This year, Wednesday, November 20, is Latina Equal Pay Day, which marks how long a Latina has to work into 2019 to catch up to the same amount a white man made in 2018. Latina Equal Pay Day is months later than National Equal Pay Day, which marks the day women, on average, earn the same amount as a white man did the year before. Nationally, Latina women working full time, year-round earn 54 cents to each dollar earned by a white man. This gap is much wider than the 80 cents women on average earn for every dollar made by a man. This is why the Columbus Women’s Commission continues to focus on this issue, growing the Columbus Commitment through new adopters and offering resources and support for addressing the gender and race-based wage gap. We understand the fight to close pay disparities between men and women must include women of all races and we must continue to work toward 100% pay equity by not only starting the conversation but taking action - at work and with employers, as well as within our own homes and local communities. There are many opportunities to bring awareness to the gender and race-based pay gap issue - see how you can join us and take action too!
-
Volunteer at a local non-profit that supports women in our community
-
Ideas to get you started: Dress for Success, New Directions Career Center, YWCA, CelebrateOne, Amethyst, MaryHaven, Community Shelter Board, Planned Parenthood
-
Be a Social Media Ambassador –as part of a national effort, join the Social Media storm on November 20 to bring awareness to the day.
- Use hashtags #LatinaEqualPay, #Trabajadoras, #DemandMore, #ColumbusCommitment and #CBUSWomen.
-
Has your employer signed the Commitment? Encourage your organization to sign on to the Columbus Commitment and join over 200 local employers who have joined us in this journey!
|
We know this persistent, pervasive wage gap is driven in part by a lack of workplace policies supporting women and particularly, women of color. When we launched the Columbus Commitment these wage gaps are what we intended to tackle & dismantle, together, along with our Columbus Commitment Adopters. On November 20, we are hosting a Coffee & Conversation, Workplace Policies: Movement in Columbus. Hear from local group, Latina Mentoring Academy on the impact of the pay gap and from two local employers, Fifth Third Bank and Action for Children on what they have done in the past year to start moving the needle to advance equity.
Join us by adopting The Columbus Commitment today!
City of Columbus announces $15/hr wage for all full-time city workers
“Closing the wage gap has been a top priority for my administration. As one of the city’s biggest employers, I knew Columbus had an opportunity to lead by example,” said Mayor Ginther.
The City of Columbus knows the strength of our city is tied to financial security of families. The City is proud to announce that all full-time city employees earn a minimum wage of $15/hr. There are 8,498 permanent, full-time employees, now all making $15/hr.
We thank the City of Columbus for taking a step toward economic security for our employees and moving this work forward through internal policy shifts creating impact in our Columbus community.
Learn more HERE.
|
City of Columbus leaders launched a new Eviction Prevention Fund to help fight the high numbers of evictions across Columbus. According to county statistics, almost 18,000 people are evicted from their homes each year across Franklin County, with the bulk of those evictions happening within city limits. Evictions also disproportionately affect women—particularly Black women with children.
The $300,000 fund hopes to keep at least 100 Columbus tenants in their homes each year. Two-thirds of the money will be used to help the Legal Aid Society of Columbus defend tenants from eviction proceedings in court, while the remaining $100,000 will be paid out through Impact Community Action to help people cover their rent and mortgage payments during emergencies and stabilize their living situation. Read more HERE.
To date, there are 224 Columbus businesses, non-profits, and public sector employers who have signed The Columbus Commitment: Achieving Pay Equity. New adopters include:
Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education® (AFCPE®)
Installed Building Products and Edwards Companies
Mobile Mommies
NCT Ventures
Pearl Interactive
Pelotonia
Is your employer committed to closing the gender and race-based wage gap? Join us by adopting The Columbus Commitment today!
Mount Carmel raises minimum wage to $15/hr
Freedom a la Cart named Best of Business 2019 Best Caterer!
Congratulations to Columbus Commitment Adopter & local company, Freedom a la Cart on being named Columbus CEO’s Best of Business 2019 Best Caterer! The Best of Business awards intends to shine a light on the many businesses that have earned the admiration of our community.
Freedom a la Cart strives to bring hope to survivors of human trafficking so they can build a new life of freedom and self-sufficiency. They employ survivors of human trafficking in the belief that giving a woman practical job skills and developing strong work ethic is vital for creating a pathway to freedom.
We are happy for our friends at Freedom a la Cart team for their deserved recognition!
Read more about Freedom a la Cart HERE.
|
PNC Bank funds early childhood efforts in Columbus
PNC has announced a local grant to boost early childhood efforts through Future Ready Columbus. Funds will help publicly funded childcare centers get Step Up to Quality rated and will help Future Ready Columbus with their goal of getting all children in Franklin County ready for kindergarten.
Read more here.
New Non-Profit: The Sanctuary Collective
The latest series in The Columbus Dispatch, Suffering on Sullivant Avenue, heartbreakingly depicts the high number of prostitution and drug abuse that occurs in the three-mile span of Sullivant Avenue that runs from the edge of Downtown from Dodge Park to Hague Avenue. A new non-profit hopes to be part of the solution for women in these neighborhoods. Hannah Estabrook, Executive Director for The Sanctuary Collective is planning on taking a run-down building and opening it up as a drop-in center for women to get off the streets.
Through public-private partnerships, the non-profit hopes to be up and running by next summer where women can come, take a shower, get support and the healthcare they need. Estabrook explains her vision saying “It's going to be beautiful. We believe these women are worth having a beautiful, peaceful, welcoming space.” Thank you Hannah and those in the Columbus Community supporting this effort for your vision of creating a safe space for women to access the basic services they need and deserve.
Learn more here.
Tampon Tax
Last week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed into law a measure repealing Ohio's sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products. Ohio joins ten other states across the US which have all already eliminated the tampon tax: Minnesota, Illinois, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and, most recently, Nevada.
Access to affordable proper menstrual hygiene products is crucial to women’s health. We commend the Ohio House and Governor DeWine in making this important step towards equity. This is a victory for all!
Health education standards
Ohio is the only state that does not mandate any health education standards for schools. Meaning children in different zip codes could potentially be learning, or not learning, very different curriculum. State lawmakers continue to discuss (and hold hearings) on Senate Bill 121 which would establish health education standards. We’re following SB121 closely. Learn more about the Bill here.
Columbus: The Cost of Eviction and Unpaid Bills of Financially Insecure Families for City Budgets
A new research report released by the Urban Institute finds that among families in Columbus, 57% were financially insecure, with less than $2,000 in savings, compared with 52% nationally.
The data explores the impact that evictions and financial insecurity of families in Columbus has on the city. The report shows, in Columbus, the government cost of family financial insecurity from eviction and unpaid property taxes and utility bills is estimated to range from $17 million to $39 million of a total annual budget of $1.7 billion.
Additionally, the report found stark inequities exist for certain ZIP codes. Columbus has geographic disparities in credit health; seven zip codes have subprime median credit scores resulting in these areas having weaker overall financial health than other neighborhoods.
Read more HERE.
Linden Community and Building Trades Apprenticeship Job Fair—November 13. Learn about careers in the skilled construction trades, meet construction professionals who can answer your questions, and learn how to apply for a career in the construction industry. Professional services will be present to help meet and navigate eligibility requirements. Learn more & register HERE.
|
 |
|
The 2019 National Conversation on Board Diversity—November 21. Join 2020 Women on Boards for this exciting event featuring Anita Perez Ferguson, a Visiting Scholar for the Woodrow Wilson Foundation at Princeton and commentator for WAMC, Northeast Public Radio in New York. The discussion will explore issues of demographic diversity as well as domestic and international public policy. Learn more & register HERE. |
 |
|
Columbus Police Chief Finalist Public Forum—November 21. Meet the finalist candidates for Columbus Police Chief. Residents will have an opportunity to hear from the final candidates. To submit questions or learn more. |
Ready to Run—December 5. The John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University is hosting “Ready to Run”, a one-day, non-partisan campaign training program for women, to encourage and train women interested in running for office, seeking higher office, working on a campaign, getting appointed to office, or learning more about the political system. Register here.
|
Dispatch: First landlord convicted under Columbus’ updated law to prevent retaliatory evictions
Dispatch: Ohio Democratic women lawmakers call for new domestic violence protections
WOSU: Columbus Launches Program To Disarm Domestic Abusers
WBNS: YWCA Columbus helping families rise out of homelessness
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email sign-up
|
