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Feminist Majority Demonstrates Against UNOCAL Afghanistan Pipeline

Newsbriefs

Women Leaders Take Action to Stop Impeachment, Warn What's at Stake for Women and Who's on Third to Succeed

Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority, on the Possible Impeachment of the President

Affirmative Action is Successful, New Study Finds

Feminist Majority Foundation Program Galvanizes Feminism on Campus

Congressional Threat to RU 486 Stopped

Abortion Clinic Acid Attacks Spread Across Nation

Landmark Ruling Finds Anti-Abortion Conspiracy of Violence

Maya Miller Receives Community Activism Award

Women Still Only 13.3% of Police Officers

Victims of Sexual Harassment in Schools Have Weak Legal Protection

Emergency Contraception to be Marketed in U.S.

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the first women's rights convention, held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, NY, the National Council of Women's Organizations (a bipartisan coalition of leaders of 166 women's organizations representing 6 million women) announced guiding principles for a National Women's Equality Act for the 21st Century. "This landmark legislation will help chart the course for the feminist movement into the 21st Century," said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority, which led the drafting of the Women's Equality Act.

The National Women's Equality Act was endorsed by Forum '98, a July assembly of the nation's women's leaders in Seneca Falls to celebrate the 150th Anniversary, and by the National Organization for Women. Over 110 organizations have endorsed the act, including the American Association of University Women, Business and Professional Women USA, Black Women's Agenda, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Institute for Women's Policy Research, the Center for the Advancement of Public Policy, the Organization of Chinese-American Women, and the National Commissions on the Status of Women.

"One-hundred and fifty years ago, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott wrote the Declaration of Human Sentiments," said Smeal. "We have come a long way since then, but we still have not achieved complete equality. Without full constitutional equality women continue to face discrimination in employment, education, taxation, pensions, social security, and health care. With the proposed National Women's Equality Act, we will renew our calls for full equality under the law."

"The National Women's Equality Act Campaign also will show the need for the Equal Rights Amendment itself," continued Smeal. "For the first time since 1982, the feminist movement will be able to raise the equality banner nationally and to press for the full equality for women and girls under the law that has been denied to us."

Smeal and Jennifer Jackman, PhD, Director of Policy and Research of the Feminist Majority Foundation, led the drafting of the National Women's Equality Act on behalf of the National Council of Women's Organizations.

Here are some of the reasons why we need a National Women's Equality Act:

• Workforce segregation and bias in wage-setting have produced a persistent wage gap between men and women workers. If these inequities are not corrected, over her lifetime, the average working woman will lose about $523,000 due to lost wages and retirement benefits.
• Because pension coverage for women is so unequal and inadequate, Social Security is almost all that keeps millions of older women out of poverty. Yet, because the social security system is based on demographics of marriage and work patterns of the past and work histories plagued by wage discrimination, retired women workers receive an average of only $621 in monthly social security benefits compared with retired men workers who receive an average of $810 per month.
• Substantial sex bias exists in Medicare and Medicaid. Some studies calculate that Medicare and Medicaid reimburse only 60% of obstetrics and gynecology practice expenses compared with 91% of urology practice expenses. Moreover, women's reproductive health needs such as contraception are not covered by many insurance plans.
• A June U.S. Supreme Court ruling showed the weakness of Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 in stopping sexual harassment in education. The Court said an absolute prohibition against sex discrimination in education is needed to hold educational institutions fully liable for acts of sexual harassment and discrimination committed by school employees -- just as employers are now held liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
• Although the Clinton Administration opened a quarter million combat-related jobs to women, women remain excluded from 39% of positions in the armed forces. Women are closed out of many jobs which are higher paying, receive better benefits, and lead to promotions. At the same time women are disproportionately penalized by policies against lesbians and gay men in the military.

Here is what the National Women's Equality Act would do:

• Prohibit discrimination on basis of sex, race or national origin in equivalent jobs and require gender neutrality in job evaluation, classification and compensation systems.
• Prohibit gender discrimination in taxation by eliminating biases against the spouse who receives less pay in a married, two-wage earner couple.
• End practices and policies which disproportionately disadvantage women in social security and pensions.
• Make prohibition of sex discrimination in education, including sexual harassment, at least as strong as prohibitions against sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• Credit, rather than penalize, individuals providing child care and elderly care.
• Prohibit sex discrimination in health insurance and require equal coverage and valuation of gender-specific drugs and medical procedures, including those related to reproductive health.
• Prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
• Remove barriers to women in the military and require enforcement of sexual harassment, domestic violence, and sexual assault laws in the military at least as well as they are enforced for the civilian population.