Legal Momentum Briefing Room

New Report Highlights Women's Advancements and Persistent Inequities in the United States

In 2009, President Obama created the White House Council on Women and Girls to ensure that the federal government provides a coordinated response to women’s issues. In honor of women’s history month, the Council, in conjunction with the Office of Management and Budget and the Economics and Statistics Administration, released "Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being," a report analyzing five key issues facing women: demographic and family changes, education, employment, health, and crime and violence.

"Women in America" demonstrates that women have advanced dramatically in American society, particularly in education.  More than ever before, women, from diverse racial and ethnic groups, enroll in institutions of higher education. In 2011, there are more women than men in both undergraduate and graduate schools. Women also have higher graduation rates at all academic levels than men.
Despite this progress, female students score lower than male students in mathematics assessment tests. While science, math and technology careers are dominated by men, women comprise two-thirds of global graduates in the humanities. Gender segregation in career and technical education – the path to jobs in the skilled trades, which lead to occupations with high wages, benefits, and opportunities for professional growth – continues. Legal Momentum's Pipeline Program seeks to address this disparity, forging systemic change in educational institutions to end the long history of gender segregation in these schools and career fields, while increasing the earnings potential and future economic security of low-income women.

Today, women's advances in education do not always translate success in the workforce. The gender pay gap continues: among those working full time, women earn, on average, 80 cents for every dollar men make.

"Women in America" also addresses the impact of criminal activity in American communities. Women are disproportionately affected by certain types of crime, particularly sexual victimization and intimate partner violence.

A recent study by Dr. Dean Kilpatrick of the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, Drug-facilitated, Incapacitated and Forcible Rape: A National Study, found that "during the past year alone [2006], over 1 million women in the U.S. have been raped…Our estimates do not appear to support the widely held belief that rape has significantly declined in recent decades."

While sexual violence remains a persistent problem for American women, "Women in America" does note that the rate of nonfatal intimate partner violence against women declined by more than 50 percent between 1994 and 2008. 1994 marked the passage of the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Legal Momentum was instrumental in passing VAWA and has advocated for its subsequent reauthorizations in 2000 and 2005. Since Congress passed VAWA in 1994, law enforcement and justice system officials have become increasingly involved in domestic violence cases, matters which were once perceived to be private concerns. The declining rate of intimate partner violence achieved by VAWA affects not only victims but their children as well. As "Women in America" explains, "Research demonstrates significant adverse impacts on children’s health and developmental well-being as a result of exposure to domestic violence."

"Women in America" finds that while women have achieved significant advances in education and employment, much work remains. Legal Momentum continues to confront the issues facing American women and children, from poverty to sexual violence. Learn more about Legal Momentum.

Federal Subminimum Wage Fails to Protect Tipped Workers, Especially Women

A new report by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics, "Waiting for Change: The $2.13 Federal Subminimum Wage," sheds light on the subminimum wage for tipped workers – 72.9% of whom are women.

The federal tip credit allows employers to pay tipped workers just $2.13 per hour – a rate far below the federal or state minimum wage – as long as this wage, combined with the workers’ tips, equates the federal minimum wage, $7.25 per hour. But most tipped workers are unaware of this requirement. And a recent Department of Labor study found that just 30% of employers who were found to have violated this requirement were in compliance by a later investigation.

Thus tipped workers are more than twice as likely to fall below the federal poverty line. And the gender wage gap affects tipped workers just as it affects women in all careers: women tipped workers earn, on average, $0.50 less per hour than male tipped workers as a whole. Waitresses earned, on average, $0.83 less than waiters.

The authors of "Waiting for Change" endorse the WAGES Act, introduced by Congresswoman Donna Edwards of Maryland. The WAGES Act would incrementally increase the minimum wages for tipped employees over the next three years, to 70% of the regular minimum wage by 2012. "Waiting for Change" also recommends strengthening workplace protections and increasing workplace benefits for tipped workers.

Legal Momentum has always been a leader in promoting opportunity and equality for women in workforce, particularly for women in low-wage jobs. "Waiting for Change" demonstrates Legal Momentum’s advocacy for low-income women is needed now more than ever.

Legal Momentum Celebrates International Women's Day

March 8th marks the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, first observed in the 1901, when thousands of women poured into the streets across the world to raise their voices against oppression and inequality. We have made significant progress toward ensuring women's health, safety, and economic security. But much work remains. From a persistent gender pay gap to the gender bias in schools, women and their families remain those hardest hit by the failure of governments across the world to provide adequate social services, especially during economic crises.

Since 1970, Legal Momentum has consistently worked to ensure the economic and personal security of women and girls. Our work includes advocacy and litigation to incorporate principles of international human rights law into United States law to strengthen the human rights of all women. Through amicus curiae briefs and policy advocacy, our work on international human rights law focuses on Congress and the courts. This work includes:

• Advocating for the U.S. government to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), a "women's bill of rights" ratified by over 180 countries. The United States is one of only seven countries in the world that have failed to ratify this landmark international human rights agreement.
• Serving as a member of the New York City Human Rights Initiative, an organization that advocates for Human Rights in Government Operations Audit Law (HR-GOAL), which requires city agencies to examine whether opportunities (including jobs) and services are being fairly distributed to women, people of color and other historically marginalized groups in New York City.
• Submitting several amicus curiae briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Court should consider international human rights law and U.S obligations in considering constitutional questions.

While we celebrate International Women's Day and the enormous achievements and contributions made by women across the world, Legal Momentum also recognizes the critical work that must be done to ensure full equality for all women.

• Read Legal Momentum's full statement in support of CEDAW.
• Learn more about Legal Momentum.

U.S. Women and Their Families Hurt by Lack of Paid Leave and Supportive Services

A new report by Human Rights Watch, "Failing its Families: Lack of Paid Leave and Work-Family Supports in the U.S.," finds that U.S. women desperately need paid leave laws, breastfeeding accommodations, and laws barring discrimination against workers with families. The lack of paid leave and protective laws for workers disproportionately affects women and their children. Many of the working women interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that their careers were derailed as a result of employer bias against women with family responsibilities. Many also recounted problems with postpartum depression and noted that they the lack of workplace breastfeeding accommodations forced them to give up the practice early.

"Failing its Families" demonstrates that existing legal protections do not fully protect working women and their families. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows U.S. workers with new children or severely ill family members to take unpaid, job-protected leave, but the FMLA covers only half the workforce. Only 11% of civilian workers (and 3% of the lowest-income workers) have paid family leave benefits. Roughly two-thirds of civilian workers have some paid sick leave, but only about a fifth of low-income workers do.  And studies show that the number of employers voluntarily offering paid family leave is declining.

As Legal Momentum has testified, the United States has much less generous parental leave than other rich countries and far less public support for child care. Notably, countries with paid leave policies also have higher levels of economic competitiveness compared to the United States.

Legal Momentum has long advocated for paid leave and workplace family supports. Learn more about Legal Momentum's advocacy for working women.

House Passes Bill Banning All Federal Funding for Planned Parenthood

Today the U.S. House of Representatives voted to deny all federal funding to Planned Parenthood health centers .The Pence Amendment, introduced by Mike Pence (R-IN), bans all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, despite the fact that the vast majority of their services are providing women with birth control, cancer screenings, HIV testing, and other lifesaving care.

It is important to note that the Hyde Amendment already prevents Planned Parenthood from using government funds to provide abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or when a woman's life is in danger. 

Most of the federal money Planned Parenthood receives is through Title X, which pays for pelvic exams, breast exams, safe-sex education, and basic infertility counseling, among other services. Title X money cannot be used to pay for abortions. Abortions made up just 3 percent of the patient services that Planned Parenthood offered in 2008. But Pence doesn't care: "If Planned Parenthood wants to be involved in providing counseling services and HIV testing, they ought not be in the business of providing abortions," the Indiana Representative told POLITICO. "As long as they aspire to do that, I’ll be after them."

Gail Collins of The New York Times points out the glaring hypocrisy of Pence’s legislation:

But here's the most notable thing about this whole debate: The people trying to put Planned Parenthood out of business do not seem concerned about what would happen to the 1.85 million low-income women who get family-planning help and medical care at the clinics each year. It just doesn’t come up. There’s not even a vague contingency plan… There are tens of millions Americans who oppose abortion because of deeply held moral principles. But they’re attached to a political movement that sometimes seems to have come unmoored from any concern for life after birth. (emphasis mine)

These women will have no where to turn for preventative health care. This is not just a women's issue -- it is also a public health issue. 

Please stand with Planned Parenthood to stop the Pence Amendment. Sign Planned Parenthood's open letter to Congress. Contact your Representative and Senators.

Social Safety Net Must Be Bolstered, Not Cut

"In 2008, the number of Americans living in poverty rose by 1.7 million to nearly 47.5 million. While hugely painful, that rise wasn’t surprising given the unraveling economy. What is surprising is that recent census data show that those poverty numbers held steady in 2009, even though job loss worsened significantly that year," wrote the New York Times editorial board last week.

This trend is the result of the strengthened social safety net, which provided millions of Americans with desperately needed assistance in 2009. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that government intervention, bolstered by the stimulus package, kept 4.5 million people above the poverty line in 2009 who would otherwise have fallen into poverty. These interventions came in the form of federal jobless benefits, tax credits for workers, and a strengthened food stamp program, among many others.

While these numbers are expected to be fairly similarly for 2010, a year which saw the same assistance offered as in 2009, the future doesn't look so bright. Federal aid is being drastically cut, as Republicans blocked the extension of a successful stimulus program that had created 250,000 subsidized jobs for young people and low-income parents.

Republicans were determined to renew the Bush tax cuts for the rich while simultaneously insisting that the stimulus was an expensive failure. The result of this pressure from the Republicans was an extension of federal jobless benefits in 2011, but in a drastically weaker form. Checks will be $25 less a week than before, potentially resulting in 175,000 more people falling into poverty in 2011. The Times writes:

"Clearly, the sheer scale of poverty — 15.7 percent of the country’s population — is unacceptable. But to keep millions more Americans from falling into poverty during a deep recession is a genuine accomplishment that holds a vital lesson: the safety net, fortified by stimulus, staved off an even more damaging crisis.

Congress should take a good look at those numbers, and consider that lesson carefully, before it commits to any more slashing and burning."

While Americans from all walks of life make up the 47.5 million people now in poverty, it is women and children who have been the hardest hit by the economic crisis. Adult women were thirty two percent more likely to be poor than adult men in 2009, with a poverty rate of 13.9% compared to the 10.5% rate for men. 16.4 million adult women were poor, compared to 11.7 million adult men. More than one in five children lived in poverty, one in three for African American children. A report by Legal Momentum, entitled "Reading Between the Lines: Women's Poverty in the United States, 2009," details this disparity.

Despite the enormous assistance provided by federal aid in assisting Americans, the safety net is not working as well as it should. Indeed, those most in need are often unable to access government assistance. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the main federal welfare program, has repeatedly failed to serve as a safety net for many of these individuals. Last January, Legal Momentum wrote:

"The number of persons receiving TANF increased just 12% over the first twenty two months of the recession, rising from 3,833,449 in December 2007 (excluding Michigan) to 4,286,905 in September 2009 (excluding Michigan). This 12% TANF increase was far less than the growth in the real need for assistance implied by the increase over this same twenty two month period of 35% in the number of Food Stamp recipients (from 27.56 million to 37.18 million) and of 96% in the unemployment rate (from 5.0% to 9.8%). Even before the recession began, TANF was reaching only a minority of eligible families and an even smaller minority of poor families."

Indeed, despite the desperate need for assistance, Americans are often unable to access the very help they require. Last December, Legal Momentum and the Institute for Policy Studies released a report, "Battered by the Storm: How the Safety Net Is Failing Americans and How to Fix It," which argues that despite the continued rise of the economic crisis, America's social safety net is not sufficiently supporting Americans in need. TANF has barely increased since the onslaught of the recession, and even programs that have expanded, such as unemployment insurance, still fail to assist nearly half of the unemployed. Federal action must be taken to make TANF, along with all other social assistance programs, more accessible and responsive at such a critical time. As poverty rises, social safety nets must be in place to help all in need, particularly women and children.

14.5 million people are still out of work, and 6 million of them have been jobless for more than six months. The social safety net must be expanded and improved, not cut. This safety net is the only reason why more Americans did not fall into poverty in 2009 and 2010 and it is a critical component of keeping millions afloat during these devastating times. Indeed, the New York Times editorial concludes, “President Obama must explain to the American people that the country needs to continue relief and recovery efforts, especially programs to create jobs. Without that, tens of millions of Americans stuck in poverty will have little hope of climbing out — and many more could join their ranks.”

• To learn more about Legal Momentum’s work to strengthen the social safety and reform TANF, click here.
• To read Legal Momentum’s report, "Reading Between the Lines: Women's Poverty in the United States, 2009," click here.
• To read Legal Momentum’s report, "Battered by the Storm: How the Safety Net is Failing Americans and How to Fix It," click here.

Maternal Mortality Rates Decline, Direct Result of Improved Access to Health Care and Social Services

For the first time in decades, maternal death rates have significantly declined. Rates decreased 34% from 1990 to 2008. In 1990, an estimated 546,000 women died from complications during pregnancy and childbirth, while 358,000 women died from the same causes in 2008. The data, released in a new report, "Trends in Maternal Mortality," was published in the medical journal, The Lancet.

The study, which analyzed maternal mortality in 181 countries from 1980 to 2008, ultimately accumulated around three times as much data as previous researchers had found. Researchers used all available material from countries, including death records, censuses, surveys and published studies. They cited a number of reasons for the declining rates, including lower pregnancy rates in some countries; higher income, which directly relates to better nutrition and access to health care; more education for women; and more "skilled attendants" to help women give birth.

Progress rates varied significantly among poor and wealthy countries, even rising in some locations. Six countries made up more than half of all the maternal deaths in 2008: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sub-Saharan Africa held the highest maternal death rates. And while the maternal death rate dropped 8.8 percent in the Maldives from 1990 to 2008, the figure rose 5.5 percent in Zimbabwe.

Dr. Christopher J. L. Murray, an author of the study and the director of the institute for health metrics and evaluation at the University of Washington, said that one of the major factors in rising mortality rates in Africa is AIDS. The study’s finding show about 60,000 pregnant women died from AIDS. "Really to a large extent that’s why maternal mortality is rising in eastern and southern Africa," Dr. Murray said. "It means, to us, that if you want to tackle maternal mortality in those regions, you need to pay attention to the management of H.I.V. in pregnant women. It’s not about emergency obstetrical care, but about access to antiretrovirals."

Thus, despite remarkable progress in declining maternal death rates, maternal mortality remains a pressing issue. The World Health Organization still reports about half a million maternal deaths a year. Indeed, many advocates of women’s health fear that the news will remove urgency from their cause. "People who have spent many years committed to the issue of maternal health were understandably worried that these figures could divert attention from an issue that they care passionately about," said Dr. Richard Horton, The Lancet's editor.

The new data demonstrates that a decline in maternal mortality is directly linked to increased attention to women's health. For example, In India, women are paid to get prenatal care and skilled care for delivery. Nepal provides home visits for family planning and Malawi is training non-physicians to perform emergency Caesarean sections. Brazil was able to reduce the under five death rate by 4.8 percent each year since 1990 because of direct efforts to offer health care to all people, regardless of economic status. All Brazilians are given free primary care and skilled attendance at birth.

The study argues that politicians must give more funds to pregnancy-related health matters. "We know this global problem can be solved even in the poorest countries," said Dr. Flavia Bustreo, the Director of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health at the World Health Organization. "It will take commitment of donors and recipient countries, and considerable ingenuity. We are seeing that Malawi, Nepal, Brazil, and Rwanda are making progress in saving the lives of women and children."

Thus, the decreasing rates of maternal mortality are a result of increased attention and action to provide women with better social services and health care. Adequate health care is a critical step towards ensuring healthy, safe, and productive lives for women and their families.

Illinois Commission on the Elimination of Poverty Makes Recommendations to Reduce State's Extreme Poverty Rate by Half by 2015

In Illinois, poverty rates continues to rise, devastating millions of people, but disproportionately affecting women and children. Almost 1.7 million of the state’s resident live below the federal poverty line, a sharp increase from 1.3 million people in 1999. Over 760,000 people live in "extreme poverty," which means that their income is less than half the federal poverty level, meaning less than $11,025 a year for a family of four. Of this population, half are seniors, people with disabilities, or children who cannot or should not work. Startlingly, 7.8 percent of all children in the state fall in the "extreme poverty" classification.

But Illinois is not alone in this crisis. The number of poor people living in the U.S. is at an all time high. More Americans now live in poverty than in any other of the 51 years in which poverty has been measured. 43.6 million Americans lived below the poverty level in 2009. More than one in five children lived in poverty, and one in three African American children.

A large gender poverty gap has persisted since poverty measurement began. Adult women were thirty two percent more likely to be poor than adult men in 2009, with a poverty rate of 13.9% compared to the 10.5% rate for men. 16.4 million adult women were poor, compared to 11.7 million adult men. A report by Legal Momentum, entitled "Reading Between the Lines: Women's Poverty in the United States, 2009," details this disparity.

Yet as millions of Americans suffer from poverty, those most in need are often unable to access government assistance. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the main federal welfare program, has repeatedly failed to serve as a safety net for many of these individuals.

Last week, the Illinois Commission on the Elimination of Poverty, established by state legislation in 2008, released a state-mandated poverty elimination strategy paper, "Building a Pathway to Dignity and Hope." The commission’s recommendations aim to cut the state’s poverty rates in half by 2015. "Our support system," the authors write, "is failing those who need it most."  The recommendations will not take effect unless adopted by the Illinois state government.

The report lists 42 policy recommendations to reduce poverty by addressing issues such as income support, nutrition, housing, work, transportation, and education. The report recommends that changes be enacted in three phases, the first beginning this winter.

Of the numerous recommendations, the study suggests:

·    Increase TANF benefit levels over time to 50% of the poverty standard
·    Establish a comprehensive General Assistance program for unemployed childless adults
·    Make it easier for people to access anti-poverty initiatives for which they already qualify, like Medicaid, TANF, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program.
·    Make additional investments in early childhood education and increased enforcement of existing labor laws.
·    Develop the potential for a permanent statewide transitional jobs program, similar to Put Illinois To Work. The program would help 40,000 individuals who currently face difficulties in finding employment gain experience in the labor market.
·    Enable low-income students to attend community college with scholarships that combine financial aid with tutoring and academic advising assistance.
·    Increase the state's rental housing stock and increase the minimum wage.

Grace Hou from the Illinois Department of Human Services says that the intention of the report and its recommendations is for the state to find creative ways for people of all backgrounds to "have their basic needs met and their dignity affirmed." Illinois’ groundbreaking recommendations towards combating poverty could serve as a model for other states facing similar crises.

• To read Building a Pathway to Dignity & Work: A Plan to Cut Extreme Poverty in Half by 2015, click here.
•  To learn more about Legal Momentum’s work to strengthen the social safety and reform TANF, click here.

Obama Administration's Guide for Ending Child Hunger Omits Child Poverty

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently published the Obama Administration's "Stakeholder Guide" to end childhood hunger by 2015. The guide advocates for increasing the rate at which eligible children participate in Food Stamps and other child nutrition programs. While this is a praiseworthy goal, children in food insecure families suffer from hunger not because they lack nutrition programs - in fact, most of these children already participate in Food Stamps and/or related programs - but because their family's income is too low.

While President Obama's anti-hunger campaign recognized poverty as the "primary cause of hunger" - and the USDA reiterated these sentiments - the Stakeholder Guide makes no mention of child poverty.

Learn more: Administration's Guide for Ending Child Hunger Omits Mention of Child Poverty.

Learn more about the Women and Poverty Program.

Learn more about Legal Momentum.

Working in the Shadows: Immigrant Women Sexually Victimized on the Job

Over four million undocumented immigrant women currently live in the United States. Many of these women are employed in the U.S. food service industry, and, according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), many of these women suffer sexual harassment and sexual violence on the job.

Injustice on Our Plates demonstrates what Legal Momentum’s Immigrant Women Program has often found in its efforts across the country: that undocumented immigrant women are forced to work for little pay in a shadow economy, exploited by their employers while remaining invisible to most Americans.

In June, Legal Momentum released Reforming America’s Immigration Laws: A Woman’s Struggle. We noted that undocumented women migrants are "vulnerable to sexual violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other gender-motivated exploitation in the workplace. Absent any fear that employees will report these actions and crimes, employers continue to take advantage of immigrant women."

Injustice on Our Plates echoes Legal Momentum’s findings in the U.S. food service industry. The SPLC interviewed 150 immigrant women working throughout the United States. The vast majority of the women the SPLC interviewed said that they suffered sexual harassment and/or sexual violence on the job. At the Agriprocessers Inc. meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa – the site of one of the largest federal immigration raids in history in May 2008 – the women workers described sexual harassment by their male supervisors as “widespread and constant.” According to the SPLC, this type of exploitation is common across the country:

In Salinas, Calif., a worker told the EEOC that farmworkers there referred to one company’s field as the field de calzon, or “field of panties,” because so many women had been raped by supervisors there. In Florida, women farmworkers dubbed fields “the green motel” for the same reason. In Iowa, women said they had encountered the problem so often that they believed it was a common practice in the United States to exchange sex for job security.

Immigrant women are the silent victims of the broken immigration system. Legal Momentum’s Immigrant Women Program advocates for comprehensive immigration reform that considers how even facially gender-neutral laws create more hardship for immigrant women. Congress must create paths to legalization that equitably value women’s work, eliminate 287(g) and/or Safe Communities Programs that often harm immigrant women crime victims, and eradicate backlogs in the family immigration system.

The women profiled in Injustice on Our Plates are the backbone of the U.S. economy, yet they live in the shadows. Comprehensive immigration reform must include provisions to ensure that these women are able to live and work free of sexual harassment, sexual violence, and fear.