Bill would restore staff funding to Office on the Economic Status of Women

By statute, the Legislative Coordinating Commission is to study matters related to the status of women in Minnesota.

The nonpartisan Office on the Economic Status of Women was created in 1976; however, funding to support a staff person for the office was eliminated in 2017.

Rep. Connie Bernardy (DFL-New Brighton) said the need for such an office remains.

Rep. Connie Bernardy

She sponsors HF2533 that, as orally amended, would provide $161,000 in Fiscal Year 2021 and set a $156,000 base in subsequent years. Approved Wednesday by the House State Government Finance Division, the bill was sent to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The measure was passed by the House last year, but was removed in the conference committee process.

According to its website, “The Office on the Economic Status of Women (OESW) advises the legislature and provides information and statistics on women in Minnesota. The office gathers information on population characteristics, educational attainment and enrollments, marital and parental status, household characteristics, labor force status and employment characteristics, and basic information on women's legal and economic rights.”

“Women in our society make less on the dollar than what men do; they often are the caretaker of their children and their family,” Bernardy said. Supporters note women are more likely to take time off, for example, if a child is sick, has a doctor’s appointment or school is cancelled.

“The work of OESW is not only about pay,” said Patty Tanji, president of the Pay Equity Coalition of Minnesota. “It’s about women and girls of color. It’s about the voices of women around the state in the most remote places from whom people don’t hear from, and older women and women in the trades and the list goes on and on. … Economic conditions that affect women was as important 40 years ago as it is today.”

A companion, SF2752 sponsored by Sen. Sandra Pappas (DFL-St. Paul), awaits action by the Senate State Government Finance and Policy and Elections Committee.