DNC Celebrates Women's Equality Day

[MaineDem]

For Immediate Release
August 26, 2005
Contact: Karen Finney - 202-863-8148

DNC CELEBRATES WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY

Washington, DC - On August 26, Americans will celebrate Women's Equality Day,
which marks the passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote,
and highlights the tremendous strides that women continue to make in leveling
the playing field in areas of education, athletics, and career advancement.
"Today we recognize the tremendous progress women have made. With 80 women
Members of Congress and thousands of women legislators around the country, we
have made great strides," said Chairman Howard Dean. "As we reflect on the
gains women have made, the Senate prepares to consider the nomination of John
Roberts to the Supreme Court, and we are reminded just how critical it is that
we have a nominee who will continue to move forward, not turn back the hands of
time for women in America."
"As the White House continues to stonewall on key memos written by Roberts,
serious questions regarding his commitment to women's rights remain. His
earlier writings reflect a disturbing trend of hostility towards women's
rights, including addressing the pay gap, access to educational opportunity and
Title IX. As a sign of respect for women in America and all that they
contribute to our nation every day, President Bush should release these
critical documents so that we can know whether Judge Roberts will be an
advocate for the basic rights and freedoms of every American, or an activist
for an extreme ideology that would limit these freedoms we hold dear."
JOHN ROBERTS ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS
Closing the Wage Gap
PROGRESS: Wage Gap Has Been Closing After 1963 Equal Pay Act; Women Earn 76
Cents on the Dollar Compared to Men. Since the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the wage
gap has closed by half a cent on the dollar per year. Yet, there is much work
to do. According to the 2004 United States Census, currently, women earn just
76 cents on the dollar compared with men. The Census Bureau reported that in
2003, median annual earnings for full-time working women declined to $30,724 -
while men's earnings remained unchanged, at $40,668. Institute for Women's Policy Research, 8/27/04]
Roberts Argued Against Closing the Wage Gap: In internal memos, Roberts urged
President Ronald Reagan to refrain from embracing any form of the proposed
Equal Rights Amendment pending in Congress; he concluded that some state
initiatives to curb workplace discrimination against women relied on legal
tools that were "highly objectionable"; and he said that a controversial legal
theory then in vogue -- of directing employers to pay women the same as men for
jobs of "comparable worth" -- was "staggeringly pernicious" and "anti-
capitalist."
Education
PROGRESS: Number of Women in College Has Steadily Increased; Women Have
Outnumbered Men Since 1978. Women students have outnumbered male students since
1978. In 2000 there were 2 million more women than men enrolled in college. In
the United States, 200,000 more women than men earned a bachelor's degree in
2004. While men comprise 51 percent of the college-age population in the United
States, women account for 54 percent of full-time college students, earn more
than 56 percent of the bachelor's degrees every year, and graduate in four
years or less at a rate 10 percent higher than that of men. Bradenton Herald, 5/22/05; National Center for Education Statistics; University
Wire, 4/15/05]
Roberts Questioned Women Going To Law School: His remark on whether homemakers
should become lawyers came in 1985 in reply to a suggestion from Linda Chavez,
then the White House's director of public liaison. Chavez had proposed entering
her deputy, Linda Arey, in a contest sponsored by the Clairol shampoo company
to honor women who had changed their lives after age 30. Arey had been a
schoolteacher who decided to change careers and went to law school. Roberts
said in his memo that he saw no legal objection to her taking part in the
Clairol contest. Then he added a personal aside: "Some might question whether
encouraging homemakers to become lawyers contributes to the common good, but I
suppose that is for the judges to decide."
Title XI
PROGRESS: Title IX Increased the Number of High School Female Athletes by 9
Times, and College Female Athletes by 5 Times. Title IX allowed more than 2.8
million girls to compete in high school sports in 2004 -- a 900 percent
increase since 1972. In 1971-72, only 294,000 girls in comparison to 3.7
million boys played varsity sports in the nation's high schools. Thirty years
later, in 2001-2002, boys' participation had increased slightly, to less than 4
million. That year, 2.8 million girls played high school varsity sports. In
1971-72, men in college sports outnumbered women by 170,384 to 29,977 -- nearly
six to one. Thirty years later, women's participation had increased more than
five-fold, and the numbers were 212,140 men to 155,513 women. Durham, NC, 7/24/05]
Roberts Proposed Limiting the Role of Title IX: In a memorandum to the attorney
general in August 1982, he expressed support for a federal district court
decision limiting the reach of a law against sex discrimination in educational
institutions receiving federal aid. Judge Roberts said the law, called Title
IX, applied only to specific programs that received federal aid, not to the
entire university that maintained the programs. "Under Title IX federal
investigators cannot rummage willy-nilly through institutions but can only go
as far as the federal funds go," he wrote.

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