Fwd: DMR editorial board: Iowa should recognize value of working women

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---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Neera Tanden <[email protected]> Date: Tue, Nov 10, 2015 at 7:18 AM Subject: Fwd: DMR editorial board: Iowa should recognize value of working women To: Neera Tanden <[email protected]> Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: *From:* Chelsea Kiene <[email protected]> *Date:* November 10, 2015 at 7:08:20 AM EST *To:* Press Team <[email protected]>, Action Core < [email protected]>, CAP Women Program < [email protected]>, Economic Policy Core < [email protected]> *Subject:* *DMR editorial board: Iowa should recognize value of working women* Hi teams, The Des Moines Register editorial board has an editorial today featuring CAP's Iowa women report, including calls to raise the minimum wage, guarantee workers paid sick, and rethinking school schedules. Fantastic piece! http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/11/10/editorial-iowa-should-recognize-value-working-women/75383348/ Thanks, Chelsea Kiene Editorial: Iowa should recognize value of working women The Register's Editorial12 a.m. CST November 10, 2015 Iowa women are more likely to participate in the labor force than women in 48 other states. Mothers with children are the sole or primary breadwinners in about half of Iowa families and co-breadwinners in an additional 25 percent of families — significantly higher than the national average. Over the past three decades, employed women have been central to the growth of our state’s economy. They have helped stave off the worst economic effects of the recession and boosted household incomes. These are a few of the nuggets in a new report <https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2015/11/05/124819/women-and-families-economic-security-in-iowa/>from the Center for American Progress focused specifically on Iowa's working women. But apparently these women are supposed to believe work is “its own reward," because it’s hard for them to feel valued by government and employers. Iowa females employed full-time, year-round earn 77 percent of what their male counterparts earn. That is worse than the national average of 79 percent and translates into the loss of more than $10,000 annually. Yes, women gravitate toward lower-paying occupations, including caregiving. They pursue college degrees in fields that may not land them the big bucks. They take time off to care for children and elderly parents. They may choose not to climb the corporate ladder due to obligations at home. And they pay dearly for all of that. Though studies have shown women with the same education and experience are paid less than their male counterparts, much of the wage gap is related to the gender differences in work hours, job tenures and total years of experience, which the report notes are all “influenced by our nation’s shocking lack of work-family policies.” Washington leaders should pay attention to this. Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley should work to ensure workers have access to paid medical leave and support the Paycheck Fairness Act, to help ensure equal pay for women. Iowa's local leaders can do their part, too: Raise the minimum wage: Twenty-nine states and Washington, D.C., have increased minimum wages <http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wage-chart.aspx> above the federal floor of $7.25 per hour. These include neighboring Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois, and Nebraska. Iowa, where the majority of minimum wage workers are female, has not gotten on board. Even a modest increase would promote economic security for many families, reduce their dependence on public assistance and put millions of dollars into their pockets to spend stimulating local economies. Guarantee paid sick days: Every working mother has spent a morning trying to convince a sick child they’re well enough to attend school. She knows staying home may mean looking bad at work, losing a day’s pay or even losing a job. In Iowa, 45.3 percent of private-sector workers, about 530,000 of us, do not have access to a single paid sick day. This is significantly higher than the national average of 39 percent. Rethink school calendar and schedule: Nothing about Iowa’s agrarian-based, K-12 school schedule makes sense for contemporary families. Dismissing teens in early afternoon, a lack of after-school programming, “spring break” in the middle of March and long summer vacations make life more difficult for working parents. A school year of 180 days means they piece together and pay for childcare or leave kids unattended. The United States remains one of the only countries in the world that does not guarantee women paid time off after the birth of a baby. From there, having a family exacerbates the wage gap between the sexes. Women know better than anyone that this country does not value them and their families. It’s time for that to change.