US States News, May 7, 2007, Monday

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US States News

May 7, 2007 Monday 4:52 AM EST

HEADLINE: INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN AND WORK SPONSORS FORUM IN ALBANY ON STATE OF NEW YORK WOMEN

BYLINE: US States News

DATELINE: ITHACA, N.Y.

BODY:

The Cornell University College of Industrial and Labor Relations issued the following news release:

In New York state, women entrepreneurs still have trouble obtaining credit for small business, women lawyers are still paid less than men and domestic workers need more protection to get fair wages.

These were some of the issues discussed at "Women in New York State: The State of the State," April 25 in Albany. The forum, presented by the Institute for Women and Work (IWW) at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, was in honor of National Women's Equal Pay Day.

The event attracted nearly 200 people from women's rights organizations, universities, legislative staff offices and the Legislature, including N.Y. State Assemblywomen Barbara Lifton (D-Ithaca), Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood), chair of the New York State Assembly Committee on Education, Patricia Eddington (D-Medford), and N.Y. State Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Mamaroneck). The April 25 program was developed at the request of the New York State Legislative Women's Caucus, chaired by Eddington, and the Assembly Task Force on Women's Issues, chaired by Lifton.

Francine Moccio, director of IWW, presented an overview of the Cornell project, which will assess the quality of work/life policies and practices, and the economic status of working women in New York on such issues as child care, health care coverage, the gender wage gap, educational attainment, workforce preparedness and political participation.

"The 'Women in New York: The State of the State' will provide policy-makers, business, labor as well as the general public with a comprehensive quality of work/life index that goes beyond measuring success as strictly the bottom line to assessing progress of New York state public policies and workplace practices for the advancement of New York women and their families," said Moccio. The findings of the project are due to be released during Women's History Month in March 2008.

Panelists, who represented women in nontraditional jobs, law and the service sector as well as immigrant women, women of color and women business owners, gave an overview of the research needs and "on the ground" employment and labor issues confronting poor to low-wage and middle- income and professional working women across the state.

For more information on the event or research project, contact Moccio at fam5@cornell.edu or (212) 340-2836.