Women Employed has moved! Please note our new address:
1 E Wacker Drive, Suite 3110, Chicago, IL 60601.
|
|
Nothing about us, without us!
A Letter from Our CEO
This statement has never rung truer. It essentially means that no policy or program should be decided or created without the full representation of the group affected. Too many folks are comfortable deciding things for others as if they know best or as if their values or beliefs reign superior or right. That is why we have such a systemically sexist and racist system.
On Friday, in an effort to nullify Texas’ alarming abortion ban, the U.S. House passed a reproductive rights bill that would codify into federal law the right to an abortion. In other words, the right for women to have full agency over their bodies and lives. The federal Women's Health Protection Act of 2021, introduced by Rep. Judy Chu of California, ensures protections for abortion seekers and providers. The bill would “permit health care providers to provide abortion services without limitations or requirements that single out the provision of abortion services.”
Women cannot be free economically unless we are able to control our own bodies and our own reproductive health. A woman’s access to a legal and safe abortion and birth control is an economic issue, linked to labor market opportunities and financial empowerment. And, controlling women’s bodies under the guise of religious morality is a deviation from the founding principles of this country and the separation of church and state.
It seems to me that there is a growing sect that is more concerned with restricting my rights as an American citizen—from voting to reproductive health and more—than they are in ensuring I have equitable access to quality and affordable education, and the proper care infrastructure, wages, health care, safe workplaces, and paid leave necessary for me to thrive and to achieve the ‘American dream.’
Women Employed actively supports any effort to ensure women have access to birth control, abortion services, and other reproductive healthcare options that enable them to make choices about their bodies and achieve their dreams and that can close the gender pay gap. And we are thankful that the Governor and lawmakers in our state—Illinois—have supported women’s rights. But if there’s one thing the Texas abortion ban makes clear, it’s that voting matters. You must use your vote to help elect the people who will make decisions on your behalf.
Today is National Voter Registration Day. Visit vote.org to check your registration status. If you’re not already registered, get registered today. Then help your friends and family get registered—especially if they live in places where voting, reproductive, and other basic rights are in danger.
|
|
Cherita Ellens
President and CEO
|
|
Latinas face one of the widest pay disparities of any group of women—earning on average just 55 cents for every dollar a white man earns. Join WE and our partners on the Equal Pay Day Chicago Coalition on Latina Equal Pay Day, October 21, for Non-Negotiable: Pay Equity for Women. The event will feature a salary negotiation workshop led by WE's Ibie Hart, focused on the particular barriers facing Latinas and other women of color, to equip you with the tools you need to get paid your worth. We’ll follow with a panel conversation focused on the broader systemic, structural, and societal barriers to pay equity, and what we can all do to make an impact.
|
|
EVENT RECAP: International Equal Pay Day LinkedIn LIVE Conversation with Jennifer Brown and Cherita Ellens
Earlier this month, WE's President & CEO Cherita Ellens sat down with Jennifer Brown of Jennifer Brown Consulting for a LinkedIn Live conversation about the wage gap, the challenges women face in the workplace, and how we can advance pay equity.
|
|
PROGRAM UPDATE: The ASPIRE Project |
|
The Accelerating Student Progress and Increasing Racial Equity (ASPIRE) Project is a collaboration between Women Employed and 10 Illinois community colleges. The overall goal of the project is to accelerate students’ progress through developmental education and increase equitable and inclusive pathways to success in education and career training.
Women Employed hosted its first convening for the project on Friday, September 17th. Over 50 English and math faculty, as well as college administrators, joined together to learn more about corequisite remediation training and course reform, requirements of HB2170—Illinois’ recently-passed education omnibus bill, and the state of Black and Latinx student success in developmental education. Participants also worked in on-campus teams to set campus goals for the length of the project.
Watch this video to hear WE's Senior Program Manager for the ASPIRE Project, Christina Green, give an overview of the project to convening attendees.
|
|
TAKE ACTION: Urge Congress to Include Paid Leave and Child Care in the Budget Reconciliation Package
Congress is currently debating the specifics of a budget package that could be transformative for working women, with a national paid family and medical leave program and investments in our child care infrastructure on the table. These policies are essential to help parents stay in the workforce or return to work, keep families safe, and continue our economic recovery.
|
|
Work With Us!
Women Employed is hiring! Check out our current job openings:
|
|
|
|
|
National Partnership for Women & Families
|
|
Economic Policy Institute
|
|
National Women's Law Center
|
|
|
Help sustain our work to advance equity for working women, and to close the wealth gap at the intersection of race and gender, by joining Elevate, our monthly giving community. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
