Mission Alerts

AAUW EF RELEASES PAY GAP STUDY RESEARCH

At the end of April 2007, you might have read in the newspaper or heard on the national news a brief summary from the release of AAUW Educational Foundation’s (EF) study that showed that just one year out of college, women working full time already earn less than their male counterparts, even when they work in the same field.  Ten years after graduation, the pay gap is even greater.

 

            In the report, titled Behind the Pay Gap, EF found that women one year out of college earn about 80% of what their male colleagues earn, and ten years after graduation, earn only 69% of what men earn in the same field with the same years of experience.  If there is any doubt that AAUW’s mission to strive for women’s equity, both educationally and financially, is relevant, this certainly dispels that doubt!  We’ve come a long way, with more women attending higher education and majoring in previously male-dominated fields such as business and engineering, but we have much work to do to close the pay gap after they have left college and entered the workforce.

 

            There is much interesting, and discouraging, information in this report.  For example, ten years into their careers men have more authority than women in the workforce and this pay gap exists even though women are outperforming men in college and earning slightly higher GPAs in every college major, including science and math.  The study breaks down the statistics on a state by state basis as well as nationally.  We strongly urge you to go to AAUW’s website and review the complete report.  The link directly to the report is http://www.aauw.org/research/behindPayGap.pdf.  Get informed, involved and support AAUW EF’s efforts to close this gap.  We’ve got a lot of work to do!

 

 

Support the Emergency Contraception Education Act
 
=================================================
 
 
Take Action! Visit this page:
http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/1/JKVCHPYKQG/LZCNHQBAXC/1424992701]
 
August 24 marked the one-year anniversary of the Food and Drug
Administration's approval of the over-the-counter sale of emergency
contraception for women over 18. Despite this, many women and health care
providers remain unaware of this important contraception option, and many
who have heard of it hold varying misconceptions about it. In honor of this
anniversary, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) introduced the Emergency
Contraception Education Act (H.R. 3372). This critical piece of legislation
will initiate a large-scale education campaign to better inform women and
health care providers about emergency contraception. Specifically, the
legislation will direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to
develop and disseminate information on EC to health care providers-including
recommendations on the use of EC in appropriate cases-and to the American
people.
 
Nearly half of pregnancies of U.S. women are unintended, and four in 10 of
those pregnancies end in abortion. Increased access to information about
emergency contraception will help reduce unplanned pregnancies, reduce
abortions, and improve access to women's health care. In addition, only 12
states currently require hospital emergency rooms to provide emergency
contraception-related services to victims of sexual assault, even though it
is often the only contraceptive option available to them.
 
AAUW supports the right of every woman to obtain medically accurate
information about and access to safe and comprehensive reproductive health
services. AAUW believes that improved pregnancy prevention programs and
access to complete reproductive health information and services enhance
women's reproductive choices.
 
Take Action! Urge your representative to cosponsor and support the Emergency
Contraception Education Act (H.R. 3372) to improve the reproductive health
and safety of all women and girls. Simply click on the "Take Action" link in
the upper right corner or copy and paste the following URL into your
Internet browser. Then follow the instructions to send your message.
http://capwiz.com/aauw/utr/1/JKVCHPYKQG/CPZUHQBAXD/1424992701
 
For more information, read AAUW's position papers on reproductive rights.
 
Washington Update is AAUW's free, members-only weekly e-bulletin. It offers
an insider's view on the legislative process, the latest policy news,
resources for advocates, programming ideas, and updates from the Public
Policy and Government Relations Department. To stay up-to-date on all issues
important to our mission, all AAUW members, including college and university
partners, are encouraged to subscribe to Washington Update by emailing
VoterEd@aauw.org.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Lack of Engineering Students Indicates Need for STEM Education A new study reiterates the need for additional focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.  The report highlighted the findings of Gary Schuckman, director of federal relations and research advancement at the University of Central Florida, who found that the number of students receiving bachelor degrees in engineering has decreased 3 percent nationally over the past 20 years.  The overall number of students receiving bachelor degrees, however, has increased by more than 50 percent.  Sam Palmisano, president and CEO of the IBM Corporation, focused on the need to recruit people from underrepresented populations to address this issue, noting that, “Only 11 percent [of engineers] in the United States today are women, 3 percent Blacks and 4 percent Hispanics. These statistics reveal a large reservoir of potential engineers that is not being fully tapped.”  This lack of engineers serves to highlight a disturbing trend in the United States, as discussed by Craig Barrett, chairman of Intel, when he stated “The future economic success of the United States depends on out-performing the compe tition with smart people and smart ideas.  Without the best education system and investments in basic research and development we will become a second rate economic power.”  In order to combat this problem and dispel the stereotype that engineering is only for males, the National Academy of Engineering created two websites meant to encourage grade school girls to pursue courses and careers in engineering.  The most recent site, Engineer Your Life, is geared toward high school girls.  It includes bios of 12 different young women who have careers in vastly different areas of engineering and recommendations for how to pursue a career in the field.  A similar website, Engineer Girl!, provides similar information for middle school age females.  AAUW strongly supports promoting and strengthening STEM education, especially for girls and other underrepresented populations. Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, AAUW is implementing the National Girls Collaborative Project, a program designed to reach girl-serving STEM organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico. The NGCP advisory board met at AAUW headquarters in Washington, D.C. this week to discuss future programs.  Read more about the NGCP online. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   STEM: How do Candidates Measure Up? As reported in the January 25 edition of Washington Update, several groups, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science and ScienceDebate2008.com, are pushing for a presidential debate on science, technology, and the economy.  While the candidates have not yet agreed to participate in such a debate later this year, there were presentations on the topic by candidates’ campaign advisors on Feb. 16.  During the annual meeting of the AAAS, advisors for Sen. Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) campaigns each tried to persuade participants that their candidate was the best on science issues.  Although invited to attend, advisors from Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) campaign and former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s (R-AR) campaign were not present.  An article by AAAS described the similarities in Sen. Clinton’s and Sen. Obama’s platforms, including pledging major budget increases and an end to the politicization of key science decisions.  The only major difference between the two platforms, according to an article on MSNBC.com, is that Sen. Clinton has pledged to continue support for NASA’s proposed space mi ssions and emphasize issues like climate control, whereas Sen. Obama would delay or forego support of space exploration to focus more on climate issues.  As for how the candidates compare when looking at STEM education policy, Sen. Obama is the only candidate to mention it on his website.  The National Association of Secondary School Principals has an overview of each candidate’s platform on education on their website.