Focus On: Women-Friendly Employers
Women make up roughly half of the workforce yet studies show they form a significantly lower percent of executive positions. Many reports also indicate men earn more on average than women working in the same positions. These issues and others have emphasized the need to focus on women's issues in the workplace.
In January President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act into law, giving women the legal ability to challenge unequal pay for equal work. President Obama also created the White House Council on Women and Girls, which will provide a federal response to challenges confronted by women and girls and ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider their policies' and programs' impacts on women and families.
Locally the Women's Law Project in Philadelphia is an advocate for women's rights in the workplace and in the world. The group accepts a small number of high impact cases which have the potential to benefit large numbers of women or to significant advance women's rights. For more information on the Women's Law Project, got to www.womenslawproject.og.
The National Association of Women Business Owners has a Philadelphia chapter. NAWBO is a network of women entrepreneurs who provide each other with valuable information, resources, referrals and more. Local, regional and national meetings and seminars provide members with face-to-face business connections for new clients, vendors, mentors and friends. NAWBO's national online database connects members across America – and in 35 countries through its affiliation with Les Femmes Chefs d'Enterprises Mondiales (World Association of Women Entrepreneurs). For more information on NAWBO, go to www.nawbophila.org.
The Women's Business Development Center in Philadelphia is the first gender-focused small business development center in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Formed in 1995, WBDC fosters the development and retention of successful business by delivering resources that enable individuals to start new businesses and grow existing ones. WBDC facilitates the relationship between corporations, government and women-owned businesses to provide growth and sustainability through its Women's Business Enterprise Council PA-DE-sNJ, a marketing, procurement and certification assistance council. For more information on WBDC, go to www.womensbdc.org.
The Coalition of Labor Union Women is a national organization for union women and has a local chapter. The primary mission of CLUW is to unify all union women in a viable organization to determine common problems and concerns and to develop action programs within the framework of the members' unions to deal effectively with their objectives. CLUW has a network of more than 75 chapters and is endorsed by the AFL-CIO and its international and national unions. For more information on the local CLUW, go to www.phillyunions.com/cluwphila.