Agenda Text
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Submitting a Proclamation for Women's Advancement, Equity and Opportunity in Somerville.
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Official Text
Proclamation for Women's Advancement, Equity and Opportunity in Somerville
WHEREAS, Participation of women age 25 to 54 was the singular driver of U.S. economic expansion from 2015 up to the 2020 pandemic shutdown, as reported by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; and
WHEREAS, The 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic-induced recession in the United States has disproportionately affected women, and more so women of color, causing greater work loss, job loss, and income loss, endangering more than three decades of employment and gender work equity progress in less than one year (as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) and these impacts directly affect the lives and economic progress of Somerville women; and
WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to switch to remote and/or hybrid learning and daycares to close for extended periods of time to protect public health and safety, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that women have reported cutting back hours or stepping back from their jobs entirely at a rate three times higher than men; and
WHEREAS, Employment sectors that focus on care such as teachers, childcare, elder care, home health aides, and other low-paid health care professions employ women at higher rates than men and these sectors have been both underpaid and exist with little chance for promotion for their societal importance, as recognized by the American Enterprise Institute-Brookings Paid Family Leave Project in 2020; and
WHEREAS, Employees in care-focused fields have faced new challenges and increased pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, Women-dominated industries such as retail, childcare, leisure and hospitality, and restaurants, many of which employ a high number of Latina and Black women, hit hardest by the COVID-19 shutdown, are reporting the biggest job losses since March of 2020, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; and
WHEREAS, Women in the U.S. accounted for 100% of the jobs lost in the United States workforce in December 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Women’s Law Center, with Black, Asian, and Latina women accounting for all the jobs lost that month; and
WHEREAS, In December 2020, Black and Latina women experienced unemployment rates significantly higher than their white female peers, with according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report in January of 2021 that the unemployment rates for adult women aged 20 and over in December 2020 were 8.4% for Black women,9.1% for Latina women, and 5.7% for white women, with acknowledgement that data is not available for women who do not qualify for unemployment benefits; and
WHEREAS, According to the May 2020 Somerville Community Data Profile, 49.7% of Somerville’s population are women, and unpartnered mothers bore the biggest drop in workshare than any other group of parents in 2020 and 2021; and
WHEREAS, When the post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery in the United States begins, women of all backgrounds and beliefs, and regardless of immigration status, in the United States and in Somerville should not be forced to remain in the unpaid or underpaid labor market with inadequate workforce support present; now therefore be it
PROCLAIMED, To all those present, that the Mayor of the City of Somerville hereby proclaims that the City of Somerville will:
1. Continue to target additional small business support towards women and women-owned businesses;
2. Focus efforts on mentorship and job development opportunities for Somerville women of all ages;
3. Listen to the concerns and needs of Somerville women and proactively work towards policy solutions that validate and address those concerns and needs;
4. Prioritize support for women in a COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery plan, including support for Somerville women re-entering the workplace;
5. With the City’s Director of Racial and Social Justice, continue to prioritize addressing institutional racism that affects women of color;
6. Encourage and advocate for hospitable and supportive working environments for women, parents, guardians and caregivers;
7. Continue and expedite focusing City efforts on expanding and creating quality accessible early education, out of school and after school options for all Somerville children; and
8. Continue to support and engage with the Somerville Women’s Commission.
Signed this 13th day of May, 2021 by
Joseph A. Curtatone
Mayor