[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 58 (Thursday, May 11, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H2955-H2956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             WOMEN'S ISSUES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I spoke earlier on equal pay day, May 11, 
which is today, which indicates that women have had to work 4\1/2\ 
months longer than men to achieve equal pay. I wanted to comment a 
little further on that with some statistics, and then I want to go into 
an invitation to women as well as men to join all of us on Sunday, 
Mother's Day at the Million Mom March for common-sense gun legislation.
  But, first of all, let me mention, women have made great strides in 
education and in the work force. When one looks at the statistics, the 
majority of undergraduate and master's degrees are awarded to women. 
Forty percent of all doctorates are earned by women. More than 7.7 
million businesses in the United States are owned and operated by 
women. These businesses employ 15.5 million people, which is about 35 
percent more than the Fortune 500 companies worldwide.
  Women are running for elected office in record numbers. When I was 
first elected to the House in 1987, there were 26 women in the House 
and two in the Senate. In 2000, we now have 58 women serving in the 
House and nine in the Senate. It sounds like quite an addition. Not 
enough. Not enough, but certainly we can see there has been an 
increase.
  While many doors to employment and educational opportunity have 
opened for women, they still get paid less than men for the same work. 
Women who work full time earn less than men employed for the full time. 
The average college graduate woman earns a little more than the average 
male high school graduate. Full-time working women earn only about 73 
cents for every dollar that a man earns.
  That number, as I mentioned before, African American women earn only 
63 cents for every dollar. Hispanic women earn only 53 cents for every 
dollar. We need to remember the struggle for equality is not over. 
Although women are and continue to be the majority of new entrants into 
the workplace, they continue to be clustered in low-skilled, low-paying 
jobs. Part-time and temporary workers, the majority of whom are women, 
are among the most vulnerable of all workers. They receive lower pay, 
fewer or no benefits, and little, if any, job security.
  Women account for more than 45 percent of the work force and, yet, 
they are underrepresented and face barriers in the fields of science, 
engineering, and technology, especially.
  Recently, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the most 
prestigious science and engineering university in the country issued a 
report revealing that female professors at the school suffer from 
pervasive discrimination.
  For all of those reasons, that is why I introduced the Commission on 
the Advancement of Women in Science, Engineering and Technology 
Development Act. That was passed in the previous 105th Congress and 
signed into law. This Commission has met many times during this past 
year, and we will release their report in June of this year.
  The Commission's report will help us find out what is keeping women 
and minorities and persons with disabilities out of technological 
fields at this critical time. In addition, we will have ascertained 
what are effective and productive policies that can address the 
underrepresentation of women in the sciences and could help alleviate 
the increasing shortage of information technology workers and 
engineers.
  I see this as the first step in encountering the roadblocks to women 
in our rapidly evolving high-tech society, and it is going to help 
women finally help to breakthrough that glass ceiling and the silicone 
ceiling in the fields of science, engineering and technology.
  Let me also point out that, as women retire, we are understanding the 
economic problems of the elderly. Women are affected in 
disproportionate numbers because we tend to have lower pension benefits 
than men. Pension policies have not accommodated women in their 
traditional role as family care givers.

                              {time}  1630

  Women move in and out of the workforce more frequently when family 
needs arise, making it more difficult for them to accrue retirement 
credits.

[[Page H2956]]

  Consequently, Social Security is especially important for women. 
Women are heavily reliant on Social Security, and since its inception, 
Social Security has often been the only income source keeping women 
from living out their days in poverty.
  As elderly women continue to outlive their male counterparts and as 
medical care costs for the elderly continue to rise, fundamental reform 
to the Social Security System will have important implications for 
today's female Baby Boomers and Generation Xers and for women of future 
generations. It is generally daughters who bear much of the 
responsibility for their aging parents. In this way, women of all 
generations will be deeply impacted if the current system is not 
fundamentally reformed.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge May 11 as Equal Pay Day to mark 
the wage disparity between genders.
  Women have made great strides in education and in the work force. The 
majority of undergraduate and master's degrees are awarded to women, 
and 40 percent of all doctorates are earned by women. More than 7.7 
million businesses in the United States are owned and operated by 
women. These businesses employ 15.5 million people, about 35 percent 
more than the Fortune 500 companies worldwide. And women are running 
for elected offices in record numbers. When I first came to the House 
in 1987, three were 26 women in the House and two in the Senate. In 
2000, there are 58 women serving in the House, and 9 in the Senate.
  While many doors to employment and educational opportunity have 
opened for women, they still get paid less than men for the same work. 
Women who work full-time earn less than men who are employed full-time. 
The average woman college graduate earns little more than the average 
male high school graduate. Full-time working women earn only about 73 
cents for each dollar a man earns. That number for African-American 
women is 63 cents to every dollar and 53 cents for Hispanic women. We 
need to remember that the struggle for equity is not over.
  Although women are and continue to be the majority of new entrants 
into the workplace, they continue to be clustered in low-skilled, low-
paying jobs. Part-time and temporary workers, the majority of whom are 
women, are among the most vulnerable of all workers. They receive lower 
pay, fewer or no benefits, and little if any job security.
  Women account for more than 45 percent of the work force, yet they 
are under-represented and face barriers in the fields of science, 
engineering, and technology. Recently, the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology (MIT), the most prestigious science and engineering 
university in the country, issued a report revealing that female 
professors at the school suffer from pervasive discrimination. That is 
why I introduced the Commission on the Advancement of Women in Science, 
Engineering and Technology Development Act. My legislation passed in 
the 105th Congress and was signed into law.
  This commission has met several times in the past year and will 
release their report in June. The commission's report will help us find 
out what is keeping women out of technological fields at this critical 
time. In addition, we will have ascertained what are effective and 
productive policies that can address the under-representation of women 
in the sciences and could help alleviate the increasing shortage of 
information technology workers and engineers. This legislation is a 
first step in countering the roadblocks for women in our rapidly 
evolving high-tech society, and will help women break through the 
``Glass Ceiling'' and the ``Silicon Ceiling'' in the fields of science, 
engineering, and technology.
  As women retire, we are understanding the economic problems of the 
elderly. Women are affected in disproportionate numbers because we tend 
to have lower pensions benefits than men. Pension policies have not 
accommodated women in their traditional role as family care givers. 
Women move in and out of the work force more frequently when family 
needs arise making it more difficult for them to accrue pension credit.
  Consequently, Social Security is especially important for women. 
Women are heavily reliant on Social Security, and since its inception, 
Social Security has often been the only income source keeping women 
from living out their days in poverty.
  As elderly women continue to outlive their male counterparts and as 
medical care costs for the elderly continue to rise, fundamental reform 
to the Social Security system will have important implications for 
today's female Baby Boomers and Generation Xers, and for women of 
future generations. It is generally daughters who bear much of the 
responsibility for their aging parents. In this way, women of all 
generations will be deeply impacted if the current system is not 
fundamentally reformed.
  For this reason we have passed the Long Term Care Security Act. Women 
are the most likely care-givers when older relatives or spouses become 
frail or ill and need care. As more women are employed full time, it 
becomes more difficult for them to fill the requirements of caring for 
aging parents and relatives. A recent survey found that 41 percent of 
women who have been in care-giver roles were forced to quit their jobs 
or take a leave of absence, and 50 percent had to cut back their 
working hours to assist loved ones needing care.
  Gender Equity is an ongoing struggle that seeps into many facets of 
all of our lives. We've made a lot of progress, and I hope that we'll 
work together with our partners to see the end of Equal Pay Day, 
because the goal will have been achieved.
  Mr. Speaker, I also, for Mother's Day, invite all of the mothers, and 
those who care for common sense gun legislation, to meet on Sunday at 
the Mall to march together.

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