WAGE news

Upcoming $tart $mart Facilitator Training

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Upcoming $tart $mart Facilitator Trainings

JULY

July 14, 2009- Atlanta, GA- Georgia Institute of Technology, Student Services Building, 1-4PM, Room 117, 353 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332

July 17, 2009 - Hendersonville, NC- Time and Place to be determined. If you are interested in this training, contact Annie Houle [ahoule@wageproject.org] or Nancy Shoemaker [shoemaker@acm.org]

July 21, 2009- Raleigh, NC Contact Annie Houle, ahoule@wageproject.org, for details

AUGUST

August 5, 2009 - California University of Pennsylvania [Western PA] - Lunch 11:00 AM till noon, workshop noon until 3:00 PM, contact Annie Houle for more information or to register

August 6, 2009- University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio- 5:00 to 8:00 PM, location to be announced, contact Annie or Lisa Rismiller, lisa.rismiller@udayton.edu if you are interested

August 10, 2009- Minneapolis/Saint Paul- $tart $mart Workshop for STEM students at the University of MN, followed by a Facilitator Training . Contact Debra Fitzpatrick at harex004@umn.edu or Annie Houle

August 15, 2009- Ohio Wesleyan University- Delaware, OH, Conrades-Wetherell Science Center 1:30 to 4:30 [contact Annie Houle or Diane Regan, dregan@bgsu.edu for more information]

August 17, 2009- West Chester, PA- 10AM to 1:00PM, Contact Annie Houle or Dot McLane [dotmclane@comcast.net]

Other states that are planning training are: Michigan, Texas, California, Florida, and New Jersey. If you are interested in helping to bring the $tart $mart Facilitator training or a $tart $mart Campus Workshop to your state, please contact Annie Houle ahoule@wageproject.org or Katie Schindler at wageks@gmail.com.

WAGE Page June5, 2009

Thursday, June 11, 2009

WAGE Page June 5, 2009

GET TRAINED TO CONDUCT SALARY NEGOTIATION WORKSHOPS FOR YOUNG WOMEN

The WAGE Project and AAUW will be presenting a $tart $mart Facilitator Training at the AAUW National Convention in Saint Louis, MO. Annie Houle, National Director of Campus and Community Initiatives, will lead the workshop for AAUW members and others interested in being trained as facilitators and in bringing the salary negotiation workshops to young women on campuses in their states.

When: Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Time: 4:00 to 7:00 PM

Where: Catholic Charities Conference Center [ 2 blocks from the convention site, directions will be supplied upon registration]

Cost: $50.00 [includes materials, training, ongoing coaching. Please make checks out to the WAGE Project and bring them with you]

If you are interested in attending or if you would like more information on the $tart $mart Workshops, please contact Annie Houle ahoule@wageproject.org as soon as possible as seating will be limited. More details about the site will be sent to you as you register.

AAUW/WAGE Trained Facilitators
Since AAUW and WAGE signed the cooperative agreement in March 2009 to provide $tart $mart workshops, we have trained 78 AAUW members in 8 states-- AL, CT, IL, ND/MN, NY, NC, and OK. 10 other state trainings are being planned for this summer and early fall. The list of scheduled trainings is below. We will send out announcements as each new site is scheduled. We hope you will take this opportunity to become a trained facilitator and/or help get $tart $mart workshops on 100 campuses nationwide this fall. We look forward to seeing you there.



Upcoming $tart $mart Facilitator Trainings

June 25th- Missouri, Saint Louis- AAUW National Convention

July 17th or 18th- Hendersonville, NC- Date, Time and Place to be determined. If you are interested in this training, contact Annie Houle [ahoule@wageproject.org] or Nancy Shoemaker [shoemaker@acm.org]

August 5th- California University of Pennsylvania [Western PA]- Lunch 11:00 AM till noon, workshop noon until 3:00 PM

August 7th- Southwestern Ohio- site and time to be announced, contact Annie if you are interested

August 10th or 11th- Minneapolis/St Paul MN [working on details]

August 15th- Ohio Wesleyan University- campus location and time to be determined

August 17th- West Chester, PA- 10AM to 1:00PM, Contact Annie Houle or Dot McLane [dotmclane@comcast.net]

Other states that are planning training are: Michigan, Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Missouri and New Jersey. If you are interested in helping to bring the $tart $mart Facilitator training or a $tart $mart Campus Workshop to your state, please contact Annie Houle ahoule@wageproject.org or Katie Schindler at wageks@gmail.com.
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WORKSHOP and WAGE Presentations Spring 2009
While training of AAUW members is underway, WAGE has been busy this spring conducting $tart Smart workshops on the following campuses:

Loyola University School of Law, Chicago

Illinois Institute of technology, Chicago

Northern Illinois University, Dekalb

The University of Maine, Orono

Michigan Tech, Houlton [facilitator led]

Eastern Maine Community College- Bangor

Cape Cod Community College [Facilitator led]

Oklahoma State University, Stillwater

University of Oklahoma, Norman

University of Maine, Presque Isle

Wellesley, Wellesley, MA

Northeastern University School of Law, Boston

Trinity College, Hartford, CT [facilitator led]

University of Southern Maine, Portland

University of MA/Amherst

University of MA/Dartmouth

Central Connecticut State University, New Britain

University of Maine, Augusta

Work $mart workshops were offered to several different professional working women's groups. In early May, Evelyn Murphy conducted two Work $mart workshops at Bentley University's Fourth Annual Professional Development Conference in Waltham, MA. Junior professional women, 3-7 years into their careers, working for health insurers, instrumentation companies, and biotechnology firms engaged in a lively workshop about getting raises and promotions. An abbreviated Work $mart workshop was presented to the Women's Bar of Wyoming at their annual conference in Saratoga, WY.



WAGE has been actively promoting workshops in speeches throughout the country. Dr. Murphy was the keynote speaker at the annual Alabama AAUW state convention in Mobile, AL. On April 6th, she addressed the Women's Economic Summit in Lowell, MA. In early May, following an award given to Lilly Ledbetter, Evelyn Murphy was the keynote speaker to 900 women and men attending Women Employed's annual Working Lunch in Chicago, IL. By all accounts, the Ledbetter-Murphy team made a compelling case for pay equity.
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WAGE WELCOMES NEW STAFF

Katie Schindler has joined the WAGE Project as our Director of Program Operations. Many of you will recognize her name, as Katie has been working with WAGE part time for two years helping us with the WAGE Page. In her new capacity, Katie with be scheduling workshops and training, overseeing data management, billing and handling inquiry responses. Please welcome her, as we do, and look forward to hearing from her as we work together to get women across the country paid fairly. Her email is wageks@gmail.com.

AAUW & The WAGE Project Join Forces to Address Equal Pay

Monday, March 23, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 19, 2009

Contacts:

Lisa Goodnight 202/785-7738 goodnightl@aauw.org

Annie Houle 207/899-2883 ahoule@wageproject.org



AAUW, the WAGE Project Join Forces to Address Equal Pay

WASHINGTON - AAUW and The WAGE Project today announced the formation of a partnership to ensure that women graduating from college start their careers knowing how to negotiate for fair and equal pay. This partnership will offer $tart $mart Campus Negotiation Workshops to 500 college campuses over the next three years.

These nuts-and-bolts workshops, piloted by WAGE in 2007 and 2008 on more than 60 campuses, will be presented by trained AAUW facilitators. AAUW and WAGE urge all campuses in the nation to offer this valuable workshop, which can serve as a powerful influence in the lives of young women.

The gender wage gap begins as early as the first year after a woman graduates from college, according to AAUW's research report, Behind the Pay Gap. A decade after graduation, it widens. In fact, AAUW found that the gap is clear even when women have the same major and occupation as their male counterparts.

Over a 40-year career, college-educated women will have an average lifetime loss of roughly $1 million. In higher-paying fields, such as law, the wage gap can result in even greater lifetime losses - and long-term significantly impact retirement and Social Security income. Nationwide, working families lose $200 billion of income annually to the gender wage gap. And as benefits, raises, and job offers are typically based on current earnings, a fair wage at the beginning of a career can help set the stage for lifetime equity.

"$tart $mart Campus Negotiation Workshops combine the vast membership of AAUW with the innovation of WAGE workshops to advance pay equity for working women," said AAUW Executive Director Linda D. Hallman, CAE. "AAUW is well known for fighting to close the wage gap through our efforts on Capitol Hill and our other advocacy work. With these workshops, we will be on the front lines, mentoring young women to become their own best advocates."

"Empowering college women with knowledge and tools to counteract the reality of the gender wage gap is the objective of The WAGE Project's $tart $mart Campus Negotiation Workshops. WAGE is thrilled to have this opportunity to partner with AAUW members to bring $tart $mart workshops to women in colleges, community colleges, and universities throughout the United States. When these women graduate, they will have a better chance to get the paychecks they deserve," said Evelyn Murphy, president of WAGE.

The gender pay gap persists because of inadequate knowledge about its devastating impact and causes, inequitable treatment of working women, and women's lack of knowledge about negotiating for a fair and equal salary. Negotiating salaries is a challenge for women at all stages of their careers, but it is an essential tool--along with stronger anti-discrimination laws and better enforcement of existing policies--to achieving economic security for women and their families.

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AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. Since 1881, AAUW has been one of the nation's leading voices promoting education and equity for women and girls. It has a nationwide network of 100,000 members, 1,300 branches, and 500 college/university institutional partners. Since its founding more than 127 years ago, members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day -- educational, social, economic, and political. AAUW's commitment to educational equity is reflected in its public policy advocacy, community programs, leadership development, conventions and conferences, national partnerships, and international connections. Visit the AAUW website at www.aauw.org.

WAGE Page December 14, 2008

Monday, February 23, 2009

A STRATEGIC LEAP TO PAY EQUITY
The article below by WAGE President Evelyn Murphy was published in the Boston Globe today. This strategy offers a potential breakthrough to achieve gender pay equity in the next few years by aligning pay equity with and leading a progressive, inclusive and ambitious labor policy in the Obama administration. If we seize the opportunity right in front of us, the federal response to the current economic turmoil is also a once-in-a-century opportunity for us to address wage discrimination, educate and train Americans to be competitive in a world marketplace, and enable today's workers to contribute fully. Please forward this to everyone you know who cares about pay equity. Let's get this movement fully engaged in the policy debate of today. A labor policy that fits the times By Evelyn F. Murphy December 13, 2008 TAXPAYER MONEY is bailing out investment banks, commercial banks, and insurance giant AIG. So far, more than $700 billion has been committed to repair and restore the capital markets. Hear any mention of investing in labor?
Meanwhile, the massive public works program that President-elect Barack Obama is previewing suggests job-generating engines in repairing roads, bridges, schools, and new energy technologies. Hear any mention of investing in workers?
Economics 101 says that both capital and labor are essential. Today's vacuum in labor policy leadership in the lame duck administration
creates no counterbalance to the dominance of capital-oriented solutions. Consequently, the nation could miss the imperative to bring labor policy into the 21st century.
The next secretary of labor should think big and act aggressively. There should be a commitment of roughly $1 trillion in workers to balance the expenditures for capital market bailouts and the economic stimulus. Current labor policy looks backward instead of forward. An infusion of tax dollars to kick-start the economy by funding repairs of roads and bridges worked in the 1930s. The nation invested in construction jobs when the workforce had a large number of modestly educated, manual laborers. Back then we needed infrastructure such as the Quabbin reservoir and the Stoneham Pumping Station, the electric power of the TVA, and roadways to transport goods.Today's economy is knowledge-based, relying on brains more than brawn. The Obama administration has an opportunity to develop the labor force of this century.
First, it should establish a massive, say $350 billion, student loan program. Student loans dried up in the recent credit crunch. Now is not the time to curtail our national educational agenda; it is precisely the time to stimulate this investment. Why not guarantee access to public higher education to every person who has the grades, test scores, and commitment to enhance her or his educational credentials? Growth in student enrollments will stimulate jobs for educators and researchers. Financial support for students attending the 1,200 community colleges throughout America would add workers now in short supply in healthcare institutions and medical laboratories, along with technicians needed in information technology and biotechnology. The Obama administration should seize this opportunity to ratchet up America's education of a world-class labor force.
Second, the administration should allocate $250 billion for equity salary adjustments. Employers would have one-time access to the pool if they agree to assess each job for the skill, experience, and degree of responsibility it requires; pay roughly the same for jobs with similar requirements; and publicly post the pay for each job. By paying for the job - and not who does it - the effects of racial, gender, and age discrimination in workers' wages can essentially be eliminated. The State of Minnesota pays women workers 97 cents for every dollar men make. Imagine how much more productive workers would be when they know they are being paid fairly. This is a deep, nagging problem in practically every workplace in America today. Seize this opportunity to enable today's workers to get paid what they earn and deserve.
Third, the adminstration should allocate $300 billion to nonprofit organizations to hire workers ages 55 to 70, many of whom will continue to work because their savings and 401(k) plans recently took big hits. They have skills and experience that nonprofits need. The nonprofit sector, an increasingly important contributor to the nation's economy and to the quality of our society, relies heavily
on philanthropic support. With the recent losses in portfolios, those who have financially supported nonprofits are likely to curtail their generosity for many years.
These initiatives put money in the pockets of the American workers. They enable them to be more productive and to add value in
their workplaces. Experts say we have to restore the credit markets so that Americans can start spending again. These investments will enable workers to feel more assured that their earning power justifies their spending. The Obama administration needs to have labor policy that fits the times, builds a labor force competitive on the world stage, and puts labor on a par with capital in national public policy discourse.

Evelyn F. Murphy, former lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, is president of the WAGE project.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.

WAGE Page December 31, 2008

Monday, February 23, 2009

WAGE GRASSROOTS SURGE IN 2008
1. A Successful Year 1 For $tart $mart.
After piloting $tart $mart -- the WAGE workshop teaching college women (and a few men) how to get paid what they are worth in their first job after graduation --in late 2007, $mart workshops were held on forty five campuses throughout the United States. In a dozen states stretching from Wyoming and Arizona, through Oklahoma and Michigan, up to Maine and then southward along the Atlantic to Virginia, over a thousand college women participated in this two and one half hour, hard "work", workshop. They gave rave reviews to their exposure to the nuts-and-bolts of salary negotiation. Already higher educational institutions Alfred, Babson, Clark, Casper, Central Connecticut State, Maine and Southern Maine have incorporated $mart workshops into their own schedules. Other colleges plan to do so in 2009.
2. A Grassroots Corps of Trained Facilitators for Future $mart Campus Workshops
In sixteen states, WAGE trained eighty eight facilitators to conduct $tart $mart workshops in 2009. Almost half of these facilitators are campus staff who will ensure that $mart workshops become common offerings at their schools. The other facilitators are members of organizations such as the AAUW, BPW, YWCA, Women's Foundations and Commissions, and Career Centers. Under the direction of WAGE staff, this cadre of facilitators enables WAGE to extend our capacity to bring $mart workshops to campuses.
3.Work $mart, Return $mart and Job $mart Workshops Piloted.
WAGE developed and piloted three additional workshops in 2008. Work $mart for professional women looking for raises and promotions was piloted for academics at Boston University School of Public Health, for women lawyers by the New Hampshire Women's Bar and for women scientists by the Boston MA Chapter of American Women In Science. Under the sponsorship of the National Women's Law Center, WAGE also conducted a Work $mart webinar for which 1000 women registered.
Return $mart, created for women reentering the workforce after an extended absence, was piloted with the Maine Centers for Women Work and Community. Due to the strong response from participants in the pilot phase, facilitators have been trained to deliver this workshop nationwide. Job $mart is for high school seniors, many of whom go directly into the workforce. This workshop was piloted with outstanding young women in Casper, Wyoming, most of whom do plan on continuing their education.
4. A Variety of Models in Grassroots Leadership
$mart workshops have been adopted through a variety of initiatives, all of which WAGE applauds and supports. In Wyoming, through the leadership and financial support of the Wyoming Women's Foundation, WAGE workshops have been offered on every campus. In Arizona, the Maricopa County YWCA is the linchpin and leader in providing $tart, Work and Return $mart workshops. With the help of WAGE Project ME member organizations, the Maine Women's Fund and the Women's Employment Issues Committee of the state's Dept of Labor, all public campuses in Maine are able to offer $mart workshops. In Connecticut, strong leadership from the YWCA and AAUW has enabled many facilitators to be trained and campuses recruited for wor shops. After Chicago formed the first WAGE Hub, Oklahoma followed their lead and is actively planning workshops. AAUW members in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York have actively promoted and supported campus workshops.
5. Outreach to Educate Younger Women through Girl Scouts
WAGE collaborated with the Girl Scouts of Maine to develop a patch program for Brownies called VALYOU!. The goal of the program is to teach girls to value their self-worth and understand the beginning steps of money and savings, negotiation and goal setting. The program will be piloted in Maine in January 2009 with the Girl Scout Councils in Massachusetts, Wyoming and Montana ready to adopt the program after our pilot.
6. Northeastern University of Law School Students Build Website's State Laws on Gender Discrimination
For the fourth year, law students in the Legal Skills in Social Context program at Northeastern University School of Law added in-depth information on state statutes pertaining to gender discrimination. Thanks to the students in this program, the WAGE website provides the only state-by-state resource of
gender discrimination statutes available on the internet. In addition, students interviewed key participants in the consent decree involving the Boston Police Department's hiring and promotion of minorities and researched legal documents related to this decree. Their report offered insights into the extent to which aspects of race-related consent decrees could be applied in gender discrimination consent decrees.
7. Research on the Applicability of Race Discrimination Consent Decrees To Gender Discrimination Decrees
Since the publication of Getting Even: Why Women Don't Get Paid Like Men and What To Do About It, WAGE has explored the potential for consent decrees to reduce and eliminate gender discrimination in workplaces. In collaboration with the Institute for Women's Policy Research, under a grant from the Ford Foundation, WAGE analyzed the applicability of the Boston Police Department's consent decree in gender discrimination cases, identified 200 race-related consent decrees for potential comparison with gender discrimination decrees, and conducted preliminary research on the American Express Financial Advisors gender-based consent decree.
8. $hop $mart Store Opens
WAGE invites you to wear pay equity proudly. The $hop $mart store opened in November in time for holiday shopping. To begin shopping go to www.wageproject.org (http://www.wageproject.org/). On the homepage, just click on "Visit the New WAGE Store: $hop $mart". The store offers wonderful gifts for family and friends that are meaningful and fun as well as financial support for the work of WAGE. Items with the $tart $mart logo will make perfect graduation presents next spring for young women in your life about to enter the world of work.
9. Influence in Grassroots Public Dialogue
WAGE's works hard to encourage grassroots discussion about how women can get paid fairly. Here are some examples of important public
forums in which WAGE played a key role. In June 2008, the Center for Women in Politics & Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston hosted an all day conference entitled Mind the Gap: Women Work and Wages. After playing a key role in shaping the agenda for the conference, WAGE staff delivered both a keynote address to several hundred women and conducted a training session for facilitators. At the annual meeting of the Illinois State Business and Professional Women, WAGE President Evelyn Murphy delivered the keynote speech about gender wage discrimination. In response to a WAGE presentation on the gender wage gap to the staff and faculty of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Acting Chancellor Michael Collins committed the 13,000 employees of the hospital and medical school to a pay equity program similar to the pioneering role of the state of Minnesota. In September, WAGE's National Director of Campus and Community Initiatives Annie Houle led two workshops at the Career and
Technical Education and Equality Council's conference in Tulsa, OK on economic self-sufficiency and gender equity.
10. A Peek at 2009
Here's a preview of some initiatives planned for next year: a pilot of a Latina $tart $mart workshop for Spanish speaking women on campuses; a national alliance with significant extension of Wage's grassroots presence; workshop expansion into another dozen states; a workshop for international students; and a conference featuring $mart success stories.
While national advocacy organizations worked to advance important pay equity legislation through Congress and State Houses, WAGE built public dialogues and brought about individual actions by women to get paid fairly in workplaces throughout the country. The combination of
bottom-up and top-down activities raised awareness of gender pay equity in 2008 higher than it has been in recent years.
We are optimistic that 2009 will be a year of important gains in reducing the gender wage gap. Stay tuned!

11. Special Thanks.
WAGE extends its sincere gratitude to many people who have contributed financially to our activities, most especially the Linda Glenn Charitable Trust, the Virginia Hodgkins Sommers Foundation, and the Maine Women's Fund. WAGE has had a terrific year thanks to many of you who have made our work easier and most rewarding. With best wishes for your happiness, good health, and fulfillment in 2009.
The WAGE Project