Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant

Amy Tannenbaum is the Program Assistant for Education and Employment. Prior to joining the Center, she worked at the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs in their EEO Project. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hamilton College in 2010 with a degree in comparative literature; her thesis explored how women have used writing and performance to address sexual assault.  Outside of her work with the Center, she volunteers with several women-focused projects in the D.C. area and runs half-marathons.

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My Take

5 Ways Senator Lautenberg Helped Women

Posted by Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant | Posted on: June 05, 2013 at 01:55 pm

We at the National Women's Law Center are saddened to hear of Senator Lautenberg's passing. We thank him for his service and his work on behalf of women and families. 

Here are the top five ways Senator Lautenberg worked to expand opportunities for women and girls: 

  1. The Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, known as the Lautenberg Amendment, which prohibits firearm access for individuals convicted of domestic violence or restrained by a protective order. Passed in 1997 and sponsored by Senator Lautenberg, this ban increases the safety of survivors of domestic violence. 
  2. The Peace Corps Equity Act, which would provide Peace Corps volunteers with insurance coverage for abortion if the volunteer is a survivor of rape or incest, or in the case of endangerment of the life of the pregnant volunteer. Senator Lautenberg trusted women to make decisions about their healthcare and their bodies. 
  3. The Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Service Act, an act that would require the Federal Trade Commission to enforce it rules prohibiting crisis pregnancy centers from misleading advertising that implies that they provide abortions. Senator Lautenberg knew that women deserve to know all of their healthcare options when they discover that they are pregnant. 
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Tags: Abortion, Barriers to Reproductive Care, Minimum Wage, Sexual Harassment & Bullying, Education & Title IX, Health Care & Reproductive Rights, Poverty & Income Support, Tax & Budget | Add new comment

The Student Non-Discrimination Act: Clarifying Protections for LGBTQ Students

Posted by Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant | Posted on: April 18, 2013 at 02:06 pm

When applying to college several years ago, I was privileged to be able to consider women’s colleges without being concerned that my gender identity would present any problem in the application process. This is because I am cisgender – a term used for people who have a gender identity that “matches” the sex they were assigned at birth. For transgender applicants like Calliope Wong, things were more complicated.

Calliope, who identifies as a transgender woman, applied with high hopes to Smith College, a women’s college in Massachusetts. Her application was returned to her, unreviewed, with a letter from the admissions office that because her federal financial aid paperwork indicated her sex as male, they could not accept her application.

When I think about Calliope, I also think about how much we need the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA), a bill that was reintroduced today in the House of Representatives.

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Tags: Education and Schools, LGBT, Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA), Sexual Harassment & Bullying, Education & Title IX | Add new comment

Wanna Find Out If You’re Making Less Than Your Male Coworker? It Shouldn’t Cost You Your Job

Posted by Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant | Posted on: April 09, 2013 at 01:41 pm

As a twenty-something woman with student loan debt, I think about money A LOT.  So do my friends. It’s not uncommon for one of us to ask if we can hang out at someone’s house rather than at a happy hour to save money. It used to be that when we got together, sharing tips for saving and sympathizing about financial struggles were common topics of conversation, but talking about our pay was not. That is, until one day when we decided to set discomfort aside and put numbers on the table. It turned out that one of my friends was being paid significantly less than those of us with similar job responsibilities.  That discussion gave her the information – and motivation – that she needed to successfully ask for and get a raise. 

While this conversation between friends was a little uncomfortable, talking about pay can lead to much more than discomfort for many workers: it can result in discipline or even termination.  More than 60% of private sector-employees report that discussing their pay is prohibited or discouraged by their employers.

When employees can’t talk to their coworkers about what they are making, they have no way of knowing if they are being paid less. The Paycheck Fairness Act will ensure that employees can discuss pay without fear of retaliation.

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Tags: Employment, Equal Pay, Paycheck Fairness Act, Wage Gap, Equal Pay and the Wage Gap, Employment | Add new comment

Pregnant Workers Get New Protections in Maryland

Posted by Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant | Posted on: March 27, 2013 at 02:23 pm

Great news! Yesterday, a bill that will protect pregnant workers who need workplace accommodations passed in Maryland. This victory is due to the hard work of local advocates, especially the ACLU of Maryland. Now, when pregnant workers in Maryland need a simple accommodation to be able to continue to work safely – for example, a stool to sit on, or more frequent bathroom breaks – they will have clear-cut legal protection from being forced onto unpaid leave or even terminated. We have already seen the success of laws like these in protecting pregnant workers in states like California. Plus, experience shows accommodating pregnant workers, like accommodating individuals with disabilities, can be good for the bottom line. As a Maryland resident, I am very proud of my state.

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Tags: Employment, Maryland, Pregnancy, Women at Work, Pregnancy, Parenting, and the Workplace, Employment | Add new comment

Title IX: What Keeps Me Going Towards My First Half-Marathon

Posted by Amy Tannenbaum, Program Assistant | Posted on: March 12, 2013 at 12:46 pm

Title IXI often regret not being involved in high school athletics. Granted, I was very busy with musical theatre. It’s kind of ironic that I could perform a strenuous swing dance routine while singing with no problem, but could barely run one mile for the Presidential Fitness Test each spring.

About a year ago, I decided to confront my lack of athletic ability head-on and take up running. I started out with couch to 5k, a 9-week training program for non-runners (that’s the couch part!) to learn to run 3.1 miles. After my first race, I was hooked, and I’m planning to run my first half-marathon this Saturday.

Long-distance running is no joke – I’ve had to reform my sleeping, nutrition, social habits, all in the name of having better runs. I’ve also become one of those runners who talks about fun physical ailments (blisters, anyone?) in casual conversation. Mostly, though, it’s made me more disciplined. At least half of the challenge of running a half-marathon is mentally pushing yourself through to the end. The combination of physical and mental challenges, along with the commitment necessary to maintain my training around an already-packed schedule, has given me an opportunity for enormous personal growth.

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Tags: Athletics, Title IX | 2 comments