Statement of NOW President Toni Van Pelt

Google has once again turned heads this week, because of its sexist and misogynistic treatment of employees. But let’s not forget that Google’s mistreatment of women extends far beyond its Mountain View, Calif. headquarters. Their lobbyists are working hard to protect laws that encourage online sex trafficking–and the exploitation of girls and women.

Backpage.com is a key player in online sex trafficking–providing a hub where traffickers can advertise children for sex. That’s despicable. Yet third-party facilitators of sex trafficking like Backpage.com remain protected under the law, specifically Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).

Backpage.com has been dodging legal challenges to their illicit conduct, and Google has swooped to their defense. Areport by Consumer Watchdog indicates that Google has contributed millions of dollars to the defense of Backpage. All of this legal work hinges on the protection of Section 230 of the CDA–which supports Google’s corporate interests. Now Google is sending their lobbyists to Capitol Hill, to persuade lawmakers to stay away from this precious piece of the law.

Shame on Google: it’s clear they’ve chosen again and again to put corporate priorities before the safety of girls and women. Their endorsement of Section 230 of the CDA says that they are more than happy to condone child sex trafficking if it furthers their goals. If they’re not resisting injustice, they’re committing it.

Well, NOW’s grassroots activists are ready to resist. Congress needs to amend this dangerous law that allows online sexual exploitation to go unchecked. So we’ll be marching into our representatives’ offices with a simple demand: don’t listen to Google. Change Section 230 of the CDA to make sure that it protects women–not corporations.

Statement of NOW President Toni Van Pelt

The Democratic party, determined to win back the majority in the House of Representatives at any cost, is throwing its support behind anti-choice candidates. That’s a huge mistake. Reproductive justice is at the heart of women’s health, welfare, safety, and economic security.

This week Rep. Ben Ray Luján, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in an interview that, in order to pick up 24 more seats in the House, Democrats would fund candidates who oppose abortion rights.This marks a painful pivot from the 2016 party platform, which spelled out “that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion—regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured.”

That platform was driven by smart policy, and smart politics–because it recognizes that progressive abortion policy is central to achieving economic justice. That’s why women, and all progressives, should decry this new posturing–which has Democratic leaders trying to appeal to a mythical group of moderates, by shrugging off reproductive rights as a fringe issue. The truth is this: they’ll never achieve any of their progressive goals, economic or otherwise, if abortion rights get pushed out of the picture.

Most important of all: Democrats can’t risk women’s lives to play this political game. This is even more urgent for marginalized individuals. Women of color, young people, and LGBTQIA+ individuals are hit hardest when abortion access is gutted–and that would almost certainly be the case if the Democrats throw their support behind anti-choice candidates.

I’m calling on grassroots activists across the country to march into their Congressional Democratic offices and make their voices heard, and to to work at the local Democratic party level–as individuals, or with their NOW chapters. NOW has been a proud fighter for abortion rights and reproductive justice for over 50 years. The Democratic party cannot and should not take us for granted. Party leaders must think again, and get it right this time.

Statement of NOW President Terry O’Neill on Black Women’s Equal Pay Day

Today, Black women catch up in wages to what white men earned in 2016. It’s a striking annual reminder to pay attention to the economic inequality African-American women face, and how it is–tragically, persistently–driven by both race and gender.

Black women earn just 63 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men, according to the National Women’s Law Center. The disparity holds true regardless of a woman’s education level or profession.

Women across the board are paid less than men for equal work, but African-American women face an even larger wage gap than white women. The American Association for University Women reports that median annual earnings for white women in 2015 were $42,026–significantly more than the $34,426 than African-American women brought home.

This would be bad enough on its own, but Black women’s economic security worsens as this inequality plays out in the real world. Black women are overrepresented in low-wage jobs, and underrepresented in high-wage ones. And their lost earning potential over a lifetime is staggering. On average, Black women lose a whopping $840,000 over a 40-year career, all the while sacrificing Social Security and retirement benefits.

Today we must contemplate the critical intersection of racial and economic justice–and how women of color bear the dreadful consequences of this broken system. NOW’s grassroots activists will continue fighting for policies to close the wage gap and achieve economic security for women–and those must include policies to advance racial justice as well.

Contact
M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241