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 child or family member are sick for fear of losing a day's pay or their job. Nearly one-quarter of adults have reported they have lost a job or threatened with job loss for taking time off due to being sick or caring for an ill child or family member; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. has no mandatory paid family leave policy, making it one of just three countries in the industrialized world not to offer such economic stability to women and families. 89 percent of the U.S. workforce does not have paid family leave through their employer, and more than 60 percent of the workforce does not have paid personal medical leave through an employer-provided temporary disability program, which some new mothers use. Currently, the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act also does not allow workers to take leave to care for a sibling, grandparent or grandchild making it difficult to balance work and family; and
WHEREAS, Child care is a necessity for almost all families with preschool aged children because most households need to have two incomes to sustain a family. However, there is a lack of affordable and high-quality child care in the U.S. families earning low-incomes especially restaurant workers are particularly affected by the lack of child care options; and
WHEREAS, It is in the best interest for the success of the City of Philadelphia to have policies supporting paid leave, affordable childcare and equal pay to keep families afloat during serious illness or a birth; now therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the City Council of Philadelphia Committee on Commerce and Economic Development hold hearings concerning economic and social challenges facing women in the workplace.
End