Women's Equality and Gender Justice by bobmassie2018

OUR COMMON FUTURE

Bold Leadership for

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Equality and Gender Justice in Massachusetts Democrat for Governor

Acknowledgements As a man, I know that one of my primary obligations is to listen to women’s voices, to promote women’s leadership, and to lay the groundwork for true and lasting equality across all genders. If I am elected, this will remain a core commitment. I thus want to offer special thanks to our advisory board members and to a host of other individual advisors for their time and contributions to my Women’s Equality and Gender Justice policy. This group dynamically shaped these policies and action recommendations – and I promise to continue that process of close consultation and collaboration when I am governor. While writing this policy document I have constantly been reminded of the unnecessary struggles that face so many in this Commonwealth. We are paying a steep price for decades of missed opportunities and neglect. I also believe I have an opportunity and a duty as a man to motivate other men to examine their own behavior, to grow as human beings, to seek gender justice, and to become enduring allies as we move forward. I am eager to embrace this role. Many of the actions in this document are long overdue. Let’s make up for lost time.

Note to Readers This document covers only some of the vital intersectional matters related to women’s equality and gender justice. Many of the others, including voting rights, public transportation, opioids, housing, and immigration, to name a few, are covered in my other policy issue statements that can be found online at www.BobMassie2018.com under the “Issues” tab. This policy document contains references to those other elements of my policy (e.g., [Also see Criminal Justice Policy]) and I hope people will take the time to check them out.

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

Table of Contents

I. THE VISION: MASSACHUSETTS SHOULD SET THE STANDARD FOR WOMEN’S EQUALITY AND GENDER JUSTICE .......................................................................... 1 The Current Reality ............................................................................................................................................ 1 The Vision .............................................................................................................................................................. 2 Making Our Vision the New Reality ................................................................................................................ 2

II. MASSIE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES FOR ACTION ................................................................... 5 Secure Economic Self Sufficiency and Equality ........................................................................................... 5 A. Close the Gender Wage Gap in Massachusetts ....................................................................................................... 5 B. Make Our Workplaces Safe from Sexual Harassment and Assault .............................................................. 6 C.

Replace Policies that Impoverish Women with Policies that Build Security.......................................... 6

D. Eliminate Gender Barriers to Education, Training, Work, and Advancement ....................................... 7 E.

Build the Infrastructure Women Need to Participate Fully in Our Economy ........................................ 7

Review and Align State Government Practices with Gender Equality Goals .......................................... 7

Strengthen Families ............................................................................................................................................ 8 A. Promote Additional Family-Friendly Workplace Policies and Eliminate the Motherhood Penalty ............................................................................................................................................................ 9 B. Increase Supports Across the Continuum of Pregnancy, Birthing, Post-Partum and Maternal Health and Parenting ...................................................................................................................................... 9 C.

Elevate Caregiving Work with Training, Certification and Wage Increases to Strengthen Supports for Family Caregivers ......................................................................................................... 10

D. Protect and Strengthen the Safety Net Programs that Women and Families Depend On ............ 10 E.

Protect and Empower Vulnerable Massachusetts Families Threatened by Broken Immigration, Criminal Justice, and Substance Abuse Policies ................................................... 10

Protect Support for Marriage Equality and for LGBTQ+ Rights in Massachusetts ........................... 11

G. Launch a Statewide Outreach Effort to Strengthen Families Through a Guarantee of Rights that Support Health and Well-Being and Provision of Adequate Services....................... 11

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

Table of Contents

Ensuring Health Equity ................................................................................................................................... 12 A. Advance Comprehensive Affordable Care that Addresses Women’s Lifelong Health Needs, Including Reproductive and Maternal Health ..................................................................................................... 13 B. Strengthen and Streamline Our Healthcare Delivery System to Improve Access for All Women and Their Families .................................................................................................................................... 14 C.

Eliminate Barriers to Care for Women of Color, Immigrant Women, Older Women, Low-Income Women, Women with Disabilities, Rural Women, Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence, and Incarcerated Women ................................................................................................. 15

D. End the Criminalization of Substance Use Disorders and Invest in Long-Term, Community-Based Treatment, Especially Targeting Opioid Use .............................................................. 15 E.

Address Gender-Based Violence as a Public Health Epidemic.................................................................... 16

Launch a National Review of State Laws to Identify Opportunities to Improve Massachusetts Laws Regarding Women’s Rights .............................................................................................. 16

Building Safe and Just Communities ........................................................................................................... 17 A. Pursue Comprehensive Reforms of Our Criminal and Civil Justice Systems to Address Gender Violence and Child Abuse; Ensure Enforcement Does Not Target People of Color ........ 18 B. Protect and Empower Survivors of Sexual Harassment and Assault at School and on Campus .................................................................................................................................................................... 18 C.

Improve Education, Prevention and Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence ......................... 19

Prohibit Inhumane and Predatory Treatment of Incarcerated Women ................................................ 20

Make State Government Workplaces Safe from Sexual Harassment and Assault ............................ 20

Achieving Leadership Parity ......................................................................................................................... 21 III. SUMMARY: MASSACHUSETTS SHOULD SET THE STANDARD FOR WOMEN’S EQUALITY AND GENDER JUSTICE............................................................................................................................. 22

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

I. THE VISION: MASSACHUSETTS SHOULD SET THE STANDARD FOR WOMEN’S EQUALITY AND GENDER JUSTICE1 The Current Reality To achieve equality, women in the Commonwealth need a level playing field that offers equal opportunity for economic self-sufficiency. Massachusetts has one of the highest concentrations of working women. Nearly half of the state’s low-income households are headed by single mothers struggling in low-wage jobs, including domestic work, which are disproportionately held by women of color and recent immigrants. Moreover, women are the majority of minimum wage workers in Massachusetts; even working full time, they don’t earn enough to keep their children out of poverty. To achieve economic equality, we must increase the minimum wage and advance pay equity: comparable pay for comparable work, workforce development, economic security for older women, and training and education to facilitate women’s economic and self-sufficiency. Pay equity is a matter of both economic and racial justice. While white women in our state earn an average of 80 cents to the dollar earned by a white man, black women average 63¢ on a white man's dollar, and Latina women only 54 cents. If we wish to succeed in promoting pay equity, we must confront the compounding impact of gender and racial bias on the economic health of women of color in our state’s economy. To enable women to establish a viable home life, we need to make it possible for women to have a home. Despite a recent ten percent decline, the percentage of homeless families in Massachusetts today is 65% higher than it was ten years ago.2 Massachusetts now ranks 49th among the 50 states in addressing the homeless problem, with the second highest percentage in the country of families with no home of any kind.3 The lack of affordable housing and the challenges presented by our failing public transportation system put too many jobs out of reach for too many women. The watershed #MeToo movement has exposed how endemic sexual harassment and assault is in our country, which directly undermines women’s economic security and opportunity. We must take bold action against sexual harassment and assault in every workplace, campus, and training program in the Commonwealth. We must also acknowledge that economic inequality has roots far deeper than women’s paychecks. To effectively address it, we must also ensure the availability of affordable housing, accessible and affordable health care and insurance, and the full range of supports needed by families caring for young children and aging parents.

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

The Vision Now, as never before, Massachusetts must lead in protecting women’s health, safety, and opportunity from a flood of Federal assaults on women’s rights and the safety nets on which women and children depend. We must address the systemic bias and gender inequality that infects every aspect of our economy and penalizes women in every corner of our state, especially women of color and women who are mothers and caregivers. Making Our Vision the New Reality I propose a comprehensive Massachusetts Agenda for Women’s Equality and Gender Justice. If elected governor, I pledge to work with advocates for gender and racial justice throughout the Commonwealth and take executive, agency, and policy action to advance this agenda across our state. The ideas in this document represent the condensed advice of many leaders – and as governor I would continue to embrace the dynamic intersectional wisdom of our citizens. I pledge as governor to confront the deep economic inequities and discrimination that women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people suffer from in Massachusetts, challenge the politicizing of women’s healthcare, and address the epidemic of domestic and sexual violence in our state, including the pervasive workplace sexual harassment and assault which the #MeToo movement has justly exposed. I pledge to invest in the infrastructure women need to participate fully in our economy, including quality public education, childcare, and universal early childhood education; safe, affordable housing; skill-based job training with wrap-around services; and a world-class public transit system that will link women and their families with work, school, and services. I pledge to work for single-payer health insurance and to streamline access to the comprehensive healthcare that women need throughout their lives as de-facto managers of healthcare access for their children, elders, and other family members. As the opioid epidemic deepens across the Commonwealth, I will also direct increasing investment in substance abuse disorder treatment in support of women and the needs of their families. Also, I pledge to fix our broken criminal justice system, which undermines every goal for women and their families in this agenda. Immediate attention will be brought to the issues of mass incarceration, the criminalizing of substance use disorder, the school to jail pipeline, extreme over-policing in communities of color, and the inhumane treatment of women, men, and youth - and decimation of families - caught up in the system. [Also see Criminal Justice Policy] 2

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

As governor, I will advance this five-plank agenda, eliminate gender and racial disparities across the intersecting dimensions of women’s lives, and improve gender justice and gender parity in every aspect of our state’s economy and culture.

Massie Administration Plan for Women’s Equality and Gender Justice 1. SECURE ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND EQUALITY • • • • • •

Close the gender wage gap in Massachusetts Make our workplaces safe from sexual harassment and assault Replace policies that impoverish women with policies that build security Eliminate gender barriers to education, training, work, and advancement Build the infrastructure women need to participate fully in our economy Review and align state government practices with gender equality goals 2. STRENGTHEN FAMILIES

•

Promote additional family-friendly workplace policies and eliminate the motherhood penalty • Increase supports across the continuum of pregnancy, birthing, post-partum, maternal health, and parenting • Elevate caregiving work with training, certification and wage increases to strengthen supports for family caregivers • Protect and strengthen the safety net programs that women and families depend on • Protect and empower vulnerable Massachusetts families threatened by broken immigration, criminal justice, and substance abuse policies • Protect support for marriage equality and for LGBTQ+ rights in Massachusetts • Launch a statewide outreach effort to strengthen families through a guarantee of rights that support health and well-being and provision of adequate services 3. INSURE HEALTH EQUITY • • •

• •

Advance comprehensive affordable care that addresses women’s lifelong health needs, from reproductive and maternal health to long-term care Strengthen and streamline our healthcare delivery system to improve access for all women and their families Eliminate barriers to healthcare for women of color, immigrant women, older women, low-income women, women with disabilities, rural women, survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and incarcerated women End the criminalization of substance use disorders and invest in long-term, communitybased treatment, especially targeting opioid abuse Address gender-based violence as a public health epidemic

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

4. BUILD SAFE AND JUST COMMUNITIES • • • • • •

Pursue comprehensive reforms of our criminal and civil justice systems to address gender violence and child abuse; ensure enforcement does not target people of color Protect and empower survivors of sexual harassment and assault at school and on campus Improve education, prevention and services for survivors of domestic violence Keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers by allowing for “Extreme Risk Protection Orders” (also known as Red Flag Orders) Prohibit inhumane and predatory treatment of incarcerated women Make state government workplaces safe from sexual harassment and assault 5. ACHIEVE LEADERSHIP PARITY

• •

•

Model gender parity in the cabinet and agency leadership Assess state policies on recruitment, hiring, retention, promotion, testing, and evaluation to identify disparate treatment of women and develop gender metrics and accountability systems Create incentives to advance gender parity in the private sector

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

II. MASSIE ADMINISTRATION PRIORITIES FOR ACTION Secure Economic Self Sufficiency and Equality A. Close the Gender Wage Gap in Massachusetts The gender wage gap remains a significant problem for women and our society as a whole. When measured over a woman’s lifetime, the wage gap is staggering.45

Cumulative Losses from the Gender Wage Gap for All Women and College-Educated Women Born in 1955–1959, United States

Accumulated Income Losses (Actual Pay vs Equal Pay) for All Women

Accumulated Income Losses (Actual Pay vs Equal Pay) for All College Educated Women

Note6

As governor, I will:

Aggressively enforce the new Pay Equity Act to eliminate wage secrecy, retaliation for discussion of pay, and salary history as part of hiring.7

Take concrete steps to eliminate the wage gap and job segregation in state government and the private sector.

Vigorously enforce the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.8 5

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

Promote state policy requiring employers to provide nursing accommodations for Massachusetts workers.

Pass a state SAFE (Security and Financial Empowerment) Act9 to strengthen and expand employment protections and benefits for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Create protections against workplace discrimination based on reproductive health decisions.

Advance a domestic workers’ bill of rights.

B. Make Our Workplaces Safe from Sexual Harassment and Assault 2.

As governor, I will:

Extend state anti-discrimination protections to cover all employers of one or more worker.10

Ensure state anti-discrimination laws cover independent contractors, including domestic workers, home healthcare workers, seasonal laborers, and other vulnerable workers.

Extend the too-short statute of limitations for filing sexual harassment complaints with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD).11

End employer-imposed secrecy in employment agreements and settlements, unless the victim’s expressly request it; increase transparency in reporting sexual harassment complaints, charges, lawsuits, and settlements.12

A. Replace Policies that Impoverish Women with Policies that Build Security As governor, I will:

Increase the minimum wage to $15 and establish a fair wage for all by eliminating the “tipping” wage.13 [Also see Inequality Policy]

Strengthen labor unions, improve collective bargaining rights, and define overtime pay to address irregular hour work scheduling and mis-use of manager titles.

Expand eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Support Equitable Coverage in Disability Policies to end gender discrimination in disability insurance.

Eliminate the tax on feminine hygiene products and diapers, including adult diapers.

End the money bail requirement that keeps women incarcerated because they are too poor to make bail.14 [Also see Criminal Justice Policy]

Our Common Future: Womenโ s Equality and Gender Justice

B. Eliminate Gender Barriers to Education, Training, Work, and Advancement As governor, I will: ยง

Support policies that enable pregnant and parenting students to finish school by providing sick leave without academic penalty, breastfeeding accommodations, childcare, and access to all classes and school resources.

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Enforce Title IX protections against gender discrimination in education and athletics.

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Work to close the gender gap in math and science by supporting educational activities that encourage women to pursue STEM careers.15

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Invest in regional workforce development for women, including skill-based job training and placement, union training programs, and wrap-around transportation, childcare, and other services that women need for self-sufficiency.

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Enhance current job training programs for Massachusetts residents over 55 with programs targeted and specifically designed for women.

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Require all businesses with more than fifty workers to publish and report data on their gender pay gap.

C. Build the Infrastructure Women Need to Participate Fully in Our Economy As governor, I will: ยง

Increase safe, secure, and affordable housing by taking regulatory steps to increase housing starts, creating new forms of ownership and financing, expanding public transportation services, and establishing mechanisms that will help to stabilize rents. [Also see Housing Policy]

ยง

Build a world-class 21st century public transit system that can efficiently transport people from home to childcare, work, parks, schools, and community services. [Also see Transportation Policy]

ยง

Invest in debt-free and affordable public college for all so that women can complete higher education degrees and gain access to higher paying jobs in our economy. [Also see New Economy Policy]

D. Review and Align State Government Practices with Gender Equality Goals As governor, I will:

ยง

Order a statewide study of the gender wage gap.16

ยง

Ask for disclosure by all firms and institutions over xx number of employees to report on pay equity. 7

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

Issue an Executive Order requiring contractors to demonstrate pay equity to win government contracts.

Collaborate with Mayor Marty Walsh and Evelyn Murphy to expand the Boston Initiative training women in salary negotiation statewide, and adapt other best practices to eliminate the wage gap.17

Increase state contractor hiring goals for women and minority-owned businesses.

Convene a brain trust of experts, advocates, and stakeholders to examine model policies and create workplaces safe from sexual harassment.

Push for annual reporting by companies that do business with the state on sexual harassment complaints, lawsuits, settlements, and nondisclosure agreements executed by that company.

Open a nursing mother’s room in the State House.

Allow state employees with infants to bring them to work.

Strengthen Families Strong families are the foundation of strong communities. Massachusetts must step up to provide the supports that mothers and fathers need to succeed, and for children to thrive. Current state policy falls especially short for infants, toddlers, and their families. Women continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of childcare responsibilities, as well as caring for aging family members. The challenges of unequal pay and disproportionately low wages are compounded by the additional responsibilities many women bear as mothers, single mothers, and family caregivers. Women are five times more likely than men to be caregivers.18 Recent research into the “motherhood penalty” – the economic disadvantage of becoming a mother in the U.S. – shows that a widespread lack of work-family policies is compounded by persistent discrimination against working mothers. Mothers are offered lower salaries and are called back after initial interviews half as often as women without children. Indeed, the wage gap between mothers and childless women has remained stable since the 1980s. Paid leave is a fundamental support all primary caregivers need - especially women workers who assume the lion's share of responsibility for child and elder care, while also being penalized with lower earnings due to the gender wage gap. Women also generally live longer and face more of the challenges of aging. They deserve access to live and age in the community and have access to the supports needed to meet their healthcare needs, including end-of-life care. To ease the financial strain of raising a family, and to support working 8

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

mothers and fathers, we must expand affordable childcare and elder care services, and increase financial and social service support for family caregivers. This policy areas covered below are a reminder about the extent to which women’s equality issues are intersectional, encompassing health care policy, minimum wage policies, education policies and more. A. Promote Additional Family-Friendly Workplace Policies and Eliminate the Motherhood Penalty As governor, I will: §

Immediately pass and then implement Paid Family and Medical Leave19 for Massachusetts workers.

Expand Paid Sick and Safe Days benefits for Massachusetts workers.

Push for company reporting to show the “motherhood penalty” has been eliminated as a payroll practice within their workforce.

Support pregnant and parenting students by providing sick leave without academic penalty, breastfeeding accommodations, childcare, and access to all classes and school resources.

B. Increase Supports Across the Continuum of Pregnancy, Birthing, Post-Partum and Maternal Health and Parenting As governor, I will: §

Advance a Reproductive Health Equity Act to require public and private insurance coverage for all reproductive health services, including contraception, abortion, prenatal care, postpartum care, breastfeeding support and supplies, for all citizens, including undocumented and transgender patients.

Increase affordable, accessible, high-quality early childhood care and education, including: o Establish Universal “Zero–to–Three” care for mothers and infants statewide. o Implement Universal pre–K education. [Also see Education Policy] o Expand Early Head Start and After-school programming. o Create incentives to increase community-based and workplace childcare programs. o Substantially increase childcare subsidies for low-income parents and caretakers.20

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

Protect the rights of pregnant and parenting students, including sick leave without academic penalty, breastfeeding support and accommodations, and childcare for students with young children.

C. Elevate Caregiving Work with Training, Certification and Wage Increases to Strengthen Supports for Family Caregivers As governor, I will: §

Support SEIU efforts to assure caregivers receive a living wage.

Assess training and certification options to improve quality of care and support living wages.

Increase programs older adults rely on, including long-term services and supports.

Provide free elder caregiving training and support, such as access to a 24-hour nurse hotline.

Require LGBTQ+ awareness and resource training for all MA Aging Service Access Points (ASAPS), senior centers, and hospital and nursing care facilities, to ensure that LGBTQ+ seniors are not forced back 'into the closet' if they require home-based care or enter a nursing facility.

D. Protect and Strengthen the Safety Net Programs that Women and Families Depend On As governor, I will: §

Repeal the “family cap” that denies Transitional Assistance benefits to children born after their family began receiving welfare benefits.21

Update and maximize income eligibility limits for Medicaid, SSI, housing, and food and fuel assistance.

Fully fund Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition and breastfeeding support programs.

E. Protect and Empower Vulnerable Massachusetts Families Threatened by Broken Immigration, Criminal Justice, and Substance Abuse Policies As governor, I will: §

Pass the Safe Communities Act to protect immigrant families from separation and deportation. [Also see Immigration Policy]

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

Provide state funding for legal services for indigent immigrants needing representation in the civil, criminal, and/or immigration system.

Track racial disparities in our child welfare system and resulting family disruption.

Change substance abuse policies that currently fail to serve the needs of vulnerable families. [Also see Opioids Policy]

Pass the Primary Caretakers bill to provide community-based sentencing alternatives for primary caretakers of dependent children who have been convicted of non-violent crimes.

Prohibit restrictive visiting in prisons and jails, such as replacing in-person visits with video calls.

Support family reunification after incarceration of mothers and address whether the Federal Adoption and Safe Families Act is a barrier to family preservation and reunification in Massachusetts.

F. Protect Support for Marriage Equality and for LGBTQ+ Rights in Massachusetts As governor, I will: §

Take any necessary steps to protect marriage equality in the Commonwealth.

Protect LGBTQ+ rights. [Also see LGBTQ Rights Policy]

G. Launch a Statewide Outreach Effort to Strengthen Families Through a Guarantee of Rights that Support Health and Well-Being and Provision of Adequate Services As governor, I will: §

Bring together labor, small and large employers, health advocates, advocates for women, and other stakeholders to plan for statewide outreach to support and, if passed, implement Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) rights for Massachusetts workers or pursue other paths to achieve these goals.

Strengthen the charge and authority of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) in its responsibilities to oversee child and family health and expand its focus on infant and maternal care, cut waste, and make programs financially secure, permanent and sustainable.

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

Ensuring Health Equity Unimpeded access to comprehensive healthcare – including sexual, reproductive, and maternal healthcare - is fundamental to women's health and ability to participate in the economy. Moreover, women's economic security is a predictor of children's health, status, and wellbeing, so advancing reproductive justice strengthens economic security for whole families. The current Federal administration is especially hostile to sexual and reproductive healthcare. As a consequence, it is increasingly critical that Massachusetts defends and maximizes the impact that the ACA has had on improving all women’s health outcomes. The Commonwealth must proactively integrate the needs of all women and teens, including marginalized populations, into renewed efforts to improve healthcare delivery in the Commonwealth. Women in Massachusetts have the highest rates of health insurance coverage in the nation, yet continue to face challenges affording and accessing confidential, comprehensive health care across the lifespan. Though we have made progress in Massachusetts in decreasing maternal mortality, women in the U.S. remain more likely to die from childbirth or pregnancy-related causes than other women in high-income countries, with the risk of pregnancy-related deaths for black women dramatically higher than that of white women. Massachusetts must increase access to affordable health care that is fully inclusive of reproductive health care, transgender health access, preventive care, behavioral health and addiction services, counseling for domestic and sexual violence, and sexual education. We must also protect our robust state Medicaid program, the most important source of coverage for low-income women. Women are more likely than men to qualify for Medicaid because they currently tend to be poorer, and also more likely to hold low-wage or part-time jobs that do not offer employer-sponsored health benefits. Medicaid is also the largest public funder of basic women’s healthcare in Massachusetts, including family planning, breast and cervical cancer treatment, and pregnancy and maternity care.

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

Diversity of Need22 Women in need of publicly supported family planning services in Massachusetts in 2014 had the following demographic characteristics

A. Advance Comprehensive Affordable Care that Addresses Women’s Lifelong Health Needs, Including Reproductive and Maternal Health As governor, I will: §

Defend and build on women’s health policy gains made under the Affordable Care Act, including no-cost sharing coverage of all basic and preventive women’s health services, including breast and cervical cancer screening, STI screening and treatment, HIV testing, pregnancy testing, etc.

Enforce the new Contraceptive ACCESS law requiring all insurance carriers to cover the full range of FDA-approved contraception without co-pay.23

Enforce the new PATCH Act to protect confidential access to healthcare for minors, survivors of domestic and sexual violence, LGBTQ+ patients, and others 13

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

seeking sensitive services, by ensuring that when multiple people are on the same insurance plan, confidential health care information is not shared with anyone other than the patient.24,25 §

Support Bill H622, An Act Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in the Commonwealth introduced by Jeffrey Sánchez and Byron Rushing

Support the Healthy Youth Act and ensure that it is medically accurate, LGBTQ+ -inclusive sex education.

Support the NASTY Women bill to repeal ancient laws still on the books that restrict abortion and birth control26

Repeal the parental consent requirement for pregnant people under 18 seeking abortion.27

Regulate so-called crisis pregnancy centers and ban deceptive, coercive practices against pregnant women.

Require all state health insurance plans that cover maternity care to also cover abortion care.

Build on progress combatting maternal depression to ensure all pregnant and postpartum patients have access, coverage, and expedited referrals for screening and treatment, including infant care.

B. Strengthen and Streamline Our Healthcare Delivery System to Improve Access for All Women and Their Families As governor, I will: §

Create a single-payer healthcare system in Massachusetts. [Also see Health Policy]

Support a universal right to healthcare in our state constitution.

Protect a robust MassHealth program with no coverage waivers and no maximum income eligibility.

Protect the family planning safety net, including Title X funding for Planned Parenthood, state and local health departments, community-based health clinics, FQHCs, and other providers of women’s healthcare.28

Expand our community-based healthcare infrastructure.

Ensure transparency in hospital mergers to prevent cuts to reproductive and maternal health services.

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

C. Eliminate Barriers to Care for Women of Color, Immigrant Women, Older Women, Low-Income Women, Women with Disabilities, Rural Women, Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence, and Incarcerated Women As governor, I will: §

Pass an Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Act 29 to create a state Office of Health Equity, and expand its mandate to include health disparities based on gender and gender identity.

Invest in public health research that includes sex and race/ethnicity-specific data.

Implement our Health Department’s Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Committee recommendations30 to address persistent racial and income disparities in pregnancy-related mortality in our state.

Increase linguistically and culturally appropriate services for immigrants and refugees.

Expand telemedicine access, including for medication, abortion, birth control, and tele-psychiatry.

Enforce and strengthen the reproductive rights of women held in Massachusetts prisons, jails, and detention centers including coercion-free contraception and abortion, and doula and midwifery services for childbirth.31

D. End the Criminalization of Substance Use Disorders and Invest in Long-Term, Community-Based Treatment, Especially Targeting Opioid Use [Also see Opioids Policy] As governor, I will: §

Eliminate Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Drug Offenses, which are driving mass incarceration of women and men for non-violent offences and fueling extreme racial disparities among incarcerated people.

Promote community-based alternatives to incarceration, including safe alternatives for women struggling with addiction.

Work to pass the Supervised Injection Facility Bill to sanction safe injection sites with risk-reduction counseling and substance abuse treatment in Massachusetts.

Support non-judgmental harm reduction services, including overdose prevention and education, opioid substitution treatment, syringe exchange and disposal, HIV testing, and provision of targeted harm reduction services for pregnant and parenting women. 15

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice §

Ensure all pregnant women can access treatment for substance use disorders.

Expand wellness clinics across the state so people can be treated close to home.

Continue access to support services after 30 days if needed by a patient, which today is often routinely denied.

Support the Attorney General’s efforts to hold the pharmaceutical companies accountable for the opioid epidemic.

Review and rate treatment clinics and services and aid the Attorney General in prosecuting sham service operations.

Expand mental health services, particularly for addiction services.

E. Address Gender-Based Violence as a Public Health Epidemic32 [Also see Criminal Justice Policy]

As governor, I will: §

Mandate and fund Department of Public Health gun violence prevention research and education.

Ensure all health insurance plans cover counseling for domestic and sexual violence, without co-pay.

Build on current collaborations between sexual and domestic violence programs and local health care providers to advance best practices for screening and referring survivors to safe, comprehensive services.

F. Launch a National Review of State Laws to Identify Opportunities to Improve Massachusetts Laws Regarding Women’s Rights As governor, I will: §

Convene advocates for reproductive rights and maternal and child healthcare to develop a comprehensive policy agenda for sexual, reproductive, and maternal health, and build grass-roots support for its implementation.

Examine model policies from other states, such as New York’s Reproductive Health Act 33, Washington State’s Reproductive Parity Act34, and Oregon’s Reproductive Health Equity Act 35, and work together with Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, Tapestry Health, and other Mass advocates for women’s health and reproductive rights, and Legislative leaders active in the Women’s Caucus and in the State innovation Exchange Reproductive Freedom Leadership Council to develop and advance a comprehensive policy proposal for Massachusetts.36 16

Our Common Future: Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Equality and Gender Justice

Building Safe and Just Communities Women deserve to be safe in their homes and in their communities. They should be free from street harassment and sexual and domestic violence, and should feel safe turning to police for assistance regardless of their personal circumstances, race, sexuality, or immigration status. Intimate partner violence and sexual assault directly undermine women's educational attainment, career advancement, mental and physical health, as well as their safety and very lives. However, rape myths that unjustly shift blame from the perpetrator to the survivor are widely held â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including by a considerable number of people in law enforcement - and used to excuse sexual assault, focus scrutiny on the victim, and undermine criminal prosecution. Sexual abuse can drive women to take actions that could lead to incarceration, at which point they can again become victims to further sexual abuse. Domestic violence affects individuals, families, workplaces, and whole communities. Abused women are five times more likely to be killed if their abuser owns a firearm, and domestic violence assaults involving guns are 12 times more likely to end in death. Massachusetts must do much more to prevent gender-based violence, empower survivors, and hold people who hurt and prey on women accountable. Some who ask why people stay in abusive situations fail to see it from the victimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective, who may have very limited personal resources and no extended family support system. These situations can be exacerbated by economic abuse, which can disempower and trap survivors in abusive and unsafe situations. The absence of adequate support services, or the difficulty accessing those services amplifies the potential impact of such abuse. To create safe and just communities, we must take a comprehensive look at our civil and criminal systems' response to the endemic sexual harassment and assault women suffer in our workplaces and campuses, increase access to shelters and affordable housing for domestic violence victims and survivors of sexual assault, and prevent and address elder abuse. We must train law enforcement and social service providers to recognize and respond to all forms of abuse, and to take responsible action to keep guns out of the hands of abusers. We must develop public safety policies and practices that engender trust in all communities, and for all populations, including LGBTQ+ individuals, recent immigrants, and women of color.37

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

It is impossible to address women’s equality issues without acknowledging the intersectional nature of the issues. The policies covered below address criminal justice matters, mental health, gun violence, immigration policies and more. A. Pursue Comprehensive Reforms of Our Criminal and Civil Justice Systems to Address Gender Violence and Child Abuse; Ensure Enforcement Does Not Target People of Color As governor, I will: §

Update our state sexual assault criminal statutes to eliminate outdated definitions and rape myths.

End statutes of limitations for rape and sexual assault.

Allow judges to order permanent sexual assault protection orders

Establish civil and criminal remedies for victims of non-consensual pornography.

Allow victims of domestic violence to terminate cell phone contracts without penalty.

Keep abortion patients and providers safe by working with law enforcement to provide training, information, resources, and accountability to ensure safety for all those who work in or access clinics.

Require law enforcement to promptly complete the “certificate of helpfulness” needed to qualify for U-visas or T-visas to remain in the U.S. as immigrant survivors of domestic violence and trafficking.38

B. Protect and Empower Survivors of Sexual Harassment and Assault at School and on Campus As governor, I will: §

Work to pass legislation to require that all public and private Massachusetts colleges and universities conduct anonymous sexual assault climate surveys and establish a task force to analyze the survey data, publish findings, and act upon them.39

Work to pass legislation that will strengthen campus policy against gender-based violence, make Obama’s Title IX guidance on campus sexual assault response (rescinded by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos) state law, and improve prevention programming and resources for student survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking.40

Require colleges and universities to adopt affirmative consent standards for sexual violence complaints. 18

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

Support the Healthy Youth Act to ensure sex education in our public schools addresses consent, healthy relationships, and dating violence.

Promote anti-bullying, sexual harassment, and bystander training for all students in our state.

C. Improve Education, Prevention and Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence As governor, I will: §

Invest in and scale up effective school and community-based prevention programs and strategies currently offered by Massachusetts advocates and service providers.41

Increase funding for community-based, culturally-specific domestic violence and rape crisis programs.

Increase funding for shelters, and transitional and affordable housing for survivors of domestic violence.

Protect and expand mental health funding for survivors of domestic violence and their children.

Fund and streamline access to the infrastructure of resources survivors need to recover and rebuild their lives, including public benefits, housing, healthcare, childcare, job training, and employment.

D. Keep Guns Out of the Hands of Domestic Abusers by Allowing for Extreme Risk Protection Orders (also known as Red Flag Orders) As governor, I will: §

Support the “Red Flag” bill creating Extreme Risk Protection Orders requiring domestic abusers and others threatening violence to surrender guns and not be able to buy, sell, or possess firearms for up to a year.

Require surrender of guns and ammunition after conviction of a domestic violence misdemeanor.

Require law enforcement responding to domestic violence incidents to remove all firearms and ammunition in the abuser’s possession, to be kept permanently, sold at public auction, or destroyed.42

Prohibit persons subject to a restraining or protection order from possessing firearms or ammunition.43

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

Support S1298, Senator Cynthia Creem’s bill to establish a Firearms Violence Prevention Trust Fund, to receive revenues from a surcharge on retail sales of guns and ammunition, which would fund an annual municipal grant program to support municipal violence prevention programs

Support a Massachusetts state-level version of U.S. Senator Patty Murray’s (D-WA) S2043 Security and Financial Empowerment Act of 2017 to promote the economic security and safety of survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, by eliminating obstacles to maintaining employment faced by intimate partner violence survivors

Require reporting of domestic violence offenders to databases used for firearm background checks.

Establish a statewide notification system to alert anyone with a protection order for stalking, domestic violence, or sexual assault about an attempted gun purchase by their assailant.44

E. Prohibit Inhumane and Predatory Treatment of Incarcerated Women As governor, I will: §

Pass the bill to Promote Humane Conditions of Confinement to ensure that no woman who is pregnant, postpartum, or who has recently had a miscarriage or abortion can be held in segregation, isolated from the general prison population.

Work with advocates, legislators, and the Department of Corrections to stop male guards’ abuse of power; identify need for reforms to end strip searching, videotaping, and other abusive practices.

F. Make State Government Workplaces Safe from Sexual Harassment and Assault45 We must address the rampant sexual harassment and sexual assault exposed by the #MeToo movement. Our success in addressing these issues will depend on the next governor working closely, from Day One, with advocates for women's rights, workers' rights, criminal justice reform, public health, and other experts. Working together, we can identify what change is needed and how best the governor can lead to make sure Massachusetts is at the forefront in the United States in making workplaces, campuses, and community spaces safe for all women. As governor, I will: §

Create consistent policies, training, reporting, and penalties across Senate, House, Executive branches.

Ensure all are protected and covered including interns, lobbyists, staff, state officials, and community members.

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

Create a centralized state office for harassment complaints by anyone (government employees, lobbyists, etc.) interacting with staff or government officials in the State House.

Establish multiple pathways (e.g., phone, email, anonymous crime tip box) for victims to report incidents and mandated training for staff so they are aware of the process.

Prohibit non-disclosure agreements at the State House.46

Achieving Leadership Parity Leadership in the Commonwealth should reflect the diversity of our communities. Yet, persistent gender and racial disparities remain within city and state administrations, as well as on corporate boards, with women holding only 23.1% of the seats on boards of Fortune 1000 public companies in Massachusetts.47 To achieve leadership parity - and take meaningful action in response to the #MeToo revelations about male-dominated work cultures - Massachusetts officials should appoint women, particularly women of color and other under-represented communities, to all public positions at every level in proportion to their representation in the general population, which is nearly 52% female. By their example, policy, and public prodding, officials should also strive to advance parity on corporate boards, in science, and in academia. A. Model Gender Parity in the Cabinet and Agency Leadership As governor, I will: §

Empower the state and regional Commissions on the Status of Women to partner with the Governor’s office.

Design and launch a comprehensive gender parity initiative throughout state government.

B. Assess State Policies on Recruitment, Hiring, Retention, Promotion, Testing, and Evaluation to Identify Disparate Treatment of Women As governor, I will: §

Ask all state agencies on Day One to do Gender Parity reports in preparation for an executive order.

Address unconscious bias in recruitment, supervision, and evaluation.

Develop Robust Gender Metrics and Accountability Systems for Building Gender Parity and an Inclusive Workplace Culture in State Government and the UMass System.

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

C. Create Incentives to Advance Gender Parity in the Private Sector As governor, I will: §

Join with major shareholders and investors to press companies in which they have ownership to address women’s equality and gender justice issues, including pressing them to comply with the international best practices for disclosure contained in the Global Reporting Initiative.

Add gender parity to the list of factors considered when awarding state contracts to the private sector.

III.

SUMMARY: MASSACHUSETTS SHOULD SET THE STANDARD FOR WOMEN’S EQUALITY AND GENDER JUSTICE

The women’s’ suffrage movement – women seeking the right to vote in the United States – officially began 170 years ago in Seneca Falls, New York, at the historic conference in July 1848. It took 72 years to win women’s right to vote, with the passing of the nineteenth amendment in 1920. The year 2020 will mark the hundredth anniversary of that achievement and as governor I will launch a major statewide celebration of that milestone. I also will remind us that there remains much to be done in achieving women’s equality and gender justice in our Commonwealth. During my first two years as governor, I intend to bring us together and to move us much closer to our remaining goals. Unlike our current governor, who refused to attend the Women’s March in 2017 or in 2018, I will stand proudly with those fighting for Women’s Equality and Gender Justice. I will commit the resources and personal energy needed to achieve the goals above. The inauguration of a new governor on January 8, 2019 – who stands in full support of the dreams articulated at Seneca Falls, and who wishes to honor and support the courage and tenacity of so many leaders in the fight for gender rights – can mark the beginning of a bold new chapter in this battle. With your help, we will expand and achieve these long-held dreams – together.

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice

ENDNOTES 1 Note that the framework for this policy is built on the Agenda for Women’s Equality Coalition statement

published in 2014. That coalition included the following organizations: Action for Boston Community Development, American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, AAUW-MA, Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Bristol County Commission on the Status of Women, Boston GLOW, Casa Myrna, DOVE (Domestic Violence Ended), Inc., Essex County Commission on the Status of Women Health Care for All Hollaback! Boston Jane Doe Inc., Massachusetts Chapter of the National Organization for Women, Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, Roxbury Youthworks, Inc., The Women’s Center, Women’s Bar Association, YWCA Boston, YWCA North Shore Rape Crisis Center, and YWCA of Central Massachusetts. 2 https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/12/06/survey-finds-state-homeless-population-down-percentfrom/hr6n3q62GitCIDiXbNqYBJ/story.html 3 https://www.americashealthrankings.org/learn/reports/2016-health-of-women-and-childrenreport/state-summaries-massachusetts 4 http://www.wageproject.org/files/costs.php 5 https://statusofwomendata.org/explore-the-data/employment-and-earnings/employment-andearnings/ 6 Note: Data reflect the difference between the median annual earnings of women and men who worked full-time, year-round each year. Source: IWPR analysis of data from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Version 3.0). 7 https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/state-and-localupdates/pages/massachusetts-pay-equity-law.aspx 8 http://www.fordharrison.com/massachusetts-pregnant-workers-fairness-act-takes-effect-april-1-2018 9 Modeled on Federal SAFE Act proposed by Patty Murray and Lucille Roybal-Allard: https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/mobile/newsreleases?ID=4B26BA5C-F0AB-46E7BC48-E41F55C874CE 10 Mass. Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA) prohibits discrimination based on sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation (MA Gen. Laws Ch. 151B Sec. 1et seq.) and defines "gender identity" as a person's gender-related identity, appearance, or behavior, regardless of whether it is different from the person's physiology or assigned sex at birth. FEPA covers all public employers and private employers with six or more employees and expressly prohibits sexual harassment of employees. 11 https://www.mauragreene-law.com/sexual-harassment-laws-need-to-change/ 12 http://www.eagletribune.com/news/lawmakers-seek-ban-on-non-disclosureagreements/article_7a3a2ec2-1bcd-11e8-badf-d79dfd1d7a87.html 13 https://www.alternet.org/labor/women-are-majority-minimum-wage-workers-every-state-except-5 14 Model: Delaware Gov. John Carney signed a bill into law that makes Delaware one of few states to end the cash bail process. “You have poor people who pose no risk of flight or no risk to the community incarcerated on a full-time basis before trial,” said Sen. Bryan Townsend, who co-sponsored the bill. Delaware joins states including Arizona, New Mexico, Maryland, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia that have removed cash bail. 15 https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/02/the-more-gender-equality-the-fewerwomen-in-stem/553592/ 16 NY model: in 2017, Governor Cuomo directed the Department of Labor to launch a gender wage gap study to review the causes, scope and economic impact of the gender pay gap in New York State, DOL held hearings and stakeholder discussions across the State and solicited testimony from a diverse array of academic experts, women’s groups, workers, business owners and the public. In 2018, the DOL will unveil the results of their analysis, as well as a comprehensive suite of policy recommendations to help close the gap. 17 The Wage Project, http://www.wageproject.org/files/why.php 18 http://www.cjpc.org/uploads/1/0/4/9/104972649/koutoujian-middlesex-county.pdf 19 https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Paid_Family_and_Medical_Leave_Initiative_(2018) 23

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice 20 Massachusetts has some of the highest infant care costs in the country, ranking among the lowest 10

states for access to affordable infant care. https://www.americashealthrankings.org/learn/reports/2016-health-of-women-and-childrenreport/state-summaries-massachusetts 21 https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2017/06/23/should-massachusetts-liftfamily-cap-welfare-benefits/kKT0M3c884FwoBBQIvf8FP/story.html; Because of this “family cap” on welfare, the Commonwealth fails to provide benefits to 9,000 children living in poverty. Massachusetts is now only one of 17 states — including Arkansas, Mississippi, and North Carolina – that still have a cap. 22 https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/state-facts-publicly-funded-family-planning-servicesmassachusetts 23http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/11/massachusetts_gov_charlie_baker_signs_law_gu aranteeing_birth_control_without_copays.html 24 H.2960/ S.2296 protects the privacy of Massachusetts residents receiving health insurance as dependents on the plan of a parent or spouse by ensuring that EOBs are sent directly to the patient and that each patient can choose to receive her EOB at an alternate address or electronically. It requires that EOBs include only generic information when sensitive care is received, and guarantees that EOBs are not sent for preventive health services with no cost sharing (such as an STI test or a domestic violence counseling session). 25 http://fenwayhealth.org/governor-baker-signs-patch-act-for-patient-confidentiality-into-law/ 26 The “Act Negating Archaic Statutes Targeting Young Women” (S 2260) will repeal out-of-date, unenforced, and unconstitutional abortion and contraception restrictions still on the books in Massachusetts, including an 1800’s ban on all abortions and a ban on contraception use for unmarried couples. https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/boston/archaic-abortion-laws-repealed-mass-senatenasty-women-act 27 https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section12S 28 https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/state-facts-publicly-funded-family-planning-servicesmassachusetts 29 https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/H622 30 https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/07/ng/pregnancy-mortality-report-2000-2007.pdf @ p 21 31 WA State HB 2016 passed 2018: Doula and Midwife Services for Incarcerated Pregnant People: Requires jails and the Department of Corrections to make reasonable accommodations for the provision of doula and midwifery services to incarcerated people who are pregnant or who have recently given birth. 32 According to the National Intimate Partner Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) in 2010: • • •

Nearly 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men in Massachusetts have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner (lifetime prevalence). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender32 people experience such violence at the same or higher levels; communities of color are disproportionately impacted.

People who have experienced these forms of violence are more likely to report frequent headaches, chronic pain, difficulty sleeping, activity limitations, poor physical health and poor mental health than those who do not. • Nearly 81% of women who experienced these forms of violence reported significant short- or longterm impacts such as physical injury or PTSD. 33 NY A1748 codifies Roe v. Wade as NY state law and repeals outdated abortion laws still on books: https://rewire.news/legislative-tracker/law/new-york-reproductive-health-act-1748/ 34 WA State Reproductive Parity Act SB 6219, passed 2018, requires health plans to provide contraceptive, sterilization, and associated procedures (including removal) with no cost-sharing. Requires health plans that cover maternity care to cover abortion. Includes a non-discrimination section that expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Requires governor's interagency coordinating council to conduct a literature review on health disparities and barriers to access for people based on socioeconomic status, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, geography, and "other factors", and to make a report with recommendations to the governor and the legislature by Jan 1, 2019. 24

Our Common Future: Women’s Equality and Gender Justice 35 OR Reproductive Health Equity Act, passed 2017, 36 SiX’s Reproductive Freedom Leadership Council is a first-of-its-kind cohort of state legislators

committed to declaring and developing their leadership on issues of reproductive rights, health, and justice. Mass state reps who have signed on to date: Senator Mike Barrett; Rep. Patricia Haddad, Rep. Natalie Higgins, Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis, David Linksy; Senator Barbara L’Italien, Rep. Alice Peisch: https://stateinnovation.org/issue/reproductive-rights/ 37 http://www.janedoe.org/site/assets/docs/Policy_Legislation/L1_double_2017_legislative_Agenda_hand out_3-1-18.pdf 38 https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/u-visas-crime-victims-assisting-law-enforcement-who-iseligible.html 39 MA H 2998 An Act Creating a Sexual Assault Climate Survey for Mass Colleges and Universities 40 MA S.2203 An Act Relative to Sexual Violence on Higher Education Campuses; http://www.janedoe.org/site/assets/docs/Policy_Legislation/R5_single_Campus_Sexual_Assault_Fact_Sh eet_3-1-18.pdf 41Jane Doe, Inc. (Boston) prevention initiatives, white ribbon campaigns and reimagine manhood: http://www.janedoe.org/whats_happening/policy_action/Joint_Committee_on_Public_Health_and_the_W omens_Caucus_hearing_on_Domestic_Violence_as_a_Public_Heal; Safe Passage (Northampton) prevention initiative, Say Something: http://www.saysomethingnow.org/ 42 From Gifford Law Center citing strongest state models from CA, OH, NH 43 CA model: A person subject to any one of the following types of court orders is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition: • A domestic violence protective order whether issued ex parte, after notice and hearing, or in a judgment. • A temporary restraining order issued to a victim of harassment. • A temporary restraining order issued to an employer on behalf of an employee. • A temporary restraining order issued to a postsecondary educational institution on behalf of a student. • A protective order for an elderly or dependent adult who has suffered abuse, provided the abuse was not solely financial; • An emergency protective order related to stalking • A protective order relating to a crime of domestic violence or the intimidation or dissuasion of victim or witness. 44 WA State model 45 http://www.wbur.org/news/2017/10/30/beacon-hill-reps-press-action: “The co-chairs of the Women's Caucus Sexual Assault Working Group - Reps. Lori Ehrlich of Marblehead and Tricia FarleyBouvier of Pittsfield - are calling for immediate implementation of a five-step action plan that includes mandatory sexual harassment training for all state employees and an anonymous survey to gauge the level of harassment within the State House. ‘In the male-dominated field of politics it is especially important that everyone feels safe from harassment and inappropriate use of power. We have further steps that should be taken to make the Massachusetts State House a model workplace for all,’ Ehrlich and Farley-Bouvier said. With 51 women and 145 men currently in office, women account for about a quarter of the Legislature's membership. There are 12 women in the 40-seat Senate, and 39 in the 160-seat House. 46 http://www.lowellsun.com/todaysheadlines/ci_31739475/lawmaker-end-use-nondisclosureagreements-at-statehouse; http://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2018/03/20/diana-dizoglio-harassment 47 https://www.2020wob.com/companies/2020-gender-diversity-index

Massie Administration Plan for Women’s Equality and Gender Justice 1. SECURE ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND EQUALITY • • • • • •

2. STRENGTHEN FAMILIES • Promote additional family-friendly workplace policies and eliminate the motherhood penalty • Increase supports across the continuum of pregnancy, birthing, post-partum, maternal health, and parenting • Elevate caregiving work with training, certification and wage increases to strengthen supports for family caregivers • Protect and strengthen the safety net programs that women and families depend on • Protect and empower vulnerable Massachusetts families threatened by broken immigration, criminal justice, and substance abuse policies • Protect support for marriage equality and for LGBTQ+ rights in Massachusetts • Launch a statewide outreach effort to strengthen families through a guarantee of rights that support health and well-being and provision of adequate services

3. ENSURE HEALTH EQUITY • A dvance comprehensive affordable care that addresses women’s lifelong health needs, from reproductive and maternal health to long-term care • Strengthen and streamline our healthcare delivery system to improve access for all women and their families • Eliminate barriers to healthcare for women of color, immigrant women, older women, low-income women, women with disabilities, rural women, survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and incarcerated women • End the criminalization of substance use disorders and invest in long-term, community-based treatment, especially targeting opioid abuse • Address gender-based violence as a public health epidemic

4. BUILD SAFE AND JUST COMMUNITIES • P ursue comprehensive reforms of our criminal and civil justice systems to address gender violence and child abuse; ensure enforcement does not target people of color • Protect and empower survivors of sexual harassment and assault at school and on campus • Improve education, prevention and services for survivors of domestic violence • Keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers by allowing for “Extreme Risk Protection Orders” • Prohibit inhumane and predatory treatment of incarcerated women • Make state government workplaces safe from sexual harassment and assault

5. ACHIEVE LEADERSHIP PARITY • Model gender parity in the cabinet and agency leadership • Assess state policies on recruitment, hiring, retention, promotion, testing, and evaluation to identify disparate treatment of women and develop gender metrics and accountability systems • Create incentives to advance gender parity in the private sector