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How to Talk About: TEACHERS UNIONS

Five Key Points About Teachers Unions
*PDF Download

Unions seek power. Unions are powerful organizations seeking to expand their partisan political i...

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In 60 Seconds: How The Biden Administration’s Unlawful Title IX Regime Affects Women’s Sports

The Biden administration is using Title IX to require schools to allow males who identify as women to compete on women’s sports teams and to receive a...

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In 60 Seconds: The Equality Act

*PDF Download: In 60 Seconds – The Equality Act Ironically, the Equality Act will treat some people less equally than others. It will harm women and girls, turn disagreements on issues of sexuality and identity into unlawful discrimination, and threaten parental and conscience rights. Here’s the breakdown of The Equality Act in 60 seconds: 

What’s at Stake:

Ironically, the Equality Act will treat some people less equally than others. In particular, it will:
  • Open women-only spaces (including locker rooms, battered women’s shelters, prisons, and bathrooms) to men.
  • Destroy women’s sports by requiring that biological males be allowed to compete with and against female athletes.
  • Limit freedom of speech for those who believe that biological sex is an immutable characteristic.
  • Threaten the rights of parents and doctors who do not approve of procedures to alter sex.
  • Force religious organizations to stop providing educational and other charitable services.
We should, of course, treat all people equally and with dignity, but the Equality Act would trample on the rights of some in favor of others and endanger vulnerable women and children.

Similar Laws Have Already Caused Harm

We don’t have to guess about the consequences of the Equality Act. Similar policies enacted elsewhere demonstrate its inevitable harm:
  • In Canada, beauty shops that refused to let their female spa technicians wax male genitalia have been sued by a transgender activist.
  • In Alaska, a battered women’s shelter was investigated by the state Equal Rights Commission after the shelter turned a transgender woman (biological male) away.
  • In Connecticut, two male-to-female transgender athletes are topping the list of champions at every track meet, denying opportunities to biologically female athletes.
  • In Maryland, bureaucrats excluded a Christian school from a state scholarship program because of the school’s stance on sexual identity and expression. As a result, six low-income students were forced to withdraw from the school.
  • In California, doctors have been sued for declining to recommend extreme sex-reassignment procedures in violation of their sincere medical belief.
Misperceptions vs. Facts:

In 60 Seconds: The Equal Rights Amendment

*PDF Download: In 60 Seconds – The Equal Rights Amendment

Women and men are equal, but we are not the same. The Equal Rights Amendment would harm women and girls by eliminating separate spaces for women and making it impossible for the law to recognize situations where women’s unique vulnerabilities matter.

Here’s the issue of the Equal Rights Amendment in 60 seconds: 

What’s at Stake:

Women and men are equal, but we are not the same. The Equal Rights Amendment would harm women and girls by eliminating separate spaces for women and making it impossible for the law to recognize situations where women’s unique vulnerabilities matter.

  • The ERA would jeopardize hundreds of laws designed to specifically address the unique needs of women and the demands of motherhood, including:
    • The Women, Infants, and Children program
    • Spousal Social Security Benefits
  • The ERA could take away women-only spaces such as:
    • sports teams
    • bathrooms and locker rooms
    • detention or prison centers
    • single-sex dormitories at public colleges and universities
    • sororities and other female-only clubs, singing groups, or health centers at state colleges and universities
    • shelters for the homeless / battered
  • It could enshrine the right to an abortion in the Constitution, even requiring taxpayer funding of abortion.

We don’t need the ERA:

Women have the same rights under the Constitution as men.
• The 14th Amendment protects women from unfair discrimination.
• Various federal and state laws protect women from workplace discrimination and guarantee equal pay.

Women are experiencing unprecedented prosperity, freedom and success.
• Lowest unemployment rate since 1965
• Opening new businesses at high rates
• Earning the majority of higher degrees
• Comprising the majority of voters in nearly every election

Ratification faces legal hurdles:

  • While Congress approved the ERA in the 1970s, only 35 states had ratified it by the extended
    ratification deadline in 1982 (38 are needed).
  • Nevada and Illinois have since ratified the amendment. But four states have rescinded their
    ratifications, and another’s expired.
  • In ERA proponents’ conception of the amendment process, there is no way for an amendment ever to be rejected by the American people.

Addressing Concerns: 

In 60 Seconds: The Pay Equity Debate

*PDF Download: In 60 Seconds – The Pay Equity Debate

We all want women (and men) to be treated fairly in the workplace, but the Paycheck Fairness Act would not be good for paychecks or fairness.

Here’s the issue of the pay equity debate in 60 seconds: 

What’s at Stake:

We all want women (and men) to be treated fairly in the workplace, but the Paycheck Fairness Act would not be good for paychecks or fairness. This bill would:

  • NOT outlaw sex-based wage discrimination, which has been illegal since 1963.
  • NOT boost women’s paychecks, but those of trial lawyers by:
    • Allowing unlimited damages against employers.
    • Requiring workers to opt out of (rather than into) any class action lawsuit.
    • Putting the burden of proof on employers to justify any pay disparity.

This increased legal exposure would:

  • Threaten workers’ existing flexible work arrangements. Businesses will be more likely to adopt more rigid, one-size-fits-all practices to protect themselves.
  • Discourage the hiring and advancement of women, who would be viewed as a legal risk.

The PFA also takes aim at “pay secrecy” policies in the workplace that ban employees from discussing pay. This will be ineffective because pay secrecy policies are already illegal, and most pay disparities are not the result of discrimination. Therefore, greater transparency is not likely to close the wage gap.

The raw wage gap is not a measure of “equal pay for equal work” or a sign of widespread discrimination against women.

The wage gap is largely driven by different career choices NOT discrimination.

Compared to men, on average, women:

  • Work fewer hours, in safer conditions, with greater flexibility.
  • Study/train for and work in lower-paying professions.
  • Take longer leaves of absence from the workplace due to childbearing and rearing.

When controlling for decisions men and women make about work, the pay gap shrinks to 2 cents.

This isn’t to say that sexism or bad bosses don’t exist, but discrimination is already illegal under the Equal Pay Act (1963) and the Civil Rights Act (1964).

We all want fairness in the workplace, but as the Washington Post editorial board wrote in 2009, the PFA “invites too much intrusion and interference in core business decisions…Discrimination is abhorrent, but the Paycheck Fairness Act is not the right fix.”

Addressing Concerns:

In 60 Seconds: Title IX, Bostock, And Women’s Sports

*PDF Download: In 60 Seconds – Title IX, Bostock, and Women’s Sports

In 1972, Congress passed Title IX to expand opportunities for women and girls in education. Since then, America has witnessed an explosion of women’s high school and college sports. The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Bostock v. Clayton County, threatens that progress, and puts women’s sports in jeopardy.

Here’s the issue of Title IX, Bostock, and Women’s Sports in 60 seconds:

What’s at Stake:

In 1972, Congress passed Title IX to expand opportunities for women and girls in
education. Since then, America has witnessed an explosion of women’s high school and
college sports. The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Bostock v. Clayton County,
threatens that progress, and puts women’s sports in jeopardy.

If applied to Title IX, Bostock could require (not just allow) schools to let male athletes
play on female teams and against female athletes. For team sports, the result will be
fewer roster spots for women and girls. And, in head-to-head competitions, the result
will be fewer titles and championships for female athletes.

In the realm of athletics, biological sex differences matter. Women have fought long
and hard for equal athletic opportunities. Ignoring the physiological differences
between male-bodied athletes and female-bodied athletes will inevitably erode some
of those gains.

Title IX, Bostock, and Women’s Sports:

Title IX prohibits schools that receive federal money from discriminating “on the basis
of sex.” The statute applies to all aspects of education, including athletics. Title IX’s
regulations allow schools to operate “separate teams for members of each sex.” Given
the competitive advantage that male athletes generally have over female athletes, these
regulations play an important role in expanding athletic opportunities for women and
girls.

Bostock may undo federal regulations and decades of precedent. In Bostock v. Clayton
County, the Supreme Court held that an employment policy that takes biological sex
into consideration is discriminatory—even if it treats members of both sexes equally. If
applied to Title IX, a school that denies a male athlete or a transgender athlete the
opportunity to play on a women’s team discriminates “because of sex” since the
decision would have been different but-for the biological sex of the athlete.

Addressing Misperceptions: