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issue at hand, I would like to simply state that Schlafly’s position is preposterous. A reform-minded rewrite of Social Security laws will not send an exodus of women into a frenzy of job hunting. The type of family unit Schlafly devotes her life to defending — that is, the two- parent, father breadwinner, mother homemaker house hold — represents only 16% of all families in America. It does not even include her own familial set up. Her crusade, viewed in the harsh light of reality, is merely an effort to perpetuate economic privileges for the select few who have always enjoyed them. Women make up a growing segment of the work force because they are forced by economic necessity to earn money. Fully 54% of all households are female headed. More than half of all adult women work. On average, they spend 34 years in the labor force. Despite this fact, 90% of these women never earn pension benefits. What they do earn is 59 cents to every $1.00 that men earn — even though they work;in the same jobs as men or perform work of comparable value. The pink- collar ghetto — characterized by low pay, minimal benefits and no opportunities for advancement — is where most women spend their working days. In view of these statistics, only an insane or dishonest person would maintain that women are for saking their families to pursue ambitious careers. The vast majority of women work because they are forced to support themselves and their families. The women’s movement did not create the conditions which have impelled them to seek employment outside the home. And despite more than 10 years of intense activism, feminists have had little effect on ending economic discrimination against females. We are witnessing today a phenomenon that social observers call the feminization of poverty. Elderly women are the largest poverty group in America and the fastest growing one. According to a report by the National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity: ’’All other things being equal, if the proportion of poor who are in female-headed families were to increase at the same rate it did from 1967 to 1977, they would comprise 100% of the poverty population by the year 2000 .” These horrifying facts are largely ignored in the current public debate over women’s rights. Schlafly and her so-called pro-family cohorts have successfully exploited our fear of social change and made feminists the scapegoat for everything that is wrong with our society. Instead of fostering a discussion of the sub stantive problems created by an industrialized, consumerist system, their tactic has been to blame the victim for her victimization. We can no longer permit the likes of Phyllis Schlafly to speak for us. We can no longer pretend that every woman’s place is in the home. We can no longer afford to support a system that takes from the weak and gives to the strong. In its most positive manifestations, feminism has called for a radical reevaluation of how we reward human endeavor. Responding to the realities of modern life, feminist women have called for an equalization of opportunity for all people. They have argued that we need to reform our culture to humanize it. For example, instead of trying to force women to stay at home by discriminating against them in the workplace, we can change employment practices to accomodate the needs of parents. Flex-time, part-time and time-sharing can be offered to both men and women, freeing them to spend time with their children without economic penalties. Instead of allowing women to live out their elderly years in poverty, we can reform pension plans to allow transfer of credits from job and earlier vesting. Instead of blaming women for the break up of the nuclear family, we can provide family support services which lower the pressures that fuel the rising divorce rate. My own mother pursued a career as a chemist in addition to raising a family. And though she achieved a level of success I would like to emulate in my professional life, her family never suffered for it. So, to Phillis Schlafly and her kind I say: ’’Get off our backs!” We are turning our vision toward the future when both women and men can work and raise families without suffering for it. Happy Mother’s Day. U. N. W. L. A. INC. BRANCH #32 ACTIVITIES Our new year opens with installation of new officers at a Candlelight Ceremony during which our officers hold a lighted candle and repeat a pledge to fulfill the duties of their office. As our branch membership ranges between 20 or 25 members, most of our chairladies and officers fill more than one position. Although our branch is consistently small and the work load heavy on the members, we find that we can work more effecti vely and with better teamwork with a small group. Visits to various Ukrainian church groups in the surrounding area have brought us a few new members. Our Public Relations chair- lady usually gives a lecture on the programmes and work of our organization. We find many American-Ukrainian women are not acquainted with Soyuz Ukrainok. The first activity of the new year is our traditional signing of the Proclamation of Ukrainian Independence by the mayor of Union Township, New Jersey. Our members and fellow consti tuents are present in full force to witness the signing at the January town meeting. The following Sunday Ukrainians of the surrounding community and our branch members gather around Union’s flagpole in front of the Town Hall to join in the Ukrainian flagraising and to sing our country’s national anthems. Our flag will fly for the following month in the cold breeze to celebrate and bring to the attention of the American community Ukrainian Independence Day. Our members always look foward to the dinner sponsored by Ukruzna Rada every year. We feel a friendly kinship with our other sister branches. Last year, our branch sponsored an evening ’’Let’s Get Acquainted”. We supplied a showing of a Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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