With a new report showing women of color are seriously under-represented at management levels -- and make dramatically less money than their white male counterparts -- NOW President Patricia Ireland promised that NOW's Women of Color and Allies Summit will be more than just another dialogue. "We will protest Friday over wage discrimination against women janitors on Capitol Hill and spend three days teaching and learning valuable skills and building a strong action campaign to end racism, sexism and classism."
What:
Women of Color & Allies Summit: Linking Arms in Dangerous Times
Who:
National Organization for Women and over 150 other progressive, civil
rights, women's rights and labor organizations
Speakers:
Where:
National Airport Hilton, Arlington
What:
Demonstration in support of pay equity for women who clean Capitol
and Congressional offices and who have filed suit alleging wage discrimination
Who:
When:
Friday, February 20, 1998; 4:00 pm
Where:
Rayburn House Office Building Independence Ave. & First St., NW
Ireland reviewed the results of a study conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research and Catalyst, an organization that researches women's progress in Fortune 500 companies. This study shows that while women of color comprise 22.6% of women in the paid work force, only 14.3% of female managers are women of color. The wage gap between white men and women of color is even more stark. For every dollar white male managers earn, women managers of color earn only $0.57.
"Pay inequalities, which are so wide in management positions among people with higher levels of education and experience, are even more devastating for women of color in manual labor or blue collar jobs," said NOW Action Vice President Elizabeth Toledo. As an example, she cited Harris v. Hantman, filed on behalf of women workers who clean the Capitol and congressional buildings. These workers have filed a class action suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act.
Not only will the Summit address economic questions of inequality, but workshops, caucus meetings and speakers will discuss other issues of concern to a wide range of women and other sessions will focus on building activist skills. Workshop topics include:
Women's Human Rights in Afghanistan features US and Afghan specialists on the dangerously patriarchal militia group, the Taliban and the global feminist response to this gender apartheid.
Images of Women in the Media addresses portrayals of women of color and will develop strategies to change these stereotypical depictions.
Are We All God's Children? Coming Out in Church deals with the role of African American lesbians, gays and bisexuals active in the church.
Fighting for Affirmative Action will develop methods to defend existing policies and re-instate equal opportunity programs where affirmative action has been eliminated.
Does Feminism Transcend Ethnicity and Cultural Identity? This workshop raises controversial issues of culture and ethnicity that women's rights advocates face both in the US and abroad.
Poverty and Homelessness as Seen Through the Eyes of the People Themselves challenges the myths of poverty, homelessness and welfare in the US.
White Allies Eliminating Racism will focus on the role of white activists in addressing racism.
Bilingual Education and English-Only Movements will discuss the politics of language and its impact on women of color.
All events are open to the media. Press credentials will be distributed on site.
Link to this release at http://www.now/org/press/02-98/02-18-98.html