The Delaware Commission for Women (DCW) – motivated by the Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink – is surveying Delaware women to learn about their experiences in life, the economy and the workplace. The statewide project involves learning from women – of diverse life and work and experiences – about making ends meet, opportunities to advance in the workplace, discrimination, personal and family considerations and what thoughts keep them up at night. The data and insights from the project will inform DCW’s advocacy agenda and guide its priorities on issues, resources, initiatives, best practices and partnerships that affect Delaware women.
“We want to hear directly from Delaware women about their experiences in the economy and the workplace and what support they need to push back from the brink,” says Sherese Brewington-Carr, DCW Chair.
The research in The Shriver Report informs us that:
- Forty-seven percent of the workforce is female; sixty-two percent hold minimum wage jobs.
- Balancing work and home, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, workplace bullying (from both genders) stall progress and present huge disadvantages for women.
- One in three women lives in poverty or teeter on the edge, pay-check to pay-check. That’s 42 million women; add to those numbers 28 million children and the unknown number of people who depend on them for caregiving.
- The wage gap cost the average woman between $700,000 to $2 million dollars over the course of her lifetime.
Women interested in learning about the Delaware Commission for Women and the project should call (302) 577-5287, or contact Carmen Gomez at carmen.gomez@delaware.gov.