Women

Issues:

  • Economic insecurity has a disproportionate impact on women's lives.  Women frequently work in lower wage jobs, earning less per year and receiving fewer job benefits.  As frequent heads of single parent households, their poverty greatly impacts children.  Additionally at risk are older women, living longer on fixed incomes and frequently receiving inadequate social security benefits.
  • Domestic violence continues to plague our society despite our efforts to educate, prevent and prosecute.  In times of economic hardship, rates of violence against women and children rise
  • There are many issues having a disproportionate effect on women.  But, perhaps no issue affects a woman more than the right to control her own body.

Solutions:

  • As a society, we need to stop undervaluing "women's work."   Women provide valuable services, services where competence and quality matter.  It is time to compensate them fairly for their talent and dedication.
  • Access to education and high quality affordable childcare are essential for raising the earning power of women, especially those living at the edge.  As the dynamics of the extended family change, we must reexamine the needs of older adults, making sure that they receive the support they deserve
  • Safe and secure shelters are a necessity to break the cycle of violence.  Lack of access to shelters leaves families at the mercy of abusers and increases the chances that the cycle of violence will continue into the next generation.
  • All individuals, men and women, have a right to control their own bodies.  A woman does not loose this right when she becomes pregnant.  I believe that women, provided with opportunity and hope, are the best determiners of their futures.