MALONEY APPLAUDS DUANE FOR INTRODUCING NEW YORK STATE ERA

NEW YORK, NY - Rep. Carolyn Maloney made the following statement at a press conference in support of New York State Senator Tom Duane's introduction of the Equal Rights Amendment for New York:

"Good morning. I am so pleased to be here today with New York state Senator Tom Duane to lend my support to this important bill.

"It’s hard to believe that in 2004, our state constitution still does not guarantee equal rights to women and men. New York was one of the 35 states that ratified the original ERA – but we never passed our own ERA (attached is a CRS report documenting the states that passed the federal ERA prior to June 30, 1982). In fact, New York lags far behind other states. For a state that prides itself on its fair-mindedness, that’s absolutely disgraceful.

"I am releasing a report that I asked the Congressional Research Service to put together
documenting the 20 states that have already adopted an ERA. It’s about time New York became the 21st state.

"Nationwide, the ERA has strong support. Nine out of ten Americans support the principle of equal rights for men and women. The idea is so fair, and so fundamentally American, that 70% of people believe that an ERA is already in the federal Constitution. The fact remains
that the United States is the only industrialized democracy in the world that does not explicitly guarantee equality for women by law.

"The best way to assure equal rights is to pass a federal Equal Rights Amendment, which would apply to all 50 states. I am proud to have introduced the federal ERA in every session of the House of Representatives since 1997. The next best way is to pass a state ERA. Thank you, Senator Duane for introducing this necessary bill.

"Why do we need a federal or a state Equal Rights Amendment? While women have made great progress, we’re still a long way from full equality. Women earn only 77 cents
for each dollar earned by men. What’s more, as shown in study I released with Congressman Dingell in 2002, the gap between salaries for men and women managers is actually widening. The Glass Ceiling, the Pink Ghetto, the wage gap and sexual harassment continue to prevent women from reaching their full potential.

"Differences in treatment have had a tremendous impact on the way women are treated in pensions, insurance and other financial matters. In fact, until women made a fuss, the special master in charge of administering the World Trade Center fund was planning to award women victims less than their male colleagues. Families of people holding similar jobs, would have received different amounts simply because one victim was male and the other was female.

"There are laws on the books that allow women to pursue damages – Last month, securities giant Morgan-Stanley agreed to pay $54 million to settle a sex discrimination case. A few days later, aircraft manufacturer Boeing Corporation agreed to pay up to $72.5 million to settle similar allegations. Just last week a case was filed against Costco on behalf of 650 women claiming sexual discrimination in promotions. But laws can be changed, and enforcement mechanisms eliminated. Putting equal rights in the Constitution would make it clear that the state of New York rejects gender discrimination for all time.

"As a woman from New York and as a member of the United States House of Representatives, I thank and congratulate Senator Duane for introducing this critical piece of legislation. I hope his colleagues in the state legislature will pass it quickly. We owe it to our daughters and granddaughters to safeguard their equality.

"Thank you."

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