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“WOMEN, WAGES, AND JOBS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E484 on March 28, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
WOMEN, WAGES, AND JOBS
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speech of
HON. MAXINE WATERS
of california
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 27, 1996
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank my colleague, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, for bringing us together to discuss the vital issue of women and wages in our country.
While women have made some economic strides in the past few decades, we still have a long way to go. This session of Congress, under our new Republican leadership, was especially brutal for women--it was, and continues to be, antiwoman, antichoice, and antiworking family.
Today, most women work and spend less time with their children and families. Many cannot afford health insurance for their families and worry about their economic security in old age.
This Republican-led Congress has passed many bills to weaken and threaten women's rights, health, freedom, opportunities, economic equity, and economic security.
They have cut student loans, Social Security, family planning services, and child care. They have tried to take away our constitutional right to choose. They have attempted to slash funding for school nutrition programs, and have abolished important job training programs that train women for higher paying, nontraditional jobs. They have attacked affirmative action.
Let's talk about affirmative action, and how we need it to help level the playing field with men. Today women are still paid less for the same work. Women taxpayers are not getting their money's worth. Even with affirmative action, we make only 72 cents to a man's dollar. This is a disgrace.
In 1993, female managers earned 33 percent less than male managers, female college professors earned 23 percent less than male professors, and female elementary school teachers earned 22 percent less than male elementary school teachers, Let's not dismantle affirmative action until these discrepancies in wages are entirely erased.
The old boy network is alive and strong. Sexism and racism still exist and must be remedied. That's what affirmative action is all about. We must encourage and train women to seek higher paying jobs in order for them to successfully provide for their families.
Did you know that women who choose nontraditional female careers, such as fire-fighters or engineers, can expect to have lifetime earnings that are 150 percent of women who choose traditional careers like clerical workers or beauticians? We will not crack the ``glass ceiling'' until we break out of the ``pink collar ghetto.''
At this time of corporate downsizing and Government budget cutting, women must work even harder to secure a place in a changing economy. This is no easy task, especially when important programs for women have been slashed, such as the School-to-Work Opportunities Act.
This program, reduced by 22 percent this year, particularly affects female students who need exposure to high-skill, high-wage career options that are not traditional for girls. Cuts in job training programs, and the elimination of the Women's Educational Equity Act further hurt women's prospects for achieving pay equity with men in the near future.
There is some hope, however. We must start to teach our daughters--
the next generation of women workers--to become independent thinkers and problem-solvers, so that they may increase their self-confidence and attain high-paying jobs as adults. We can praise them for taking risks, and for their ideas rather than their appearance.
We can encourage them to master computers and take leadership positions. We can enroll them in sports and begin to discuss career options now. We can serve as mentors and role models.
A few women have made it to the top of the corporate ladder. Two women sit on the Supreme Court, two head the Justice Department, and a record 31 percent of President Clinton's appointments to the Federal bench were women. My State, California, is the only State headed by two female Senators.
President Clinton, in this 1997 budget, has preserved funding for many programs important to women and families, including child care, child support, and job training.
The Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, under the leadership of Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Congresswoman Connie Morella, has been very active in assuring that women's concerns are not forgotten, even when we represent only 10 percent of the House of Representatives. Later on this year, we will continue the tradition of introducing the Women's Economic Equity Act. This package of bills will help women continue to succeed in the workplace.
Thank you, again, Congresswoman Norton, for your commitment to women and economic equality, and for this opportunity to discuss women in the workplace.
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