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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Kathy Brynaert (DFL)

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A more prosperous southern Minnesota depends on greater gender equity

Monday, April 21, 2014

The evidence is clear:  companies that can harness the benefits of equality gain a competitive advantage. Workplace fairness is a common theme among businesses that innovate, understand market trends and create new business models in a changing society.  The Mankato area has worked for years to provide family friendly business practices with flexibility for employees.

A growing body of research shows that maintaining a focus on gender equality and equal pay makes good business sense and that companies who take action to promote gender equality show increased profitability. Our community has had a long standing commitment to support talent retention in our local and regional businesses. The wealthy talent pool that we have as a community with multiple higher education institutions and programs makes this a strong strategic goal.  Talented people are attracted to communities whose businesses support pay equity and work place flexibility addressing concerns of pregnant and nursing women as well as family caregivers.

The Women’s Economic Security Act (mnwesa.org) now moving through the legislature is a comprehensive approach to making sure that none of the state’s talent is going to waste.   Providing equal opportunities and pay for women who make up half of the state’s workforce is critical to our state’s economic future.

  • Helping women and men balance family and work responsibilities reduces costly turnover and increases productivity.
  • Paying women the same as men for comparable work and living wages helps Minnesota families that depend on women’s income to achieve and maintain the middle class American dream.
  • Opening a wide range of occupations to women increases the talent pool and maximizes opportunities for both employee and employer efficiency and productivity.

Unfortunately, research on the Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota shows that Minnesota is falling behind and movement towards the greater equity that can fuel Minnesota’s growth has stalled out for the past decade.   And the opportunity gap is even larger in Greater Minnesota. 

  • Rural women in many areas of the state experience higher than average pay gaps. The disparity throughout Minnesota is as low as 64% women compared to a statewide average of 80%. Our legislative district is closer to the average at 78%. Nevertheless, the disparity remains a challenge.
  • Rural women are more likely to be clustered in low wage jobs working at or below the minimum wage (66% of hourly workers earning at or below the minimum wage in nonmetropolitan areas of the state are women, compared to 56% in the metro).
  • Over the course of a life time, the opportunity gap for women results in twice as many of the state’s elder women living in poverty.

The Women’s Economic Security Act is based on sound research: the Status of Women and Girls report, done by the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota and the Center of Women and Public Policy at the University of Minnesota, and comprehensively addresses the opportunity and pay gap that compromises Minnesota’s future:

·         Less pay for the same job: Minnesota women are paid less than men in nearly every occupation. Economists have documented the role of gender bias in employment decisions through studies that show women are offered fewer job opportunities and lower pay, even when they have identical resumes as men.  That’s just not fair or efficient.

·         Job segregation: Sex role stereotypes lead to women being segregated into female-dominated jobs with low wages.  While businesses across the state face a high skills labor shortage, half the state’s workforce remains under-utilized.

·         The “motherhood penalty:”   Unnecessary turnover and loss of valued employees, when minor, reasonable accommodations can keep them on the job through pregnancy and caregiving, are harmful to families and the state economy.   As a national leader in workforce participation, women play a bigger role in Minnesota’s prosperity than in any other state.  Almost 80% of Minnesota women with children under 6 are in the workforce and 50% of the state’s working mothers are a primary breadwinner for their family.

Reducing barriers for women is not just the right thing to do, it builds a stronger economic foundation for all of us.  We know that when women throughout Minnesota thrive, so do their employers, their families and their communities.