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August 24, 2007

Pay equity remains an issue for women

Editor, Daily Press:

Aug. 26 is the 87th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. This gave women, after a long and hard struggle, the right to vote. Since 1971, America has observed this date as Women's Equality Day. While women gained suffrage all those years ago, equity is still an issue today.

Pay equity remains an issue. New research released by the American Association of University Women shows that just one year out of college, women working full time already earn less than their male colleagues, even when they work in the same field. Ten years after graduation, the pay gap widens.

Wage inequalities are not simply a result of women's qualifications or choices, and they persist despite women's increased educational attainment, greater level of experience in the workforce, and decreased amount of time spent out of the workforce raising children. With a record number of women in the work force, pay discrimination hurts a majority of American families and lowers total lifetime earnings, reducing women's benefits from Social Security and pension plans, and inhibiting their ability to save not only for retirement but for other lifetime goals, such as buying a home and paying for a college education.

I join with the AAUW to use this occasion to not only celebrate this critical moment in history, but to call on women to use and value this hard-won right. We must continue to work to bring equality for women to all parts of their lives, but the pocketbook is a good place to start.

Dr. Amy Aldridge Sanford Vice president of membership

AAUW-Tahlequah Branch

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The use of cell phones while driving is increasingly becoming an issue. What do you think about cell phone use by emergency personnel, like law enforcement officers, EMTs, firemen, etc.?

• If the law allows the common citizen to use cell phones while driving, emergency personnel should be able to also.
• Emergency personnel should be held to a higher standard. Since they are often driving faster than normal, they should not be allowed to use cell phones while driving, even if other citizens can.
• They should be allowed to use them like anyone else, but their host entities (hospitals, fire departments, cities, etc.) should carry extra insurance for this reason.
• Don't know.
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