[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 19, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E331]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING CONNECTICUT'S PERMANENT COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN AS 
                 THEY CELEBRATE THEIR 40TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 19, 2013

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise today to join the many 
who have gathered in Connecticut's capitol to mark the 40th Anniversary 
of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. Formed under 
Connecticut statute and charged with a mission to study and improve 
Connecticut women's economic security, health and safety; promote 
consideration of qualified women to leadership positions; and to work 
toward the elimination of gender discrimination, the PCSW is our 
state's leading force for women's equality.
  Women, in the workplace and in our society, have come a long way 
since the women's suffrage movement in the 19th century and the women's 
rights movement of the 20th century, during which time the PCSW was 
first established. Today, ninety-seven women serve in the two Houses of 
the United States Congress and thousands serve at the state and 
municipal levels as well. In fact, in Connecticut, women hold fifty-
five seats in the General Assembly and half of the Constitutional 
offices. Women own their own businesses and are leading some of the 
largest corporations in the world. And yet women still face a myriad of 
obstacles in our society. Women still make seventy-seven cents to every 
dollar earned by a man in comparable positions and there is still a 
stigma attached to women in the workforce--employers still concerned 
about women who may have children or are thinking about starting a 
family and how those choices may impact their job performance or 
attendance. Women statistically live longer than men yet they have less 
retirement security, until very recently health research did not take 
into consideration the basic biological differences between men and 
women, and sexual harassment and discrimination continue to persist in 
a variety of forms.
  The PCSW, through policy research as well as education and awareness 
programs, has helped to shape the debate around these and many other 
issues impacting the lives of Connecticut women and create public 
policy that makes a difference. The PCSW has had a leadership role in 
advancing legislation in Connecticut to prohibit sex discrimination in 
credit transactions, create the first family and medical leave 
protections in the country, and require health insurance plans to cover 
a minimum of forty-eight hours hospital stay for normal childbirth and 
ninety-six for caesarian sections. Each of these efforts now stand as 
law in Connecticut and have acted as a model for legislation in other 
states as well as at the federal level.
  Under the outstanding leadership of Executive Director Teresa 
Younger, the PCSW is continuing in its strong tradition of ensuring 
that issues that impact women and their families are at the forefront 
of Connecticut's public policy discussions. I have spent much of my 
time in Congress focused on these issues and have often turned to the 
PCSW for guidance and support. It is with great pride and my deepest 
thanks that I rise today to congratulate them on their 40th Anniversary 
and wish them all the best for continued success.

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