Topic: Women’s rights and equality efforts in the form of a statewide conversation and a push of related legislation.
[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”http://wdevradio.com/open-mike-thursday-21116/” title=”Open Mike with Tiffany Bluemle and Cary Brown” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Listen to it here.[/x_button]
“There’s a long-running argument about whether Vermonters are leaving the state —because of high taxes, lack of opportunity, and other reasons.
The latest to chime in is the Public Assets Institute, a liberal-leaning think tank in Montpelier. It says 96 percent of Vermonters stay in the state; only 4 percent move in or out — and the numbers tend to balance out.
…Are the wealthy fleeing Vermont? “No, they are not. The people most likely to leave the state are those with the lowest incomes. And over the last 20 years, the average income of those coming into Vermont has exceeded the average income of those leaving. In fact, migration’s effect is practically nil overall. In Vermont, New England, and the rest of the country, most people stay put. In 2013, 97 percent of U.S. tax filers and 96 percent of Vermonters didn’t leave their home states. When people moved out, comparable numbers moved in.
…U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has built his presidential campaign on income inequality — the huge and growing gap between rich people and the rest of the population.
Change The Story VT has collected data showing that income inequality hits women particularly hard.”
[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”http://www.stowetoday.com/stowe_reporter/opinion/weekly_editorial/vermonters-aren-t-leaving-new-study-says/article_08d285d6-d043-11e5-818c-8bd4b46ec75e.html” title=”Vermonters aren’t leaving, new study says” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Read the full article.[/x_button]
“The gender gap in science, technology, engineering and mathematics across the country is well documented. A new initiative at Vermont Technical College aims to change up the game.”
[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”http://www.wcax.com/story/31131929/new-vtc-initiative-to-increase-women-enrollment-in-stem-fields” title=”VTC initiative aims to get more women in STEM fields” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Read the full article.[/x_button]
“At a recent press conference, Vermont Tech announced their initiative to tackle workforce development, economic development and gender equity by significantly increasing participation rates among women in several historically male-dominated fields. The college has set new annual female enrollment growth targets in civil and environmental engineering technology, computer information technology, computer software engineering, construction management, and mechanical engineering technology. The enrollment targets project annual growth of nearly 40%, each year for the next three years starting in the fall of 2016. By the end of the project term, Vermont Tech should realize an increase of female participation in these programs from 10% to 24%. The momentum of such growth and lessons learned from the activities of the project’s years should yield even greater participation rates beyond 2018.”
[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”http://www.vtc.edu/news/vermont-tech-announces-enrollment-targets-gender-equity-initiative” title=”Vermont Tech Announces Enrollment Targets For Gender Equity Initiative” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Read the full article.[/x_button]
“Holding a press conference at its Williston campus Wednesday, Vermont Tech announced its initiative to tackle workforce development, economic development and gender equity by significantly increasing participation rates among women in several historically male-dominated fields. The college has set new annual female enrollment growth targets in civil and environmental engineering technology, computer information technology, computer software engineering, construction management, and mechanical engineering technology. The enrollment targets project annual growth of nearly 40%, each year for the next three years starting in the fall of 2016. By the end of the project term, Vermont Tech should realize an increase of female participation in these programs from 10% to 24%. The momentum of such growth and lessons learned from the activities of the project’s years should yield even greater participation rates beyond 2018.”
[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”http://www.vermontbiz.com/news/february/vermont-tech-announces-enrollment-targets-gender-equity-initiative” title=”Vermont Tech announces enrollment targets for gender equity initiative” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Read the full article.[/x_button]
“This week marks the seventh anniversary of the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. This was an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and expanded the statute of limitations for pay discrimination cases. The Act reduced barriers for women to access the justice system for wage gap remedies.
Lilly Ledbetter, for whom the law was named, learned after 19 years at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Alabama that she was being paid 35-40 percent less than three other men doing the exact same job that she was. She discovered this by reading an anonymous note that had been stuffed in her mailbox. A long court battle ensued, culminating in an appeal to the Supreme Court in 2006 where she lost because she did not file suit within 180 days of receiving her first discriminatory pay check. The Act was largely a result of this decision, resetting the 180 days with each new discriminatory pay check.”
[x_button shape=”square” size=”regular” float=”none” href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/23/upshot/how-society-pays-when-womens-work-is-unpaid.html?_r=0″ title=”Vermont Commission on Women Highlights Wage Gap in Retirement Years” target=”blank” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]Read the full article.[/x_button]