Welcome June! Happy Pride Month!
This year, LGBTQIA+ Pay Awareness Day was on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. The Columbus Women’s Commission wants to officially recognize the lack of data on the LGBTQ+ wage gap. This is an issue because when the scope of an inequity is misunderstood, it cannot be properly addressed. The Columbus Women’s Commission is committed to righting these wrongs. In a study done by the Social Science Research network and discussed by the BBC, what we have been able to learn is that 10 years after graduating college, workers who self-identify as LGBTQ+ were found to earn 22% less than their heterosexual, cisgender counterparts. Additionally, according to a study done by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), women within the LGBTQ+ community make, on average, 87 cents for every dollar the average worker does. When broken down by race, the HRC found that White LGBTQ+ women make 96 cents on the dollar, Black LGBTQ+ women make 85 cents on the dollar, Native American LGBTQ+ women make 75 cents on the dollar, and Latinx LGBTQ+ women make 72 cents on the dollar.
Click here to read the BBC’s article.
Click here to read the study and the rest of the HRC’s findings.
Sunday, June 19, marks Juneteenth. Last year, President Biden signed a bill officially marking Juneteenth and recognizing it on the federal calendar. Juneteenth is the day marking the official liberation of slaves being held in the United States. It serves as an acknowledgement to our history and a reminder of the work we still must do as a nation. Slavery has a legacy embedded within many systems today, fostering racial inequalities in spaces such as education, healthcare, employment, and housing, to name a few.
Click here to read where and how people are celebrating Juneteenth in Columbus.
June 23 marks the 50th Anniversary of the passing of Title IX. The law bans the discrimination based on gender in sports the United States and has helped create a more equal space for men and women. Since its passing, women’s participation in sports has increased over 1,000% according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The Women’s Sports Foundation has compiled a report detailing the effectiveness of Title IX, continued shortcomings female athletes are experiencing, and recommendations for moving forward.
Click here to read the report.
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Along with the recent executive order signed by President Biden, his administration has taken several other policy approaches to addressing the gender and racial wage gaps in the United States. Due to the complexity of the issue, multiple steps need to be taken in order to address all areas of the unequal pay women and people of color face. Today, the biggest factor behind the wage gap is occupational segregation. Women tend to work in different industries from men, and these traditionally female occupations are generally regarded as lesser, or they aren’t valued equally to the typical “man’s” work. Over the last few years, attempts to address the issue have zeroed in on the use of pay transparency, limiting the use of salary history as a hiring tool, expanding the protections of worker’s characteristics against discrimination, and strengthening pay data collection.
Click here to read about these policy solutions in depth.
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Here at the Columbus Women’s Commission, we welcomed 19 new adopters of the Columbus Commitment on June 9, 2022. We want to thank them for their commitment for fighting gender inequities in pay and helping our city be a better place for women to thrive.
Join us in our movement: 100 Adopters. 100 Days. 100% Committed.
Our newest adopters:
- Fresh Bloom Bins
- Nutter Center for Empowering Women Inc.
- Systasz Grieving from Their Soul
- DADDS Enterprises LLC.
- Leatrice Productions
- MMELO Boutique Confections
- Horton Initiative
- JB Organizing LLC
- Ajumama
- Spritz Beverages Co.
- Beautifully Crafted Interiors LLC
- Koko Shop
- Pringle Business Consulting, LLC.
- HUED Business Support LLC
- Jamison and Bexley
- Dos Hermanos Taco Truck LLC
- Ascension Construction Solutions
- Tranquility Salt Cave
- Urban Business Development Center “The U”
In case you missed it: click here to watch a 60 second clip.
Click here to watch the whole event.
If you want to join us next time, reach out to Christina Ratleff at CLRatleff@columbus.gov.
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 Please join us in welcoming the newest Columbus Commitment adopters!
- BBCO Design
- Creating Central Ohio Futures
- Forrest Street Consulting
- Furniture Bank of Central Ohio
- Greenleaf Job Training Services, Inc.
- Homes on the Hill
- Human Service Chamber of Franklin County
- I Know I Can
- Jewish Family Services
- Lutheran Social Services
- Make a Day Foundation
- Marsh Wagner
- Move to PROSPER
- Netcare Corporation
- NRP Group
- On Pointe Strategic Insights
- Postali
- SproutFive
- Stepping Stone Child Care
- TRIAD Architects
- Watershed Distillery
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Commissioner Emmalyn Jerome, leader of Lower Lights Ministries, is proud to announce the opening of the Lower Lights Child Enrichment Center. The building is on Sullivant Avenue in the Hilltop area.
On June 20 and 23, Lower Lights Ministries will be hosting an event to bring together those that are passionate for resolving child care problems for under resourced communities and want to be part of coming up with ideas for the solution.
“This is more than just childcare. This is about family strengthening and advocating for our west side families.”
– Emmalyn Jerome
Click here for more information about the event.
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 With inflation on the rise in the United States, it seems that now more than ever it is important to understand where you and your finances stand. However, women tend to have lower rates of financial literacy compared to men, according to an article published by Annuity. A study done found that only 18% of women ages 60-75 could pass a retirement income literacy test. Furthermore, with the gender wage-gap, the rise of single woman home ownership, and the upward trajectory of women going to college, women are bringing in less and paying out more. This means when it comes time to retire, women are underprepared, which increases the likelihood that women will encounter poverty as they grow older.
Click here to read the article and learn more.
The Columbus Women’s Commission is welcoming two new interns to our staff!
Jessica Burchard is finishing her graduate degree from West Virginia University focusing on digital marketing communications. She has resided in Columbus for the past 13 years and is looking forward to beginning the next chapter of her career in content marketing or search engine optimization. When not busy with school, she volunteers with the Red Cross and serves on the board of AMA Columbus.
Ruby Lobert is a rising second year at Ohio State majoring in Public Management, Leadership, and Policy with a specialization in Nonprofit Management and a minor in Human Rights. She is participating in the Ohio Government Internship Program at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs. Ruby is passionate about gender equity and advocacy, and is excited to learn as much as she can during her time with the CWC.
Welcome Jessica and Ruby!
Women for Economic Leadership Development
Otterbein University is hosting the next Women for Economic Leadership Development’s national leadership conference. It will be held in person and feature Claire Coder, CEO of Aunt Flow, as a Keynote speaker. The theme of this year’s event is “intentional influence” and participants will spend the day learning to grow their influence in a variety of spheres, such as in work and in their community.
Click here to learn more about the event.
This webinar looked at the significance of occupational segregation and how it relates to gender and race-based wage gaps. There was also discussion on the potentiality of challenging occupational segregation within the pay equity lens, as well as how litigation and enforcement agencies can challenge these issues.
Click here to watch the discussion.
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