PathWays PA Policy Blog

Take Action for PA Girls! Contact your State Senator and State Representative, and urge them to support Senate Bill 890 and House Bill 2061 , the legislation requiring Pennsylvania secondary schools to publicly disclose information pertaining to Title IX requirements. Find your state legislators and their contact information here . Title IX is the federal law passed in 1972 that requires educational institutions to give equal treatment to male and female athletes. Despite great progress made in the 38 years since this law was enacted, high school girls still receive 1.3 million fewer participation opportunities than do boys, and evidence suggests that the money spent on girls' sports programs lags significantly behind the money spent on boys' programs. More information can be found on the Women's Law Project's website . National Girls and Women in Sports Day News Conference Join State Representative Tim Briggs, State Senator Mary Jo White, and the Pennsylvania Commissi...

On Januar y 29, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act , which clarified that every discriminatory paycheck or action restarts the clock for filing a pay discrimination complaint. As more steps need to be taken on equal pay, this anniversary marks the perfect time to move forward. Lilly Ledbetter plans to mark the day by visiting members of Congress to talk about the Paycheck Fairness Act , which will close loopholes that allow unequal pay to continue. What will you do for the day? Tell your equal pay story on our blog and/or to your Senator ? Learn more about Paycheck Fairness from our friends at the National Partnership for Women and Families ? Read the NWLC's state by state data ? Take a moment to celebrate the Ledbetter Act by thanking your legislators for what they have done so far, and asking them to continue working towards paycheck fairness? Some more equal pay facts: Women earn about 78 cents on the dollar compared to men, and a recent stu...

By Janet Walsh Paid parental leave is a human right, one guaranteed by virtually every country. But not the United States! When you gave birth or adopted your kids, did you take leave without pay? How did this affect breastfeeding, your health, your baby’s health, or your family’s finances? How did this affect the timing of your return to work? How else did the lack of paid parental leave affect you and your family? Human Rights Watch, a nongovernmental human rights group, is hoping to interview parents about their experience with unpaid maternity and paternity leave, and the impact on their families. The interviews will be used for a report (using pseudonyms, not actual names of interviewees) and, depending on the findings, for making recommendations on US law and policy. Please contact Human Rights Watch at walshj@hrw.org if you would like to share your story through a short interview. To learn more about Human Rights Watch, visit www.hrw.org . Janet Walsh is Deputy Director o...

Tonight, President Obama will give his first State of the Union Address. Before he shares his thoughts about the current status of our country, in particular health care reform, you can make your own voice heard. Call your Senators and Representative today and let them know how you feel about the health care reform proposals. You can also call the White House at 202-456-1111. It is crucial for our voices to be heard in this all-important national debate. Feel free to include your thoughts in the comment section below. Image courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlund/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

While the health care debate continues in Washington, a major change is occurring to adultBasic, a program that helps low income Pennsylvanians afford insurance. Eligible Pennsylvanians without health care have been able to turn to adultBasic for coverage, even when they are on the waitlist. In Pennsylvania more than 40,000 are receiving the full benefits of the program, while the waitlist stands at over 300,000 . 3,500 individuals on the waitlist have chosen to buy into the program at full cost until they can access the program at the $35 per month cost. The amount of time someone will spend on the wait list varies, depending on when people apply as well as funding. Generally those on the waitlist must wait at least one year . The rate to buy into the program is approximately $330 a month. However, in March, this buy-in amount will increase by 80 percent. Individuals on the waitlist will then have to pay $600 per month on average for coverage. Individuals who buy into ad...

(Thanks to our friends at Women Against Abuse for sharing this information). Did you know that one in three female teenagers is a victim of physical, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner? Or that 40 percent of teen dating violence incidents occur on school grounds? On January 28, the city of Philadelphia will proclaim February as Teen Dating Violence Awareness month, with the above statistics (and more) making up part of the proclamation . You can join City Council as they make the proclamation: January 28, 2010, 10 a.m., Philadelphia City Hall, Room 400. In February, Women Against Abuse will also be holding trainings for teachers and professionals around teen dating violence. If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, please seek help. There are many resources available, including the 24-Hour Philadelphia Domestic Violence Hotline(866-723-3014). The National Domestic Violence Hotline is also available- 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) 1.800.787.3224 (TTY). Teen...

Federal Urgent Request to Sign Petition: Support the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Today The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) recently launched a petition campaign supporting the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). The CFPA passed in the House bill, but it is currently being debated in the Senate. Senators are debating whether to instead pass a different regulatory reform bill, which would likely result in only nominal changes in the financial system. The CFPA will be an independent consumer financial protection agency with enforcement authority that will increase transparency and serve as the sole agency dedicated entirely to consumer rights. Please take a moment to sign the petition . For more information on banking reform, please click here . Information/Events Conference Call Invitation - How to Secure Unemployment Insurance Reforms for Women and Families in Your State The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) set aside $7 billion to enc...