Title
Authorizing the creation of a Special Committee on Gender Parity of the City Council of Philadelphia, for the purpose of holding hearings to identify problems related to the social, political, educational and economic empowerment of women and exploring and developing initiatives to advance parity for women.
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WHEREAS, According to the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2005, the participation rate of women in the labor force was 59.3 percent, and women comprised 46 percent of the total labor force in the United States; and
WHEREAS, The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that from 1970 to 2004, women made significant gains in educational achievement, yet, even with a four-year college degree, as of 2004, women had median weekly earnings that were only 75 percent of the weekly earnings of their male counterparts; and
WHEREAS, Although women hold half of all management and professional positions in the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that women managers are paid only 72 percent of what their male counterparts are paid and comprise only 8 percent of the nation's top managers; and
WHEREAS, Women are disproportionately employed in traditional women's jobs which tend to pay less than those employing mostly men; and
WHEREAS, According to a report prepared by the National Organization for Women Foundation (NOW), in May 2006, women likewise are underrepresented on the faculties of many of the nation's colleges and universities, particularly in the areas of science, mathematics and engineering, in proportion to the number of women holding Ph.D's in these disciplines; and
WHEREAS, NOW reports that the dearth of female representation in top management and top academic positions in scientific disciplines deprives women aspiring to careers in these areas of mentors and role models and contributes to the decline of female participation at the upper levels of their professions; and
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