Title
Calling on the City Council of Philadelphia Committee on Commerce and Economic Development to Hold Hearings Concerning Women's Economic and Social Issues and the Challenges Women Face in the Workplace and to Examine the Solutions Which the City Can Provide to Increase Economic Security for Women.
Body
WHEREAS, 2013 marks the 165th Anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention that addressed women in social, economic and political life. The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions at the convention recognized the contribution of women to our country's success and demanded that women be granted the same rights men possessed; and
WHEREAS, While, women have made great strides since the Convention, there is still more work that needs to be done to provide women with economic security and opportunities for success; and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives has offered an agenda concerning women's economic challenges called the, "When Women Succeed America Succeeds: An Economic Agenda for Women and Families." The City of Philadelphia needs to follow suit; and
WHEREAS, Fifty years after President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, women still continue to earn less than men. Women earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. For African American and Latina Women, the gap is even larger, with African American women earning only 64 cents for every dollar, and Latina women only 55 cents for every dollar earned by white non-Hispanic men; and
WHEREAS, Nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women yet the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation over the last 45 years making it difficult for single women with children to run a household; and
WHEREAS, Today, more workers are often forced to chose between their families and economic security. More than 40 percent of workers in the U.S. have no access to paid sick time and are not able to take a day off work when they or their chil...
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