WAMC: 51% Show # 1016 (2009-01-01)

51 % The Women's Perspective

51% Show # 1016

(2009-01-01)

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ALBANY, NY (WAMC) - Women are going to feel the effects of the recession more than their male co-workers. According to the National Women's Law Center, that's because they make less - 77 cents to every dollar paid to a man doing the same job. It's against the law, but that doesn't mean it isn't happening. A landmark case brought the issue back into the spotlight...and many fair pay advocates are hoping the new administration puts some muscle behind reform. Laura Iiyama reports for 51% in Washington.

5:32 Fair Pay - Laura Iiyama

Fair pay isn't just a women's issue...it's a class issue. There are new statistics that indicate that America's becoming stagnant...that not only do very few people live the rags to riches story...but few ever move far beyond whatever economic level they grew up in. I spoke with Kim Bobo, who is director of Interfaith Worker Justice and the author of "Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid - And What We Can Do About It."
She was joined by Betsey Leondar-Wright, an advisor to Let Justice Roll...a national coalition to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour by 2010.

9:35 Kim Bobo and Betsey Leondar-Wright Barnett

Kim Bobo is Director of Interfaith Worker Justice and the author of "Wage Theft in America: Why Millions of Working Americans Are Not Getting Paid - And What We Can Do About It", published by The New Press.
Betsey Leondar-Wright is an advisor to Let Justice Roll...a national coalition to raise the minimum wage and she's the author of "Class Matters: Cross Class Alliance Building for Middle Class Activists." It's published by New Society Publishers.

As part of our National Science Foundation "The Sounds of Progress" series, narrator Kate Mulgrew, introduces us to a modern day miracle inventor. Stephanie Kwolek wanted to be a fashion designer. She combined her interest in medicine with her love of designing, to create a lifesaving material.

2:00 NSF #23 Kwolek

If you'd like to find out more or hear more in this series, visit: www.womeninscience.org.

Finally today, it's Artspace. Joy Askew has been performing in bands and on her own since she was 14. She's played with Joe Jackson, Laurie Anderson, Peter Gabriel, the Rolling Stones and the Who. But you can't pigeonhole her style...she's studied jazz, folk, country and blues. And she combines her music with her passion...animal rights. I spoke with Askew when she was preparing to perform at a benefit for a farm animal sanctuary.

2:27 Askew Barnett

Askew wrote a song for the soon to be released documentary called "Peaceable Kingdom." You can hear more of her music at joyaskew.com.

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