really had no fun buying the six pieces I bought because I am terminally cheap – out of necessity. And I made an appointment with a higher class hairdresser to get my roots done. She loved the Gap outfits, khaki capris that seemed exactly the same as the knock-off version I had worn the week before.

But, she had to pull me out back again to ask me why on earth the hairdresser would pull my hair through a cap.

I don’t know why she would do that, I just figured if I paid her a whopping $80 of my emergency fund then she would know what was best to do for my hair.  

Again the lecture about me not being in a position to have highlights and I should just grow my hair out. Several months later my co-worker told me that my boss had worked as a prestigious hairdresser for the last 20 years and had only recently begun managing the studio. All the sudden there was clarity about the baffling amount of attention she had bestowed upon my roots.

I got pregnant about a month after buying the Gap clothes, and promptly grew right out of them, not only did she express annoyance that this interfered with her plans for me as her employee, but she was downright rude and mean.

We really can’t afford for you to be gone during our Christmas rush. I mean, you’ve got to be 3-4 months pregnant right? She said while looking straight at my tummy in a disgusted way.

Actually, I’m four or five WEEKS pregnant and won’t be having the baby until March or April.  

Well, we hired you on the assumption that you would be here for a long time and training you is an investment for us. Are you planning on returning to work or what? Can you even afford daycare for two kids if you intend to come back? 

I’m a reporter who has extensively reported on the Family Medical Leave Act and discrimination about pregnancy issues and such matters. I am well aware that what she said was illegal. But, actually I did want to go back after I had the baby. Or at least, I wanted that door to be open for me so I could make the choice. But, I was also aware that FMLA didn’t protect me because there were only four employees in the whole company and the law protects small business before protecting pregnant employees. All of which is beside the point of my story.

The point is that she was exhibiting classic, junior high school, mean girl behavior toward me because really she was just a snob. Maybe she felt inferior because I had artistic skills and she only did the books or maybe she was feeling intimidated by my education and credentials and wanted me to be aware that she was the boss and I was her underling. Whatever – she was resorting to junior high tactics in an adult world. Maybe she was having flashback of her own “oil field trash” background and was terrified that my poverty might leak out all over her. I can’t really say.

I just tried to stifle the laughter when she was pretending not to be aware that this was what she was doing. Of course, they found a reason to “lay me off” after the Christmas rush. They just didn’t want to deal with a pregnant employee and maternity leave and whether I was coming back or not. Really, I just think that size 0 princess couldn’t stand to look at me. They had to pay unemployment though because it not like someone 7 months pregnant is really employable.

I want to say that I didn’t internalize any of it, because I’m so mature that I could stand outside of it and see that she is just a sad figure that crossed my path.

But, I did get pink highlights. Why? Because I CAN! Take that Tammy Bean (obviously this is not her real name), I can have my hair anyway I want. If I want highlights, I am within my rights to have them and if I want to have pink hair – well, I don’t have a boss or a principal, so I can. And if I want to wait 4 months to get my roots done, then I will.  

Post from: Blisstree

Because I Can