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Why Women Should Vote (Overview)
Why Women Should Vote
Our government is making decisions every day that affect women’s lives. But our leaders’ priorities often don’t match women’s priorities.
Women don’t earn enough to stay afloat, let alone to get ahead
Most minimum wage workers over age 16 are women, but the buying power of the minimum wage is at its lowest level in 51 years and Congress hasn’t raised it in over nine years
Women face unequal pay for equal work, earning on average only 77¢ for every dollar earned by men— and African American women and Latinas fare even worse—but bills to strengthen the laws against discrimination have gone nowhere
Congress is lavishing tax cuts on the wealthy and powerful few while slashing funds for women’s priorities
The tax cut passed this year gives millionaires an average cut of $43,000 but gives the overwhelming majority of American households only $31 or less
Funds have been cut for student loans, Medicaid and child support enforcement—and 250,000 children have lost federal child care assistance since 2000, a number that is climbing
Social Security is threatened by tax cuts and efforts to "privatize" the system
Women are especially dependent on Social Security’s guaranteed, lifetime benefits
But diverting funds into private accounts could lead to deep benefit cuts, and the huge tax cuts given to the wealthy are draining away money needed for benefits over the long term
Women lack health insurance that meets their needs
Women need and use more health care than men do, but have more problems paying for care; 17 million women in the U.S. have no health insurance at all, and one in every five women reports that she did not fill a prescription last year because of cost
But some leaders in Washington have promoted insurance plans that shift costs onto the consumer, pushed to reduce benefits, and created a prescription drug program that makes the lowest income seniors and people with disabilities worse off than they were before the law passed
Women struggle to manage family and work responsibilities
Most women with young children work outside the home, and working parents are working increasingly long hours
Paid family and medical leave and access to quality, affordable child care are often unavailable, but Congress has failed to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act or adequately fund child care
Getting a good education is the key to getting ahead, but funds are being cut
Congress passed a law that will cut federal student loan programs by $12.7 billion over 5 years, Pell Grants are paying for a smaller and smaller share of college costs, and the President’s budget proposes additional education cuts of 29% for next year
A college education is important to help women move into higher-paying fields and close the wage gap, but the Bush Administration is trying to gut programs that help women succeed in math and science
Women’s ability to control their reproductive lives and health is under attack
Roe v. Wade is in danger of being overturned because of new judges on the Supreme Court, confirmed by a majority in the Senate
Birth control is also under attack, with family planning programs under-funded, pharmacists refusing to fill birth control prescriptions, and the FDA delaying for over three years a decision to allow the morning-after pill to be sold without a prescription even though its own experts found that it’s safe
If you think our leaders in Washington aren’t doing what they should to address the challenges you face in your life—REGISTER and VOTE! Remember, elections can be decided by just a handful of votes, so YOUR VOTE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
To register to vote, get information on voting (your polling place, how to vote absentee, etc.), or learn about the candidates in your area, go to http://capwiz.com/nwlc/e4/ and enter your state or zip code.
The National Women’s Law Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has been working to advance and protect women’s legal rights since 1972. Women’s Voices. Women Vote is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to mobilize women to register to vote and to go to the polls on Election Day. Neither organization takes positions on candidates or elections, and nothing herein should be construed as an endorsement of any candidate or party.
