It's Time To Demand A Presidential Commission on Women

Published April 02, 2009 @ 02:03PM PT

Some may wonder why we need a Presidential Commission on Women. Check out these stats and then ask yourself that question again:

Women are 51% of Americans

Women make up 85% of consumer spending

Women make up 56% of voters

BUT -

There is just one woman on the Supreme Court

Women only make up 17% of Congress

Fortune 500 CEOs are just 2% women

Women earn 77 cents to the man's dollar

For these reasons and many more, WomenCount joined with Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-Calif) to announce legislation creating a Presidential Commission on Women. The legislation grew out of a campaign launched by WomenCount last November that now includes more than 60 supporting organizations and tens of thousands of petition signatures from all 50 states.

The Commission will undertake an independent review of the status of women and make substantive policy recommendations to help American women move forward. In 1961, President Kennedy created the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. Although local chapters of that Commission still exist, there has not been a similar national effort in 48 years.

Last month, President Obama took an important step for women. The newly created White House Council on Women and Girls will consider the effect on women of the Administration's policies and agenda.

These are some of the differences between the Presidential Commission on Women and the White House Council on Women and Girls:

A Presidential Commission on Women will provide an independent, thorough look at the lives of women in America - at home, in the workplace, our health, our economic impact - and create strategies for moving forward.

A Presidential Commission on Women will be externally focused. It will call upon experts from around the country with diversity in geography, age, ethnicity, industry sector, and all else.

A Presidential Commission on Women will be bipartisan. In the spirit of the Obama Administration, the Commission will reach across political ideology. After all, improving the future for women in America is not a partisan issue.

A Presidential Commission on Women will include a significant grassroots component. It will encourage the participation of millions of women from around the country who can provide feedback and input.

A few more key facts:

Representative Jackie Speier is introducing the legislation today, April 2, 2009. The full text of the bill will be available on her website once it has been introduced:http://speier.house.gov/

WomenCount has enlisted the support of 60 women's organizations in the fight to create this legislation. Information on WomenCount and the petition to support the creation of the Presidential Commission on Women can be found here: http://www.womencount.org/its_our_time

You can join the Facebook Cause for a Presidential Commission on Women here:http://apps.facebook.com/causes/191448/55006

You can follow WomenCount on Twitter by following: @womencount

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Author

Jen Nedeau is a social media consultant, progressive activist, feminist speaker and writer. She currently lives in New York City, where she works full-time as the Director of Digital Strategy at Air America Media. In August 2008, Nedeau was selected to be the Editor of the WomensRights.Change.Org where she facilitates daily discussion about the feminist movement. Additionally, Nedeau volunteers as the Chief Technology Officer for New Leaders Council, a non-profit that offers exclusive training for young leaders. You can follow her on Twitter @HumanFolly or learn more here: www.jennedeau.com.