On average, women working full-time, year-round are paid 82 cents for every dollar made by men. The gap widens when race is considered: Black women are paid 62 cents, Native American women are paid 57 cents, and Latinx women are paid 54 cents for every dollar a white, non-Hispanic man is paid.
The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA or H.R. 1620) is urgently-needed legislation to protect abuse survivors and allocate funding for survivor services. VAWA strengthens the health care system’s response to domestic abuse and improve access to resources like housing for survivors while also expanding assistance to LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities of color.
Now that 38 states have ratified the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), it needs to finally be enshrined in the U.S. Constitution because it would guarantee equal legal rights regardless of sex – ending unjust legal distinctions between men and women in divorce, property, employment, and other matters. Every member of the House should vote for the bi-partisan legislation (H.J. Res. 17) sponsored by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-C.A.) with Rep. Tom Reed (R- N.Y.) that would remove the arbitrary deadline in the 1972 legislation.
Ending violence against women is one of NOW’s six core issues. NOW recognizes that violence against women is perpetuated through gender bias in the judicial system and systems of economic oppression and that we must address these deeply-seeded structural problems.
H.R. 1 (For the People Act is a comprehensive democracy reform package that aims to create more equal power to create a fairer government through the elections process. It addresses issues including voting rights, campaign finance reform, and ethics for members of Congress.