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Legislative News and Views - Rep. Rena Moran (DFL)

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Proving Economic Security for Minnesota’s Women and Families

Friday, March 21, 2014
Dear Neighbor,
 
Minnesota employers created more than 45,000 jobs last year, the unemployment rate dropped to one of the lowest in the country, and our state has a strong budget surplus of $1.2 billion. Minnesota’s economy is heading in the right direction and our middle and working classes are strengthening. However, women in Minnesota still face disproportionate barriers to basic economic security.
 
Women are critical to strengthening our workforce and providing for our families. Minnesota leads the country in women participating in the workforce, and women in Minnesota earn the majority of post secondary degrees. However, these facts do not translate into economic security or equality. More and more families depend on a woman’s income to help support their families and achieve the American dream. 
 
I, along with many of my DFL colleagues, am sponsoring a series of bills, known as the Women’s Economic Security Act, to close the gender pay gap, increase access to affordable childcare, and expand paid leave for working families among other initiatives to help women achieve economic security. 
 
Women deserve equal pay for equal work. Today, in Minnesota, women earn a mere 80 cents to every dollar a man earns for the same work. Two thirds of Minnesotans in low-wage jobs are women. The gap is even larger for women of color; over one-third of women in low-wage jobs are women of color. Women are often forced into occupations stereotypically held by women – these jobs often pay less than jobs typically occupied by men. In fact, women are paid less in almost every occupation. We need to close the gender pay gap by providing pay equity and giving women the opportunity to seek high-wage jobs. Closing the gender pay gap will not only benefit women, it will also benefit their families and our communities. The Women’s Economic Security Act will close the gender pay gap by protecting employees from retaliation for discussing their wages and requiring private businesses who wish to contract with the state to report on pay equity in their workforce. Raising the minimum wage to $9.50 will increase the income of 203,000 working women and help close the gender pay gap. 
 
Providing economic security for women goes beyond closing the gender pay gap – it is also about caring for our children and families by expanding access to high quality, affordable childcare. Minnesota is a national leader in women’s participation in the workforce with nearly 80 percent of mothers with children under the age of six working. Minnesota has the third highest childcare costs in the entire country with only fourteen percent of Minnesota families below the poverty level receiving assistance for childcare costs. We need to increase access and affordability to high quality childcare in Minnesota to help women obtain and maintain a job and to increase the productivity of Minnesota’s businesses.
 
Many jobs do not provide the needed flexibility or paid leave that women – and men – deserve. Helping women and men balance their family and professional lives is critical to increase productivity and reduce turnover in the workplace. Nearly 40 percent of private sector workers and 80 percent of low-wage workers lack access to paid sick days. Many caregivers are often faced with the difficult decision of taking care of themselves or others while sick and suffering from the loss of income and potential backlash at work. Someone should never be punished if they or a loved one is ill. Providing paid leave not only makes for healthier and happier families, employers also benefit from a more committed workforce. 
 
I support the Women’s Economic Security Act and I encourage you to stand with me to fight for the women in our lives. We need to pass the Women’s Economic Security Act because when women thrive, so does their families and communities. Contact your legislators today, testify in committee hearings, and stand up in support of the Women’s Economic Security Act. Women have waited too long to be treated equally under the law – we cannot afford to wait any longer. 
 
As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or feedback. You can reach me by phone at (651) 296-5158, by email at rep.rena.moran@house.mn, or by postal mail at 413 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155
 
Together we are stronger!
 
Sincerely, 
 
Rena Moran
State Representative, District 65A