Stay engaged, involved, and up-to-date: Week of 07/31/17

Friday, August 4th, 2017

In our weekly updates from the Women’s Public Policy Network, we highlight some of the work our partners have been up to this week, share updates on bills affecting women that are moving at the Statehouse, and provide a call to action on proactive bills pending in the Legislature. Sign up for our email list to receive these updates in your inbox every week!

ICYMI: THE LATEST ON HEALTH CARE AND WHAT’S NEXT

There have been a lot of moving parts on the state and national policy landscape with health care lately. In the face of these attacks, advocates have stepped up greatly to protect health care access: making phone calls to lawmakers, attending rallies, and sharing their health care stories. And it worked, but the fight is not over yet!

Check out our latest blog post for more details on what’s been happening and what’s coming next.

GET READY TO GALVANIZE!
We are one week away from the United State of Women Galvanize Ohio Summit on August 12th and 13th! The United State of Women (USOW) is a megaphone organization for gender equality, and the Galvanize summits are meant to mobilize, inspire, and empower women with the tools to lead in their local communities.

Find out more about the Galvanize program and the AMAZING group of speakers lined up to mobilize Ohio women for the future. Then secure your spot at the summit by registering online here.

#OHLEG ALERT

We are tracking the progress of any state bills affecting women in the Ohio Legislature for the 132nd General Assembly. Since the Legislature is officially on summer recess, we have only a few updates and expect it to be quiet at the state level until they are back in session.

HB 302 (Boggs, Antonio) – Allows for a pregnant minor to have consent to her own health care decisions during her pregnancy. It was introduced in the House in early July.

HB 305 (Antonio, Boyd) – Known as the Domestic Violence Protection Act, this bill would allow for judges to remove firearms from domestic violence offenders when a protection order is issued. It was introduced in the House at the end of July.

SB 174 (Tavares) – Enacts the Fair and Acceptable Income Required (FAIR) Act, which would update state laws to help protect against wage discrimination. The bill aims to close the gender wage gap and was introduced earlier this week to coincide with Black Women’s Equal Pay Day.

We will keep tracking any new updates and will be sharing timely legislative updates on these and other women-centric legislation on Twitter using the #OHLeg hashtag. Follow us to stay up-to-date on what’s happening at the Statehouse.

RAISE YOUR VOICE TO CLOSE THE GENDER WAGE GAP

On Monday, we recognized Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, the day marking how far into the year a black woman must work to be paid the same as a white male counterpart were paid from the following year. According to research, black women are paid on average only 67 cents on the dollar compared to non-Hispanic white men.

There are a number of state bills pending in the legislature that would help close the gender wage gap. Take action now to help them get hearings:

HB 138 (Smith, Boyd) – Creates an equal pay discrimination hotline where workers could anonymously report instances of alleged wage discrimination. Contact the Committee Chair Representative Ron Young, and ask him to hold hearings on the bill.

HB 180 (Clyde, Howse) – Establishes the Ohio Equal Pay Act to create protections for closing the wage gap. Contact the Committee Chair Representative Louis Blessing III, and ask him to hold hearings on the bill.