[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 45 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WOMEN, WAGES, AND JOBS

                                 ______


                               speech of

                           HON. MAXINE WATERS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 27, 1996

  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank my colleague, 
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, for bringing us together to 
discuss the vital issue of women and wages in our country.
  While women have made some economic strides in the past few decades, 
we still have a long way to go. This session of Congress, under our new 
Republican leadership, was especially brutal for women--it was, and 
continues to be, antiwoman, antichoice, and antiworking family.
  Today, most women work and spend less time with their children and 
families. Many cannot afford health insurance for their families and 
worry about their economic security in old age.
  This Republican-led Congress has passed many bills to weaken and 
threaten women's rights, health, freedom, opportunities, economic 
equity, and economic security.
  They have cut student loans, Social Security, family planning 
services, and child care. They have tried to take away our 
constitutional right to choose. They have attempted to slash funding 
for school nutrition programs, and have abolished important job 
training programs that train women for higher paying, nontraditional 
jobs. They have attacked affirmative action.
  Let's talk about affirmative action, and how we need it to help level 
the playing field with men. Today women are still paid less for the 
same work. Women taxpayers are not getting their money's worth. Even 
with affirmative action, we make only 72 cents to a man's dollar. This 
is a disgrace.
  In 1993, female managers earned 33 percent less than male managers, 
female college professors earned 23 percent less than male professors, 
and female elementary school teachers earned 22 percent less than male 
elementary school teachers, Let's not dismantle affirmative action 
until these discrepancies in wages are entirely erased.
  The old boy network is alive and strong. Sexism and racism still 
exist and must be remedied. That's what affirmative action is all 
about. We must encourage and train women to seek higher paying jobs in 
order for them to successfully provide for their families.
  Did you know that women who choose nontraditional female careers, 
such as fire-fighters or engineers, can expect to have lifetime 
earnings that are 150 percent of women who choose traditional careers 
like clerical workers or beauticians? We will not crack the ``glass 
ceiling'' until we break out of the ``pink collar ghetto.''
  At this time of corporate downsizing and Government budget cutting, 
women must work even harder to secure a place in a changing economy. 
This is no easy task, especially when important programs for women have 
been slashed, such as the School-to-Work Opportunities Act.
  This program, reduced by 22 percent this year, particularly affects 
female students who need exposure to high-skill, high-wage career 
options that are not traditional for girls. Cuts in job training 
programs, and the elimination of the Women's Educational Equity Act 
further hurt women's prospects for achieving pay equity with men in the 
near future.
  There is some hope, however. We must start to teach our daughters--
the next generation of women workers--to become independent thinkers 
and problem-solvers, so that they may increase their self-confidence 
and attain high-paying jobs as adults. We can praise them for taking 
risks, and for their ideas rather than their appearance.
  We can encourage them to master computers and take leadership 
positions. We can enroll them in sports and begin to discuss career 
options now. We can serve as mentors and role models.
  A few women have made it to the top of the corporate ladder. Two 
women sit on the Supreme Court, two head the Justice Department, and a 
record 31 percent of President Clinton's appointments to the Federal 
bench were women. My State, California, is the only State headed by two 
female Senators.
  President Clinton, in this 1997 budget, has preserved funding for 
many programs important to women and families, including child care, 
child support, and job training.
  The Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, under the leadership of 
Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Congresswoman Connie Morella, has been 
very active in assuring that women's concerns are not forgotten, even 
when we represent only 10 percent of the House of Representatives. 
Later on this year, we will continue the tradition of introducing the 
Women's Economic Equity Act. This package of bills will help women 
continue to succeed in the workplace.
  Thank you, again, Congresswoman Norton, for your commitment to women 
and economic equality, and for this opportunity to discuss women in the 
workplace.

                          ____________________