HOME | SPEAK OUT | ACTIONS | NEWS | CONTRIBUTIONS | EMAIL IN OUR SHOES | HILLARY LINKS   THE MEMO: A Status Report on U.S. Women This is the report that womensenews  will deliver to both conventions: Wages: The gender gap in wages has been frozen since 2002 at the level of women earning 77 cents for every dollar men earn. Some women's groups estimate that official gap is actually much wider. Sexual harassment, meanwhile, is unchecked and the cracks in the corporate glass ceiling have been caulked. Employment Barriers: The United States is one of two countries where women's labor force participation is actually dropping. Many pregnant women report being fired. Parents of only 1 in 7 eligible children receive child-care assistance. Women are overrepresented in the ranks of those leaving paid employment to care for others. Poverty: The percentage of single mothers neither working nor drawing cash assistance surged to more than 30 percent in 2005 from under 20 percent before the welfare overhaul in 1996. Reproductive Health: Birth control costs skyrocket, abstinence-only education projects continue to fail, sexually transmitted diseases soar and abortions become more difficult to obtain for many. Meanwhile, the United States is ranked 41st among 171 countries in maternal death rates. Violence: Homicide is a leading cause of traumatic death among new and expectant mothers. One federal study estimated 20 percent of female college students are sexually assaulted during their undergraduate years. Homophobia: Lesbians continue to live without the legal protections that full civil rights could provide, such as access to the benefits of marriage. For more information about the MEMO, see: We're Sending 'The Memo' to '08 Conventions Run Date: 05/21/08 By Rita Henley Jensen Editor in chief HOME | SPEAK OUT | ACTIONS | NEWS | CONTRIBUTIONS | EMAIL IN OUR SHOES | HILLARY LINKS