FACTS & FINDINGS

The Commissioners of ACW would like to thank the Center for American Women and Politics at Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Shell Oil Company; and the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership in Kansas City, Missouri for their innovative studies on substantial women’s issues. It is our hope that the research results on different women’s issues from three unrelated sources will foster an informed dialogue among all men and women of Austin and beyond. We encourage you to discuss these reports and these results with your family, neighbors, coworkers and others.

Center For American Women & Politics: Fact Sheets

Get up-to-date data on women Officeholders, Women Candidates and Winners, WomenPAC’s, Gender Gap, Voter Behaviour.

The fact sheet summaries contain total numbers and percentages for the various levels of office. The full text of each fact sheet also contains other pertinent information, such as historical information, complete listings of individuals, percentage breakdowns by state (state legislature only), and other details.

CAWP fact sheets are updated at least quarterly to reflect additions, deletions and corrections. Between updates, they maintain a list to advise you of changes that have not yet been incorporated into their numbers or lists. They welcome any information you can provide that will assist in keeping their fact sheets up-to-date.

National Association of Commissions for Women Alert
Issue: Paid Sick Days

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly half of American private-sector workers, including 21 million women, have no paid sick days. Only one in three has paid sick days for doctors' appointments or to care for a child. Low-wage workers are especially hard hit, with three in four workers without any paid sick days. A study published by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 27 percent of low income workers put off getting health-care because they cannot take time off from work, and 18 percent of women at all income levels face this situation.

Families with children are often confronted with difficult choices-a decision to stay home to care for a sick child or family member could jeopardize their job or family income. Half of working mothers, who most often provide the lion's share of family care giving, report that they must miss work and often go without pay when caring for a sick child. With more than a third of Americans already experiencing significant elder care responsibilities, coupled with the aging of the baby boomers, the problem is likely to worsen in the years ahead.

Healthy Families Act (H.R. 1542/S. 910) provides full-time employees with seven paid sick days a year to be used for their own medical needs or to tend to the medical needs of a child, spouse or parent. Part-time employees would receive a pro-rated share of paid sick days.

Less than 15 percent of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed on as cosponsors, despite the fact that millions of Americans still do not have the option of taking a sick day to care for family members or themselves without putting their jobs, their healthcare benefits, or their family stability at risk.

Contact your Members of Congress to tell them your story.