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Ensuring that Employment Yields Economic Security

A woman's ability to achieve economic security through employment is critically linked to Maine's economic success. Yet women form one of the largest pools of unrealized potential in the Maine economy. Women are chronically trapped in low-wage jobs, comprise the majority of seasonal and part-time workers, and are paid lower wages than men in comparable occupations. Moreover, they often have the primary responsibilities for care of children, home, and elders, and find the workplace intolerant and unresponsive to the challenges this creates. Indifference, discrimination, and limited opportunities damage both women's efforts to achieve economic security, and Maine's ability to benefit from women's full potential.

The Issues

For women to achieve economic success through employment, a comprehensive network of issues needs to be addressed. These include:

• Wages
  • pay equity
  • living wage
  • minimum wage
• Employment benefits
  • unemployment compensation
  • family medical leave
  • sick leave
  • health care
  • child care
• Access to opportunity
  • non-discrimination
  • affirmative action
  • freedom from sexual harassment
• Worker rights
  • freedom to organize unions to address inequities
  • workplace safety

Priority Recommendations

Wages

• Require the Maine Department of Labor to implement Maine's model Pay Equity legislation, beginning with a Workplace / Employer Education Campaign across the state.
• Require that employers doing business with the State of Maine in any of the following capacities pay all of their employees a living wage:
  • receiving tax or other incentives to locate or remain in Maine
  • receiving grants or contracts from the State
  Require that all State employees be paid a living wage.
• Enact a cost of living increase for Maine's minimum wage, and index it to inflation so that future increases will be automatic.

Employment Benefits

• Provide unemployment insurance coverage to part-time workers and workers in seasonal industries
• Use a "weeks of work" measure, rather than a dollar amount, to determine eligibility for unemployment benefits.
• Require workplaces that have paid sick time benefits to allow employees to use that paid sick time for the illness of a family member.
• Expand the current unpaid family leave to cover parent / teacher conferences and doctor's appointments.
• Require a week of paid sick leave as a part of employee benefits.

Access to Opportunity

• Preserve and enforce existing affirmative action provisions.
• Standardize reporting across state agencies to include detailed gender data for all programs.
• Require and fully fund initiatives that present all career options to all women. Fund public education campaigns designed to change the way people think about women in trades, technology and transportation careers.

Worker Rights

• Prohibit employers from using public or health care dollars for funding anti-union campaigns.
• Support a review by OSHA of BFOQ's (bona fide occupational qualifications) for the health and safety of all workers.

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