We finally got the vote. We're still waiting for equal pay. Even today Missouri women are paid only 77 cents to the dollar that men are paid. Equal Pay Day symbolizes the point in the next year to which women must work to achieve pay equity with what men made the previous year.
This rally needs to be BIG! Carpools will come from around the state. We'll convene at the Capitol, with signs and teal parasols, to hand out cookies to legislators with a "bite" taken out to represent the 23% that women are underpaid. We will also give the legislators AAUW's fine 2011 publication, The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap.
More information will be forthcoming. For questions now, contact:
Holly Burgess, AAUM State Co-Chair for Public Policy
573-449-0625 or send email.
There will be a chance for double exposure on April 17 as it is also Missouri Women's Lobby Day, sponsored by the Missouri Women's Network, of which AAUW is a member. See the AAUW State newsletter or your Branch newsletter for more information on that event.
Photo from the cover of The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History by Margot McMillen.
It's been 87 years since suffrage passed in 1920. How are women doing in politics in the U.S.?
• Women are 8 of 50 Governors (9 if you include Puerto Rico)
• Women are 17% (17 of 100) Senators
• Women are 16.8% (90 of 435) of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Women are 8 of 34 Missouri Senators
• Women are 33 of 163 State Representatives
• Women are 20.8% of the Missouri Legislature (42 of 197) down from 21.3% in 2008
• Missouri ranks 33rd among 50 states
The U.S. is NOT in the top ten world nations in terms of women holding office in government. We are behind Mauritius at number 71 of 135 (down from 45 among 120 nations) based on percent of women legislators.
According to a 2005 report from the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), at present rates women will reach Equal Pay in 50 years, but it will take nearly 100 years to gain equal representation in the U.S. Congress.
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
February 5, 2010 | The New York Times
For the first time in recorded history, women outnumber men on the nation's payrolls.
This benchmark is bittersweet, as it comes largely at men's expense. Because men have been losing their jobs faster than women, the downturn has at times been referred to as a "man-cession."
Women's new majority in the nation's workplaces comes decades after women first began trading in their aprons for pantsuits in droves, and it reinforces expectations that women will continue on the path to pay parity.
Missouri Women's Network
The Missouri Women's Network is an advocacy group for women's and family issues. The organization has an active presence in Jefferson City, and keeps its members informed about current legislation.
The American Association of University Women has been working toward equity for women and girls since 1881. It encourages education and self-development over the lifespan, and positive societal change. There are local branches throughout the state.
Business Women of Missouri was founded as Business and Professional Women in 1919 in St. Louis and rechartered as BWM in 2010. BWM promotes equity for all women in the workplace through advocacy, education and information.
Greater Kansas City Women's Political Caucus is a multi-partisan political organization working in Missouri and Kansas that makes public endorsements of candidates running for state and local office. A major goal is to recruit and elect people who support public policies that advance women's rights and opportunities.
Missouri ERA PAC is sponsored by the ERA Campaign Missouri, a non-partisan PAC. The listings of progressive candidates endorsed by ERA Campaign Missouri include contact and donation information for each candidate. The goal is to elect officials who will support passage of the ERA, and who will also support issues important to most women.
National Organization of Women (NOW) has a purpose of taking action to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men.
NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, the state's largest grassroots pro-choice organization, has been working to protect choice for 35 years. To accomplish its mission, NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri Political Action Committee (PAC), NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri Foundation 501(c)3,and the NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri Affiliate 501(c)4 work together to promote and safeguard women's reproductive health in the state of Missouri.
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
The Sue Shear Institute was founded at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1996 with the goal of helping women develop the skills needed for serving in both elected and appointed offices within government as well as employed policy-making positions. In August 1999 the Institute opened a Kansas City branch, housed in the UMKC Women's Center.
US Women Connect, born out the 1995 U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women, connects U.S. women and girls working for rights and empowerment and links them with the global women's movement. MWLC is a member of this group.
