Vermont Commission on Women: Progress for Women for 45 Years

Strong Women *  Strong Families *  Strong Communities *  Strong Economy

2000+…

• successfully advocates passage of the Equal Pay Act, ensuring that employees who do the same job receive the same pay, regardless of gender
• creates Listen, Talk and Keep Talking, tools and tips for parents when confronted with objectionable sexual or violent language or imagery
• establishes the Vermont Women’s History Project to document contributions Vermont women have made to our state’s rich history
• successfully advocates for passage of the Unlawful Employment Practices Act, ensuring that employees can disclose and discuss their wages without fear of discipline, discharge, or retaliation. Collaborates with the Vermont Attorney General’s office and Vermont Business and Professional Women to create Equal Pay: Your Rights and Responsibilities as an Employer and Employee
• ensures nursing mothers have a private place and time to express breast milk for a nursing child at their workplace through the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace law. Works with the Vermont Department of Health on fact sheet outlining the rights of nursing mothers in Vermont
• conducts annual statewide e-surveys, What Teen Girls Say, of Vermont middle and high school girls in collaboration with the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains
• votes to support civil unions and freedom to marry legislation
• outlines women’s needs in health care reform report: Accessing Health Care in Vermont: A Woman-Centered Approach
• publishes an annual report, The Status of Women and Girls in Vermont to fuel dialogue, encourage positive change, inspire partnerships and assist efforts to improve the lives of women and girls in Vermont
• works with other children’s advocacy groups to pass universal Pre-K legislation
• successfully advocates for a fund similar to unemployment insurance to help women who must leave employment to ensure safety from an abusive partner
• works in coalition with women’s groups to pass legislation allowing emergency contraception to be dispensed by pharmacists without a prescription to Vermont women
• successfully advocates for legislation that makes sexual assault by an immediate supervisor of a person under supervision of the correctional system a felony
• works in collaboration with the Secretary of State's Office to establish the Safe At Home Address Confidentiality Program, a free mail-forwarding service assisting victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking who have relocated in an effort to keep their perpetrators from finding them

1990’s…

• effectively advocates for legislation requiring insurance companies to provide coverage for mammograms
• spearheads, along with the State Labor Council, an amendment to Vermont’s Parental and Family Leave Act allowing for short-term family leave, the first such legislation in the country; partners with the Attorney General’s Office to write and distribute The Vermont Guide to Parental and Family Leave
• helps secure passage of insurance coverage for prescription contraceptives
• convenes Harassment in Education Task force, comprised of legislators, educators, and state officials to address harassment in schools. The work results in passage of a new law mandating schools develop policies regarding harassment of students. The task force drafts a model harassment-in-education policy. This policy, along with a resource directory, is distributed to every school in Vermont.
• creates a model workplace sexual harassment policy in partnership with the Human Rights Commission, Attorney General’s office and Department of Labor, and distributes 15,000 copies of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: A Guide for Employers and Employees, co-authored with the Attorney General’s Office
• conducts voter registration drives, develops and distributes voter educational materials, and holds leadership in public life panel discussions
• convenes a task force that helps to pass regulations providing women enrolled in managed care insurance plans direct access to OB-GYN care without referral
• takes a leadership role in passing the Gender Equity in Education Act
• holds hearings about women’s health, poverty, child care and women in prison at the State House
• develops and distributes materials to help women understand managed care health plans

1980’s…

• successfully advocates for passage of regulation to require insurers to provide maternity coverage on the same terms and conditions under which other illnesses are covered
• distributes federal funds to domestic violence prevention and support programs throughout the state
• successfully champions legislation allowing VSAC (Vermont Student Assistance Corporation) to designate grants to part-time students (the majority of whom are women)
• holds “59-cent Hearings,” a public forum about Vermont’s gender wage gap (currently at 81 cents)
• as a result of the Commission’s work, law enforcement officials begin correctly reporting rape as rape and not lewd and lascivious conduct, setting the stage for funding programs treating rape victims
• endorses civil rights for gays and lesbians
• publishes Getting Appointed to State Boards and Commissions
• holds a Women’s State Fair attended by 5,000 Vermonters

1970’s…

• successfully argues to lift restrictions prohibiting the names of wives from being listed in the telephone book. Agreement is reached that allows husbands and wives to be listed free of charge. Vermont is first in the nation to secure this right.
• successfully advocates for revocation of a Department of Education rule calling for suspension of pregnant girls from school
• champions legislation amending Vermont’s income tax law to allow child care credits
• produces booklet to help police officers and hospitals respond in rape cases
• introduces Fair Employment Practices Act
• leads endorsement of the Equal Rights Amendment
• conducts child care study
• supports a Montpelier girl’s desire to play Little League baseball, which instigates changes in national Little League rules, allowing all American girls to play
• issues a report supporting a woman’s right to reproductive choice
• helps pass legislation prohibiting discrimination in lending and granting personal credit

1960’s…

In 1962, President Kennedy challenged every state to create a “Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women.” These commissions would be charged with two tasks: “To encourage women to use their abilities, and to reduce discrimination against women.” In response, Governor Philip Hoff in 1964 established the Commission to conduct research about “how discrimination was occurring, how women’s roles were changing, documenting the needs of working women and their children, and supporting a more active role of women in the political life of the state.” In the 1960’s, 22 Commissioners served, including Vermont’s future first female governor, Madeleine Kunin. Discussions included the creation of a state entity to address wage inequities and employment rights.

Organizations or agencies we helped create or found:

The Commission

• engages partnerships and networks diverse groups to consider issues of interest to women and take action
• provides information to the legislature and other policy makers on issues affecting women
• provides the most local and most appropriate information and referrals to individuals on matters related to women and families
• conducts research, produces reports, publications, and a comprehensive resource directory

Selected by multiple appointing authorities, Commissioners come from all parts of the state and across the political spectrum. Commissioners bring multiple perspectives to decision-making: as women with family responsibilities, as workers often in the lowest paying jobs, as employers and business owners.   The Commission is a deliberative body, and decisions are adopted by majority vote.