March is set aside to highlight women's significant contributions to history and contemporary society. And today, people around the world, are commemorating the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, with a theme of "Equal rights, equal opportunity: Progress for all."
One 'first' in Women's History Month 2010: For the first time, women constitute the greatest portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home. In another couple of years, the same will likely be said of women in unions. Today, women make up roughly 45 percent of union members--but by 2020, we will be the majority of the unionized workforce.
In spite of these strides, millions of female workers are getting the squeeze in today's economy. Even as women break the glass ceiling in business and politics, they still earn on average, 78 cents to every dollar earned by men--and unions are a big part of the solution. SEIU has a long history in the struggle for fair pay for women. In 1979, SEIU was one of the original founders of the National Committee on Pay Equity, one of the very first organizations formed to educate, lobby and build coalitions on pay equity.
Women have a great deal to gain from unionization, with union victories working to pave the way for workers to bargain for affordable family health care, fair wages, improved working conditions, and a better life for their families. Did you know that...
- Unionization raises the probability of a woman having a pension (24.7 percent) and having employer-provided health insurance (19 percent)
- Joining a union raises the amount women workers earn by 11.2 percent more than their non-union peers.
- Almost half (49.4 percent) of union women had at least a four-year college degree.
- Unionized women of color earn almost 35% percent more than nonunion women of color.
- Among women workers in the 15 lowest-paying occupations, the benefits are even greater, with female union members earning 14 percent more than those workers who were not in unions.
- Unions also help close the wage gaps based on gender and minority status for their members.
- Women represented by unions earn almost 87 percent as much as union men.
How is the increase of women in the workforce changing things? "Because of women, we don't just talk about raising wages, but about creating family friendly workplaces with sick leave, child care, and family and medical leave," said Change to Win Chair and SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger. "We don't just talk about out-of-control insurance costs, but about the fact that women pay more than men strictly because of their gender."
Many people use IWD as a day of activism, solidarity, or reflection, but as Feministe notes, the world cannot be changed in a day. However, speaking out about these important issues is a start. Gender Across Borders is hosting a Blog for International Women's Day, with over 70 blogs participating so far in answering questions such as 'What does "equal rights for all" mean to you?'. Blogs taking part including Change.org: Women's RightsAAUW Dialogue, Equality 101, WomenCount, and ProgressiveBlue.
Check out the full list of blogs participating in the Blog for IWD and if you want to participate and track the conversation on Twitter, just include hashtag #BlogforIWD.
