PathWays PA Policy Blog

The Department of Labor Women's Bureau will be hosting a webinar focused on Promising Employer Practices for Recruiting and Retaining Women in Construction next Wednesday (July 19th, 2017) at 2:00pm. Despite public and private efforts to increase the share of women in construction trades, women remain significantly underrepresented. As of a 2016 study, women make up only 3% of workers in construction and extraction occupations. Increasing the participation of women in high-wage, high-skill nontraditional fields such as construction are incredibly important to their economic security. This webinar hosted by the Women's Bureau will include a peer learning forum featuring advice from experienced contractors who have been successful in recruiting and retaining women in construction fields. Featured panelists will offer practical advice and applied learning to showcase promising approaches for recruiting and retaining women on job sites. The panelists who will be featured in t...

Wednesday, Oct 10 10:00a to 1:00p at Congreso Education and Training Center, Philadelphia, PA Hosted by the US Dept. of Labor’s Women’s Bureau and La Mega 1310 AM This free forum will provide information on how Latino women in the Philadelphia area can become financially stable and earn higher wages by pursuing jobs in the green industry and information on entrepreneurial opportunities.

Crossposted as part of the MomsRising Blog Carnival . In 2010, dear friends of mine gave birth to a baby girl. I saw the first pictures of her, not even an hour old, while I was writing a blog post about another important event, the first anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Act. She looked so serious in some of those pictures, as if she was determined to figure out this strange new world and her place in it. For years, I had been working on issues that affected women and girls, and thinking about them abstractly. That morning, for the first time, I considered how those issues would affect one child in particular, and I wondered what I could do to make sure she grew up in the best world possible. On that morning, my task didn’t seem too hard. Yes, we were in a recession, but it would be over soon, and meanwhile, everything seemed possible to ensure equality for women and families. Equal pay, access to nontraditional jobs, the ability to find healthcare – all of these issues we...

Looking for some issues to take action on? You've come to the right place! Equal Pay : There are several things you can do to support pay equity- Talk to Congress about the Paycheck Fairness Act: The Paycheck Fairness Act would close loopholes in current equal pay legislation and prevent employers from retaliating against workers who voluntarily discuss their pay.  You can contact Congress at  http://bit.ly/yHmU62 or by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.  Do a Pay Equity Self-Audit : Take the time to make sure your company is abiding by fair pay practices through this self-audit, available at  http://bit.ly/c8p6Ca . Talk to Women and Girls About Nontraditional Jobs: One reason for pay inequity is that women often end up in low-paying "pink collar" jobs.  Peer pressure and family pressure are two of the factors that keep women out of nontraditional workforce.  Encouraging women and girls to look into Science Technology Engineering an...

Two weeks ago, the National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP) , an initiative of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development , hosted a webinar that offers listeners a sector-based solution for eliminating gender disparities in the workforce. The webinar, which you can listen to here , features speakers from Workforce Results , Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) , and the National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP) . Using interactive slideshows, the webinar highlights current employment trends and gender-based workforce inequities. Additionally, the webinar covers the resources, policies, and sector-based solutions available for improving women’s integration and earnings in job sectors, specifically in Green and Non-Traditional Jobs. Susan Crandall, President of Workforce Results, begins the webinar by looking at how current industry analysis helps explain the significant earnings gap between men and women . According to Crandall, women occupy more low-paying jobs than t...

On Saturday, March 20, PathWays PA and other organizations participated in The WOMENomics Forum (co-sponsored by the Friends of Delaware County Women's Commission, Eastern Delco and Interboro Business & Professional Women, Delaware County Women's Commission, The Center Foundation, PathWays PA, The Pennsylvania Commission for Women, and Delaware County Council), where we spoke about green jobs for women. A copy of our presentation is below, and a description of the event appeared in The Delaware County Daily Times on Monday. If you are interested in green jobs, now is the time to get involved. The Sustainable Business Network just released a list of green jobs available in Philadelphia, including information on the education level needed to access these jobs. For more information on women and green jobs, you can also visit the Women's Economic Security Campaign .

Federal Reproductive Rights National Day of Action - December 2 Are you outraged over the Stupak-Pitts Amendment? Do you want to help fight this attack on women's reproductive rights? Please join the reproductive justice community in Washington DC on December 2nd as we raise a collective voice to lobby Congress for health care reform that ensures access to the full-range of reproductive services for all women, which includes access to abortion services! Book your seat on the bus to D.C. here . If you are unable to attend, but would like to help someone else afford the opportunity to attend, please click here to give via our online donation form . Please write in "Send Someone to Day of Action" in the In Honor Of field. For more information about this event and the Raising Women's Voices of Southeastern PA Coalition, please contact Rebecca Foley . Take Action on Earned Sick Time 48 percent of workers in the United States have no access to earned sic...

The Green Economy Post has just put up some good information about where to look for a green job beyond online green job boards. While finding green jobs may be tricky, the desire to enter these jobs is straightforward. Women especially can benefit from green job training, especially in "nontraditional" careers . The Green Economy Post is one of many resources for those looking into green employment. Do you have other resources for green jobs that you would suggest? Please let us know in the comments!

PathWays PA was given the opportunity to speak today on the subject of women and green jobs at an event held by the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia. Along with the Women's Bureau, green employers, and women working in green jobs, PathWays PA was able to share important information on how green jobs affect women. Our presentation is below.

An article published last week on Forbes.com "mythbusts" the idea that woman can't do math and science by pointing out that women executives with science degrees are leading some of the largest companies in the world. The article points out that women who earn Ph. D.s in science are as likely as their male counterparts to find teaching positions, promotions, and tenure at major universities. It also notes that girls now have academic parity with boys when it comes to math. The question to ask, really, is when did we decide that women couldn't excel at math and science, as well as the nontraditional jobs that go with them? Throughout our history, women have excelled in performing heavy labor on a farm, in the fields, and in the home. During WWII, Rosie the Riveter became well known as the symbol of working women, and is held up as an example even today . Math and science skills are important in every job, and men are just as likely as women to need additional...