A public hearing was held at NCC yesterday by the Commission on the Status of Women.
For almost two hours, women from the area detailed their personal lives to the panel, asking for policy changes that would make it easier to survive in Fairfield County.
State Reps. Toni Boucher, R-143, and Christopher Perone, D-137, state Sen. Bob Duff, D-25, majority whip, and six Norwalk Common councilmen joined members of the commission on the panel.
It was one of three public hearings the commission plans to transcribe and send to state policymakers. A previous hearing was held in Enfield, and another one is scheduled at the University of Connecticut in February.
“We’re responsible for being a liaison between community and government,” said Teresa Younger, executive director of the commission, “and we wanted to gather their stories so we can communicate effectively with the government.”Marie Wendorff, who lives in Wilton, described her escape from an abusive relationship. She had to walk away from a career during the ordeal, and has since moved her three children to a one-bedroom apartment.
“So I was one of the haves with the white house and the picket fence, and I have become a have-not,” Wendorff said. It took her a year and a half to get help from the government, and she told the panel the process should be easier.
“There are, no question, some heavy bureaucratic steps that really hamper a critical situation,” Boucher said.
I worry about the continuation of gender based policy legislation. Sure there are specific issues that track along gender lines, but I think we are long past the point where economic issues solely affect one gender or another. The economic reality in Fairfield County is that single people, especially single parents, male or female, are at an economic disadvantage when it comes to housing choices.
The oft cited earning power argument, women earning .70 cents to ever dollar is so misleading. There are whole classes of jobs that pay less than a sustainable wage, and while those jobs may in fact have a greater employment of women, it’s not like the men who hold them fare any better. You never hear about gender wage disparity by waiters and waitresses, for example, although each earns a wage below even the minimum standards set for the nation. Likewise, at the higher end of the economic ladder, you don’t see disparity in wages in say computer programmers, directors of marketing or investment bankers.
Perpetuating streotyping arguments does a great disservice. When economic issues are at stake, it is important to focus on the real problem. Single parent families do struggle to make ends meet in Fairfield County, and gender has nothing to do with it.
source: The Hour, Status of Women panel hears complaints, by Jared Newman, Janaury 24, 2008
