[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 50 (Thursday, April 24, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3694-S3695]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TAKE OUR DAUGHTERS TO WORK DAY

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today on Take Our Daughters 
to Work Day, to encourage young women and girls across America to set 
their sights high, and to reach for their dreams.
  Since my childhood, the composition of the work force has changed 
dramatically, and job opportunities have significantly increased for 
young women and girls. Today, women comprise 46 percent of the paid 
labor force, and according to Bureau of Labor and Statistics, by the 
year 2000, roughly half of new entrants into the labor force will be 
women.
  Despite these gains, studies show that during adolescence, girls 
often receive less attention in school and suffer from lower 
expectations than do boys. They also set their future sights lower than 
their male counterparts. This is reflected in a New York Times/CBS 
poll, which found that over one third of girls surveyed believed that 
there are more advantages to being a man than a women. For many girls, 
low self-esteem can lead them to lose confidence in their abilities, 
which may prevent them from achieving their fullest potential later in 
life.
  In this day and age, we cannot accept reduced opportunities for girls 
and women from either an equity standpoint or an economic one. Today, 
women are equally responsible for the well-being of their families. So 
it is not just their own futures that are at stake, but the future of 
their children and their children's children. It is our responsibility 
to set high standards and provide them with the experiences and role 
models that will inspire them to be extraordinary leaders of the 
future.
  We need to do far more to challenge our daughters' notions of women's 
work. While most school-age girls plan to work, they do not plan for 
careers that could sustain themselves and their families. In 1992, 53.8 
million women were employed and only 3.5 million were employed in 
nontraditional occupations. Further, women working in nontraditional 
jobs earn 20 to 30 percent more than women in traditionally female 
jobs. Women remain significantly under-represented in careers requiring 
math and science skills--women comprise only 11 percent of today's 
technical work force, and only 17 percent of all doctors are women. 
Nearly 75 percent of tomorrow's jobs will require the use of computers, 
but girls comprise less than one-third of students enrolled in computer 
courses. And a study by the Glass Ceiling Commission found that women 
occupy only 5 percent of senior-level management of the top Fortune 
1000 industrial and 500 service companies. As leaders and as parents, 
we must do our best to ensure that American girls are prepared to step 
into those high-wage jobs and management positions that command higher 
salaries in the work force.
  I was honored to endorse again, this year, Take Our Daughters to Work 
Day, organized by the Maine's Women's Development Institute, in my home 
State. Girls in Maine and across the Nation will have another 
opportunity to see first-hand that they have a range of life options. 
In the past, Take

[[Page S3695]]

Our Daughters to Work Day has encouraged young girls to reach out and 
use their creative spirit and I am confident that this special day will 
prove again to be a rich and rewarding experience for all parents and 
daughters alike.
  Today, millions of parents across the Nation will take their 
daughters to work. In 1996, in Maine alone, 10,000 Maine girls and 
5,000 Maine businesses participated in Take Our Daughters To Work Day. 
These parents perform a great service by exposing their daughters to 
new and exciting experiences. They are not only expanding their 
horizons and helping them to explore opportunities, but teaching them 
important lessons about goal-setting as well. Take Our Daughters to 
Work Day has encouraged a new generation of young girls to envision a 
world where no goal is impossible.

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