ANDY DOUGLAS,
OCSEA Executive Director

Womens' Action Committee Conference
Hueston Woods State Park
May 19 - 20, 2007

Madam Chairperson, Honorable Members of the Women’s Action Committee, other distinguished persons at the head table, Ladies and gentlemen, sisters and brothers –

I am honored to spend a few minutes with you this morning. Your constant perseverance and dedication to the good of your union and society as a whole is unmistakable. I say “thank you” for all you do as activists to make this world a better place.

The WAC conference, falling as it always does in late May, is evocative of Spring and rebirth. The flowers are in bloom.

People are finally waking from their winter slumber.

The weather is ALMOST always agreeable.

In a way, it reminds me of the rebirth we experienced this past November and in the months leading up to the elections.

In preparation for today, I was thinking about how the country and this state have changed – for the better – because of the involvement of women. In many ways, women are the driving force behind the issues that have dominated our agenda in the past decade…and particularly this past November and in the months leading up to the Election.

This was evident at the recent AFL-CIO Legislative Conference held the week before last at which some of the top speakers were influential Ohio women.  Commerce Director Kim Zurz, Senate Minority Leader Teresa Fedor and House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty were all featured.

This is as it should be. It shows that women in Ohio are taking their rightful place in leadership and are helping to shape public policy which, for a long time, has needed the firm but gentle touch of femininity. Better still they are, in many cases, leading a bunch of men to the land of milk and honey – the land that has been promised by men for years and years but far too often not delivered.

And in that vein, while I admit that I don’t read Ms. Magazine on a regular basis, I did note that following the momentous events of November last, Ms. Magazine editors released the Top 10 victories for women in 2006.

Leading the way was the historic election of Nancy Pelosi as the first woman – and self-identified feminist – Speaker of the House of Representatives. In its exclusive interview cover story, “This is What a Speaker Looks Like,” Ms. featured Speaker Pelosi, dwelling not on her clothes, but on the substance of this historic woman. There is no more worthy exemplar than Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who embodies all the necessities of a strong – influential – empowered woman.

And let’s not forget Hilary Clinton. She’s a major front-runner for the presidency and is a fundraising record-breaker. It has been said that 2006 was a good year for women, but 2008 might be even better.

And on a side note, it would be interesting, would it not, to see how Bill would fare as First Lady?

All joking aside, we must face the facts. Despite these strides, women still have many, many obstacles to overcome.

A report this year by the American Association of University Women found that just one year after college graduation, women earn only 80 percent of what their male counterparts earn. In Ohio the figure is even more startling. Women only earn 76 percent of what males do.

Sadly it only gets worse the older a woman gets. Ten years after graduation, college-educated men working full time have been given more authority in the workplace than women. For example, men are more likely to be involved in hiring and firing, supervising others, and setting pay.

Overall, the research indicates that one-quarter of the pay gap remains unexplained and is likely due to sex discrimination. It is probably unexplained because men are the ones trying to do the explaining. Let’s call it like it is. While many trumpet what they see as “progress”, if we are honest we must admit that the glass ceiling still exists. Maybe we have caused a crack or two in that ceiling but what we really need to do is fracture it into a thousand pieces so that it can never be put back together again.

Yes, my friends, there are a lot of men who just don’t get it.

This morning’s speaker, however, is one who does get it. He is one of the people in our state who has the ability – both by elected position and intellectual capacity – to impact and help eradicate some of these unfair financial practices that are harming women. He has appointed females to key positions on his staff. Moreover, he has already begun to carry through on his commitment to provide the women of Ohio with the knowledge they need to make informed financial decisions, and he is personally traveling the state doing just that. He has come all the way from Columbus with me to share some of those thoughts with you.

I am honored and delighted to introduce today’s guest speaker. Please help me welcome your friend and mine – the Treasurer of our great state – Richard Cordray.