news

Economic Equity News: May 18, 2016

Economic equity news is a weekly round-up of articles by Donna Seymour of AAUW-NYS that features our core values of poverty solutions, opportunity and access, workplace fairness, healthy lives, equal pay and representation at all tables. Sign up for our mailing list to receive this directly to your inbox.

Gender disparity is the greatest at some of the highest positions in the business world. According to the research firm Catalyst, women only make up 4% of CEOs in Standard and Poor’s 500. Yet a new report, titled “Women in Leadership: Why It Matters” from the Rockefeller Foundation, indicates that this reality doesn’t line up with Americans’ perceptions. Polling 1,011 adults online revealed that 9 in 10 surveyed think there are more women leading major companies than the 20 who actually do.

Cyndi Lauper wants girls to have fun… and equal pay! The iconic singer, whose new album, “Detour,” is out today, stopped by The Late Late Show with James Corden on Monday night to perform her song “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” with a feminist twist. With some (hilarious) help from Corden, Lauper parodied her famous hit and sang “Girls Just Want Equal Funds.”

On average, American women earn less than their male peers. Highly educated women fare worst of all. A Wall Street Journal examination of pay in 446 major occupations found that women in many elite jobs earn well below men, with professions such as doctors, compensation managers and personal financial advisers among those showing the widest earnings gaps.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday plans to hold a rare public hearing that puts the national spotlight on a hot-button issue roiling Silicon Valley: the chronic underrepresentation of women, minorities and older workers, particularly in technical roles.

Back in 2014, we were all blessed with the very important knowledge that Captain America’s Chris Evans is, indeed, a feminist, who also loves his mother very much, so talk about bonus points. And he’s back at it spitting the feminist truth yet again. This time, Chris Evans talked the gender wage gap in the first episode of Netflix’s Chelsea, a talk show by Chelsea Handler on Friday. He not only acknowledged its existence, especially in Hollywood, but called it “ubiquitous.”

 


Donna Seymour, who hails from the (far upstate) North Country of NYS, has spent 40 plus years advocating for children, women and family issues, equity, sustainability, and social justice issues. Currently serving as the Public Policy VP for AAUW-NYS (the American Association University Women), she is also a member the League of Women Voters, the Equal Pay Coalition, PTA, NOW, and Planned Parenthood, just to name a few.