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 th...
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