by WomenLawyersOnGuard | Jan 24, 2018 | Issues
Women Lawyers On Guard, Inc. has joined an amicus brief by the National Women’s Law Center that highlights the importance of the fair share rule in reducing the wage gap and the importance of public employment and union advocacy for women in the workplace.
The brief argues that public sector professions provide important career opportunities for women and people of color, who often face special barriers to entry in various professions. Because women and people of color comprise a significant proportion of public sector workers and union members, the fair share rule (which requires all public sector employees to pay a share of union expenses) plays a key role in enabling unions to create economic opportunities for all members who benefit from union negotiations, including increasing opportunities for earning parity (reducing the wage gap). The brief points to a wealth of data to show that women and people of color in employment settings covered by unions enjoy greater pay equity and increased benefits than their non-union counterparts.
The brief is available at http://civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/briefs/NWLC-LeadershipConference-Janus-Brief.pdf.
by WomenLawyersOnGuard | Jan 17, 2018 | Issues
New data demonstrate that young women now report greater political engagement and participation than young men. As the Brookings Institution notes, “[t]his may be the first time in American history that an entire cohort of young women reports greater political engagement than their male peers. If so, this could presage a new wave of female activism that shifts the course of our politics in the 2018 mid-term elections and beyond.” Read more here:
Data point to a new wave of female political activism that could shift the course of US politics
by WomenLawyersOnGuard | Jan 17, 2018 | Issues
On the anniversary of last year’s Women’s March, there are events being held in multiple cities on January 20 and 21, 2018. The main event is in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday, but voter-registration-themed events will take place in various cities on Saturday, January 20, for instance at 11:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C. at the Reflecting Pool. We hope to see you there! See below for more information.
https://www.womensmarch.com/
https://www.romper.com/p/is-there-a-2018-womens-march-in-washington-dc-heres-what-you-need-to-know-7842105
by WomenLawyersOnGuard | Jan 2, 2018 | Issues
On December 6, 2017, Women Lawyers on Guard joined 16 professional, labor, and student associations in support of motion for a preliminary injunction in California v. Hargan to halt implementation of the Trump administration’s Religious Exemption Rule and the Moral Exception Rule (the “Rules”), and we are pleased to report that the motion was granted! These Rules allow employers to assert conscience-based objections to the contraceptive mandate provided under the Women’s Health Amendment to the Affordable Care Act. If implemented, the Rules could cause hundreds of thousands of women to lose contraceptive coverage. The court referenced our brief to illustrate the harm caused by a potentially large number of employers opting out of providing their employees’ coverage under the rules.
The amicus brief described how seamless, no-cost contraception is essential to women’s equality and advancement. The brief focused on the irreparable harm that would result from the implementation of the Rules, and the public interest in granting the injunction. The brief discussed the number of women who might lose access to contraception under the Rules and described the high number of women who use contraception and whose employers will likely to refuse contraceptive coverage under the Rules. The brief detailed the nearly half a million women working at hospitals, the tens of thousands of college students, the thousands of employees of religiously affiliated non-profits, and the hundreds of thousands of employees of non-religiously affiliated private employers who may lose coverage because of these Rules.
