Action Alert: Urge Congress to protect women in the workplace

Sixty years ago, a groundbreaking piece of legislation made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, religion and national origin.

Jewish Women International CEO Meredith Jacobs recently joined the White House in celebrating this milestone anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Central to our mission of women’s economic empowerment, Title VII specifically addresses discrimination in the workplace, including on the basis of gender.

 Over the past six decades, Congress strengthened Title VII protections in important ways. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, passed in 1978, made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, passed in 2009, restored protections against pay discrimination that had been stripped away by the Supreme Court and established that pay discrimination claims accrue to each discriminatory paycheck. And just last year, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act obligated employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

However, despite the strides we have made, women still earn only 82 cents per dollar earned by men. As a nation, we must do better.

We need your help in order to strengthen laws prohibiting discrimination and protecting women and LGBTQ+ people in the workplace. Click here to email your members of Congress and tell them to pass these critical bills.

JWI calls on Congress to pass legislation to strengthen federal laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender, including the Paycheck Fairness Act, the Equality Act, and the soon-to-be reintroduced BE HEARD in the Workplace Act.

 The Paycheck Fairness Act updates the definition of a work establishment, promotes pay transparency, clarifies the "other than sex" defense by employers, strengthens penalties for pay discrimination, and provides better resources for workers to challenge unfair practices. 

 The BE HEARD in the Workplace Act will strengthen protections for workers — particularly those in vulnerable and marginalized communities — by extending protections to all workers, reflecting current understandings of sexual harassment, removing barriers to reporting and to justice, increasing accountability for employers, and ensuring better support for victims. 

The Equality Act adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the classes protected by laws prohibiting employment discrimination. 

SPECIAL URGENT ACTION: The Senate will be voting tomorrow on the motion to proceed on a bill that will expand the child tax credit, which provides crucial economic support to families with children, including single mothers, lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. 

This bill has already passed the House. If it passes the Senate, it will go to President Biden for his signature.

Click here to email your Senators and urge them to vote for the motion to proceed and in support of this vital bill.

You can also text CTC to (888) 418-5699 or click here to use the automated call-in hotline from our allies at MomsRising.

JWI is the leading Jewish organization championing women and girls by preventing domestic violence and sexual abuse, addressing the intersection of domestic violence and gun violence, building pathways to long-term economic security, and strengthening access to every level of leadership in our communities, workplaces, and country.