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News from the Wyoming Women's Foundation
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THE OLYMPICS ARE
HERE - did you know...
 Tracy
Caulkins was the first American to set an American record and win an
American title in each of four swimming strokes (breaststroke, butterfly,
backstroke, freestyle) in the 1984 Olympics.
Nadia Comaneci was
the first woman gymnast to score a perfect 10 score in Olympic
competition. She earned a total of seven perfect 10 scores and three
individual gold medals and a silver for team competition in the 1976
Olympics. She then went on to win four medals in 1980.
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Paycheck
Fairness Act Passed!
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act on July 31,
2008, with a vote of 247 to 178! This marks a critical step
toward closing the wage gap between men and women. This bill will update
and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963, closing loopholes and improving
the law's effectiveness.
Check
out Representative De Lauro's speech in Congress.
The Paycheck Fairness Act:
- Requires that employers seeking to justify
unequal pay bear the burden of proving that its actions are
job-related and consistent with a business necessity.
- Prohibits employers from retaliating against
employees who share salary information with their co-workers.
- Puts gender-based discrimination sanctions on
equal footing with other forms of wage discrimination - such as
discrimination based on race, disability or age - by allowing women
to sue for compensatory and punitive damages.
- Requires the Department of Labor to enhance
outreach and training efforts to work with employers in order to
eliminate pay disparities.
- Requires the Department of Labor to continue to
collect and disseminate wage information based on gender.
- Creates a new grant program to help strengthen
the negotiation skills of girls and women. (http://www.speaker.gov/legislation?id=0245)
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Quick Links
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(We are currently
designing a new website to incorporate our new logo and colors, but for
now check out the old website)
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Spotlight on A WyWF Grantee - VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA
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Volunteers of America Wyoming & Montana, established in 1985 and also
a WyWF grantee, provides a range of supportive and empowering
services to some of Wyoming's most vulnerable populations and
works with them to rebuild whole lives and reach their full
potential.
VOA has helped Wyoming women in a variety of ways. One single mother
was assisted with outstanding debts and given ways to deal with
overwhelming pressures; as a result, she was able to return to
and finish her college education. Another woman was able, with the
help of financial assistance, to advertise and start her own
catering business.
Volunteers of America focuses on bringing higher levels of care and
safety to our communities through safe, nurturing environments where men,
women and youth can learn new skills for responsible independent living
and where healthy families can be developed and become self-sustaining.
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Summer is
coming to a close and those of us with children, or as
teachers are gearing up for another school year. Here at the
WyWF we are receiving many inquiries about our grant making
priorities and are talking to wonderful people around the state that are
doing great work for Wyoming's women and girls. Don't forget the
grant deadline is September 1st. We are
also working with partners to address wage disparity
and other self sufficiency issues facing Wyoming's women.
Equality Initiatives, a state wide media campaign is drawing a great deal
of attention to the issues women are facing in our Equality State, issues
of child care, health care and making a livable wage to name a few. The
WyWF is thrilled to have EI as our partner, thanks to their work, more attention
is being drawn to the issues that matter to all of us. All of us
working together, that is how we will be able to tackle these issues and
their unique manifestation in Wyoming. Contact us if you would like
to contribute time, would like more information on our current projects
or are looking for a resource to help you address a particular problem.
Richelle
Wyoming Women's
Foundation
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