NOW's PRIORITY ISSUES

Constitutional Equality Amendment
Reproductive Rights
Racism
LGBT Rights
Violence Against Women
Economic Justice


Constitutional Equality Amendment: Equality in pay, job opportunities, political structure, social security and education will remain an elusive dream without a guarantee of equality in the U.S. Constitution. The progress we have made and must continue to make towards women's equality can be lost at any time because those advances depend on legislation that can be (and has been) weakened or repealed by Congress. Although we did not succeed in ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, winning a constitutional guarantee of equality for women remains one of NOW's top priorities.

In 1976, Massachusetts ratified the Equal Rights Amendment to the state's constitution. The passage of this amendment prohibits classification on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Mass. NOW will continue to fight to ensure that this amendment is implemented in all parts of state government and all parts of the labor force in the state.

Mass. NOW has stood beside the ACLU regarding Gender Neutral Annuities. Mass. NOW will continue to fight for legislation requires that state-regulated annuity policies sold to residents of Massachusetts be gender-neutral in all the terms and conditions of the contracts, including premiums and benefits.
 

On July 25, 2006 the House adopted an amendment by Rep. Ruth Balser that would make the act apply to all future contracts and not existing ones. The bill passed the House on July 27 by a vote of 115-40, but unfortunately never made it to the Senate floor for a vote. The legislation will be refilled for the next legislative session and we will continue to lobby lawmakers for its passage.
 

Reproductive Rights: NOW affirms that reproductive rights are issues of life and death for women, not mere matters of choice. NOW fully supports access to safe and legal abortion, to effective birth control and emergency contraception, and to reproductive health services and education for all women. We oppose attempts to restrict these rights through legislation, regulation or constitutional amendment. 

In 2005, Massachusetts passed The Emergency Contraception Act that requires all hospitals in the state to dispense emergency contraception when a victim of rape comes to the ER for services. This law also requires licensed pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception to anyone without a prescription. Mass. NOW supported the 3 women who filed and won their lawsuit against Wal-Mart. This lawsuit saw change in the dispersal practices and the stocking of emergency contraception for women across the state in Wal-Mart pharmacies.


Racism: NOW condemns the racism that inflicts a double burden of race and sex discrimination on women of color. Seeing human rights as indivisible, we are committed to identifying and fighting against those barriers to equality and justice that are imposed by racism. A leader in the struggle for civil rights since its inception in 1966, NOW is committed to diversifying our movement, and we continue to fight for equal opportunities for women of color in all areas including employment, education, and reproductive rights.

Mass. NOW will continue to foster and work to improve race relations in the state. Mass. NOW is working with our Regional Board to bring awareness and justice to all women, especially women of color. Mass. NOW is proud to have taken part of the regional Women of Color and Allies (WOCA) Summit, which took place on April 8, 2006 in the Bronx, N.Y. Mass. NOW and the regional board are working on having another WOCA Summit next year. Check the Mass. NOW calendar for details.


LGBT Rights: NOW is committed to fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in all areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations, health services, child custody and military policies. NOW is committed to educational efforts that combat the adverse effects of homophobia, promote positive images in the media and ultimately ensure civil rights protection for all. NOW asserts the right of lesbians to live their lives with dignity and security, and the rights of equal marriage for all.

Massachusetts is one of two states in the union that recognizes same-sex marriage. On May 17, 2004, thousands of loving, committed couples began the wonderful process of entering into marriage with all the rights and privileges that come with it.
 

Currently Mass. NOW is working with a coalition to ensure this right is never lost. In 2006, a citizens’ petition for a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman was brought before the Constitutional Convention. The amendment would overrule the 2003 Supreme Judicial Court decision that led to the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2004. The citizens’ petition, which drew about 170,000 signatures in support, required 50 votes in two consecutive legislative cycles in order to appear on the 2008 ballot.
 

On July 12, 2006, during the Constitutional Convention, state lawmakers postponed their vote on allowing a statewide ballot to abolish gay marriage until November 9, 2006 — two days after the November elections. Then, in a vote of 100-91, legislators voted to recess this Constitutional Convention. Clearly, the fight for same-sex marriage did not end when the courts made their historic ruling. Please continue to tell your families, friends, neighbors and legislators that discrimination does not belong in our state’s Constitution.


Violence Against Women: NOW is unique in its approach to the issue of violence against women, emphasizing that there are many interrelated aspects to the issue: domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, violence at abortion clinics, hate crimes across lines of gender, sexuality, and race, the gender bias in our judicial system that further victimizes survivors of violence, and the violence of poverty emphasized by the radical right's attacks on poor women and children, all of which result from society's attitudes toward women and efforts to "keep women in their place."

Mass. NOW continues to support and work towards ending violence against women in all forms. Mass. NOW has signed onto legislation requiring a 35-foot safe zone around abortion clinics instead of the 18-foot zone Massachusetts currently has. We are also working on protecting women from judicial bias and have implemented a court watch program to ensure that women are being treated fairly in custody cases across the state.

Mass. NOW has also stood beside Jane Doe, Inc. in speaking out against the tragic and brutal death of Imette St. Guillen, a college student in NYC. See the Boston Herald article regarding this, here. Mass. NOW stood up for the rights of victims and spoke about the violent culture of society today against women. Mass. NOW will continue to speak out for women who have lost their voice to violence and abuse.



Economic Justice: NOW advocates for a wide range of economic justice issues affecting women, from the glass ceiling to the sticky floor of poverty. These include welfare reform, livable wages, job discrimination, pay equity, housing, social security and pension reform, and much more.

Mass. NOW has submitted testimony and lobbied on all issues of welfare reform, pay equity and a livable wage. Mass. NOW had some victories this legislative cycle in regards to economic justice with the passage of key legislation. Mass. NOW will continue to fight for these priorities in the coming legislative cycle.
 

Minimum Wage - In 2006 the legislature voted to raise the state’s minimum wage. With our partners in the Minimum Wage Coalition, we advocated strongly for raising the minimum wage from the current $6.75 per hour to $8.25 per hour with an index to inflation. This legislation is quite complex, and has seen many bumps in the road. We were quite pleased at the outcome, a compromise that takes a big step towards ensuring a livable wage for all Massachusetts workers. On July 31, 2006, the last day of the formal legislative session, the legislature unanimously overrode Gov. Mitt Romney’s veto of the bill, making the Massachusetts minimum wage one of the highest in the country. The legislation increased the minimum wage to $7.50 per hour on January 1, 2007, and raised it another 50 cents on January 1, 2008, to an hourly rate of $8.
 

Mass. NOW’s voice in the debate was an important reminder for legislators that more than 60 percent of the workers earning minimum wage in the Commonwealth are women, and a large majority of those women live in poverty. We will continue to
work towards a day when the minimum wage is truly a livable wage.
 

Paid Family Leave - In Massachusetts, 72 percent of families living below the poverty level are headed by single mothers. These families are particularly vulnerable to any additional economic crunches. After the birth of a child or when a family member is ill, many working women are faced with the heartbreaking choice between lost income or staying home to provide care.
 

On June 8 2006, the Committee on Children and Families and Committee on Labor and Workforce held a joint hearing on Senate Bill 2535, commonly referred to as the Working Families bill. At the hearing, Mass. NOW Legislative Director Barbara Gutman, along with two Mass. NOW members, presented testimony in favor of the legislation. This legislation would offer the most generous family and medical leave in the nation. It would fund up to $750 per week of full-salaried, job protected leave for 12 weeks for workers looking to care for newborns or sick family members.
 

Funding for the program would come from employee payroll deductions. Although the Working Families bill did not reach a vote, it opened an important dialogue about government responsibilities in supporting working families.

Mass. NOW WAGE Clubs -  In the coming year, Mass. NOW will be working with WAGE (Women Are Getting Even) to pass new legislation on equal pay and to start NOW WAGE Clubs across the state and the nation. Mass. NOW lobbied on behalf of new legislation that Senator Harriette Chandler and Representative Alice Wolf filed in January 2007 to ensure that women are paid equally to men. Mass. NOW is also a partner in a new coalition formed by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women working towards passing this critical legislation.
 

Mass. NOW is also excited to be partnering with former Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Evelyn Murphy and her team to accomplish pay equity in the next decade! Stay tuned to the Mass. NOW website to learn about ways to fight for equal pay in your community. Or join Mass. NOW at our annual state conference where Murphy will be the keynote speaker and learn how to accomplish a WAGE Club in your community. For more information please check out the Mass. NOW calendar.
 

Mass. NOW was recently successful in passing a National resolution at the NOW National Conference in Albany, N.Y. The resolution calls for NOW WAGE Clubs to start in every state during the next two years. The resolution also calls for a NOW economic justice summit in 2008.