Women’s Issues « Social Issues

Articles, Resources and Organizations
related to Women's Issues

Articles and Publications

• GAO Report on Women's Retirement Challenge
  Generally, women have less retirement income than men, largely because of women's lower labor force attachment and lower earnings, on average.
• Getting Married in High Style at Low Cost  (Oakland Press – 4/28/10)
  When her daughter struggled to find an affordable wedding gown, Darlene Richards created an organization to help brides-to-be achieve high style at low prices.
• How Retirement Planning Shortchanges Women (Wall Street Journal – 9/12/10)
  This is how the battle of the sexes plays out in the complex world of retirement planning — and all too often, women come out on the losing end.
• Older Women and Poverty: Single & Minority Women
  Since the 1970’s, the number of people over the age 65 who are poor has decreased dramatically – from more than 1 in 4 to fewer than 1 in 10 today.  Unfortunately, these numbers do not provide the whole picture.  For single older and minority women, the reduction in poverty has not been nearly as positive.
• The Rise in Pregnancy Disability Regulations (Accounting Web – 9/7/12)
  Disability claims are always challenging for employers, but this is especially the case when pregnant workers suffer complications that leave them unable to perform their normal job duties.
• VA Hospital Upgrades Care for Female Vets (NPR – 2/8/10)
  More than 230,000 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, but many report that when they return from war, they face another battle at home: getting the care and respect they need at VA hospitals.
• What Every Woman Should Know About Social Security (Disability.gov)
  Women may work inside or outside the home, be mothers, caregivers of family members, wives, divorced, widowers or self-employed. Learn about retirement, disability, widows’ and other Social Security benefits how Social Security may be able to help victims of domestic violence.
• Workplace Pregnancy Bill Introduced Despite Opposition (Huffington Post – 9/25/12)
  The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), introduced Friday by Sen. Jean Shaheen and Sen. Bob Casey, would require employers to make the same kind of workplace accommodations for pregnant women that current law requires them to make for people with disabilities.  Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, these are called "reasonable accommodations," designed so that employees with disabilities can perform the job functions they were hired to do.  Pregnancy, however, is not considered a disability. Instead, pregnant women are protected by the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which makes it illegal to fire a woman just because she becomes pregnant. But employers can still refuse to accommodate pregnant women's basic, temporary medical needs at work, essentially forcing them to choose between keeping their job and ensuring the health of their unborn child and themselves.
• Women Face Challenges in Ensuring Financial Security in Retirement (US Government Accountability Office Report – Oct. 2007)
  In general, women have less retirement income than men, largely because of women's lower labor force attachment and lower earnings, on average.
• Women Face Workplace Weight Discrimination (MSU Today – 10/26/07)
  Women are 16 times more likely than men to report weight discrimination in the workplace, according to a MSU-led study that provides the most dramatic evidence yet of the weight bias working women face.

Organizations & Services

• National Association of Baby Boomer Women
  A wealth of information pertaining to baby boomer women.
• National Partnership for Women & Families
  Founded in 1971 as the Women’s Legal Defense Fund, the National Partnership for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization located in Washington, DC. Today, we promote fairness in the workplace, reproductive health and rights, access to quality affordable health care, and policies that help women and men meet the dual demands of work and family.
• Office of Global Women's Issues (US Dept. of State)
  The Office of Global Women's Issues works for the political, economic, and social empowerment of women.
• Women's Institute for a Secure Retirment (WISER)
  A nonprofit organization that works to help women, educators and policymakers understand the important issues surrounding women's retirement income.
• Women's Rights (Global Issues.org)
  Women’s rights around the world is an important indicator to understand global well-being. A major global women’s rights treaty was ratified by the majority of the world’s nations a few decades ago.

Resources: Websites and Blogs

• Menopause (Healthline.com)
  Provides a very comprehensive overview of menopause as a critical starting point for individuals and/or their loved ones.  There are so many misconceptions surrounding menopause that it can be hard to distinguish what’s actually true. Learn to separate fact from fiction.
• Super Single Mom Moments (blog)
  Whether you are going to school, college or working everyday you will find yourself doing something incredible because you are a single mom. I call those Super Single Mom Moments!
• Women's Issues (About.com)
  Articles and blogs about a variety of subjects related to women.
• Women's Studies / Women's Issues Resource Sites (UMBC.edu)
  A selective, annotated, highly acclaimed listing of web sites containing resources and information about women's studies / women's issues, with an emphasis on sites of particular use to an academic women's studies program.