Month: July 2007

Women WorkEducation & Employment

Equal Pay for Women

According to the US Census Bureau, in 2005 women earned 77 cents for every $1 earned by men, statistically unchanged from 2004. The wage gap costs the average American full-time working woman between $700,000 and $2 million over the course of her lifetime, according to economist Evelyn Murphy, president of the WAGE Project

To fight this injustice, Women Work! strives to educate individuals about the wage gap, including how to work with employers to implement fair pay policies; fight the wage gap in their own lives; and advocate for equal pay legislation on both federal and state levels.

Women deserve to be paid according to their productivity and economic worth–not by their gender.

Capitol Hill Equal Pay Day Rally

Equal Pay Legislation

Fighting the Wage Gap Fact Sheet (pdf file, 91 kb)

Statistics and charts comparing age, gender, family type and other characteristics affecting wages.

(more…)

Women WorkLegal

What are Restraining Orders?

restraining-orders

Many women seem to get tangled up in an abusive relationship. Often they are vulnerable in some way and are the victim of a predator or a con man who can put on a good, caring act to start with. These men are simply using their partners, who may be better off financially than they are, or able to offer a place for them to move into.

Whatever the reason for the abuse, a restraining order is a legal document that prevents an abuser from coming close enough to continue the abuse after the relationship ends.  At least, that is the theory. In reality, the abuser can break the conditions and still cause harm to the victim. The only real benefit is that he can then be prosecuted.

Two different types

There are two different types of restraining order; a violence restraining order (vro) and a misconduct restraining order (mro). If you are afraid of violence against your person, then the former order is the one to apply for. If you are only concerned about misconduct that does not include personal violence, apply for a misconduct restraining order. In some states, the former may be called an Apprehended Violence Order, or AVO.

In both cases the penalty for disobeying the orders can be a fine or gaol time.

(more…)

Women WorkBusiness

Q & A with Dr. Richie

I am a single mother, and I am working really hard to keep it together. I feel drained emotionally and financially. How can I pay my bills, be there for my children, and keep my sanity?

Thanks, Anne

Dear Anne,

As I often say to women I work with, my heart is always first and foremost with the single mothers. Aside from the responsibilities of providing both emotional and financial support to your kids, you are also handling the many difficult child raising questions that plague most parents on your own. Parenting is a tough enough job with two people working on it, so clearly it’s not an easy task for one person.

Many single mothers feel they have to do it all on their own, and are hesitant to ask for help from friends and family members. You haven’t said whether that description fits you, but it’s important to address. What kind of a community do you have around you? Are you close to your family? Do you have close friends who you can count on when you need a listening ear, a carpool, or someone who can pick you up some milk on her run to the store so you don’t have to pack your kids in the car to do that small task?

(more…)

Women WorkBusiness

Action Works!

Subscribe to Action Works! Women’s Voices for Change and become part of the nation’s largest network of advocates dedicated to advancing economic justice and equality for women.

Service providers, students, women in transition, citizen advocates and leaders in the women’s community have already added their voices to the chorus. Sign up now and receive up-to-the-minute alerts on policy issues affecting women’s economic justice.

Women WorkBusiness

Making Money Work!

This six-session, hands-on financial education program was designed especially for women who are facing some of life’s toughest difficulties, and struggling to gain a foothold in a world where stability and financial security seem like distant dreams.

The goal of the Making Money Work! financial education program is to help participants achieve financial stability and effectively manage a limited earned income by providing subject matter information, motivational participatory learning activities, and access to resources. The program introduces participants to basic financial concepts, such as goal setting, determining needs versus wants, developing a spending plan, managing a checking account, and the wise use of credit.

Making Money Work! Online Facilitator’s Guide

(more…)

Women WorkLegal

The Legal Process of Surrogacy

Legal Process of Surrogacy

There are two types of surrogacy available for women who cannot have children for whatever reason. Laws about surrogacy vary in different states so consult your family lawyer to find out what’s legal in your state. Surrogacy brings hope to those couples who want a child that belongs to at least one of them genetically instead of adopting one, but cannot have one in the natural way. There are two types of surrogacy.

  • The first and traditional way is when your spouse’s sperm is implanted into the surrogate mother using her own egg. This makes the surrogate the baby’s biological mother, even though she is carrying the child for another person.
  • The second is when your own egg is fertilised by your spouse out of the uterus and implanted into the surrogate. This is referred to as a gestational surrogacy and the woman who carries the child has no genetic ties to it, since her egg was not used. She is called the birth mother.

The legalities of both are somewhat confusing in Australia, mainly because the law differs from state to state. And as technology changes the law changes too. However, generally speaking the gestational surrogacy is the easiest path to navigate legally, since both parents are genetically tied to the child while the birth mother is not.

Even so, it is a good idea for those who take either route to ensure they can become parents to seek the help of an experienced surrogacy lawyer to write up a legal contract – an agreement about who the parents are genetically and who will claim the child as their own when it is born.

(more…)