Women Lose More Jobs in Recessions

The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee recently released a report confirming that women are more vulnerable to job loss during recession. Unlike the economic downturns of the 1980s and 1990s, the 2001 recession was particularly detrimental to women because they not only lost more jobs than men but also did not see their employment rates recover to their pre-recession peak. Since women bring home more than one-third of family income and single mothers are often the sole breadwinners, women’s unemployment also has harsh implications for the economic security of families and communities. Greater job losses for women translate into reduced government revenue and cuts in spending on programs and services that benefit women and their families.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/business/22jobs.html?scp=1&sq=women+and+jobs&st=nyt
http://jec.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Files.View&FileStore_id=80a7a0cd-6125-495d-bca5-09af2c0393f9

Girls Can Do Math

A new study published in Science magazine has debunked the myth that boys are better than girls in mathematics. Janet S. Hyde of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her colleagues compared the standardized test scores of more than seven million girls and boys from second through eleventh grade and found no difference in their performances. Studies twenty years ago showed that although girls and boys performed equally well on math in elementary school, girls fell behind in high school. The researchers attributed the advance to increasing numbers of girls taking advanced math classes such as Calculus.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25836419/
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/321/5888/494

Study Suggests Strategies for Hiring Women in Sciences

A recent study tracking the career paths of more than 3,000 male and female applicants for jobs in science, mathematics and engineering fields found that women were less likely to apply and more likely to decline job offers than men. The study, conducted by sociologists Christy M. Glass of Utah State University and Krista Lynn Minnotte of the University of North Dakota, suggested strategies for recruiting more women into science and technology jobs. Although they determined that employers were willing to hire women, there was a lack of understanding of where and how to market jobs to female candidates. Recommendations ranged from advertising job postings in publications specifically geared towards women in the sciences to including at least one woman on search committees.
http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/08/05/women
http://aaa.main.usu.edu/Assessment/Fac_Vitas/SSWA/GlassChristy.pdf http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/leaders_entry.php?id=6453&area=All

Bush Abortion Proposal Sets Conditions on Federal Aid

In an effort to strengthen the capacity of health care providers to deny abortion services, the Bush administration recently proposed the introduction of a new rule that would require hospitals, clinics, researchers and medical schools to sign “written certifications” that they do not discriminate against hospitals and other institutions that have policies against providing abortion. Such certification would be a prerequisite to receiving funds under any program run by the Department of Health and Human Services. It would also be required of state and local governments, forbidden to discriminate, in areas like grant-making, against hospitals and other institutions that have policies against providing abortion. The administration stated the proposal is necessary to ensure that federal money does not “support morally coercive or discriminatory practices or policies in violation of federal law.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/washington/15rule.html?ei=5124&en=0eb76de0ec6ae964&ex=1373860800&adxnnl=1&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink&adxnnlx=1216673737-QZ/a+/6fuaBD6RFcGuARlQ
http://www.nationalpartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=newsroom_pr_PressRelease_080715

UN Security Council Declares Rape a Weapon of War

The UN Security Council passed a resolution last week classifying rape as a weapon of war. The resolution was unanimous and describes rape as "a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instill fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group.” In the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone, approximately forty women are raped each day, sometimes by the peacekeepers who are supposed to be protecting them. In addition to harming the health and safety of women, sexual violence also destroys the economic and social stability of war-torn nations.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7464462.stm
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/06/20/1213770867927.html
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=91692457&m=91692436

The Myth of Women "Opting Out" of the Workplace

When Lisa Seftel was planning for her first child, she and her employer made a deal that she would work three days in the office and two days at home. This arrangement would allow her to have full employer benefits and share the childcare with her husband. In 2003, however, her employer went back on his word, telling her she could work five days a week in the office or three days at home. Like so many other women, Seftel was forced to quit her job because she could not afford to pay for childcare and would lose her family’s health insurance if she worked only three days. While a plethora of news reports has explained the recent trend of women leaving the workforce as "opting out," new research has emerged showing that the workplace is at fault for failing to meet women’s needs.
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm?aid=3640

Female Baby Boomers Face 'Retirement Gap'

The first Baby Boomer to file for social security was a woman, highlighting the increasing number of women who will rely on the program in the near future. Thousands of Baby Boomers could apply for social security everyday over the next 20 years, over half of whom will be women. Yet, in the presidential primaries there has been no mention of the retirement gap or the particular needs of women. Click here for more.

For Women, Greater Obstacles to Retirement

For many women, retirement is not an option. An increasing number of women can not afford to retire because they have not saved enough money to support themselves after retirement. Even if they have invested in a traditional pension or a 401(k) plan, women consistently enter retirement with about half as much money as men do. Please click here for more.

NEW: Check out NCRW's Research*for*Action Clearinghouse for Information on Judge Alito Confirmation Hearings

This URGENT ACTION edition of the Clearinghouse features the important work of our member centers and other advocacy groups on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, providing you with the tools to get involved, learn the issues, and make your voice heard!

NEW: Check out NCRW's Research*for*Action Clearinghouse for Information on Judge Alito Confirmation Hearings