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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWomens Commission - Minutes - 09/19/1994i MINUTES COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN SEPTEMBER 19, 1994 Present: Sue Cottingham, Carolyn Duff, Lu Fisk, JoAnn Ginal, Stevie Honaker, Doreen Kemp, Stephanie Lane, Diane Lathrop, Sally Miles, Laima Skuja, Lynne Warner Absent: Amy Beuschlein, Audrey Faulkner, Dana Hiatt, Chris Wood Staff Liaison: Sharon Roulier At this meeting members divided into groups to develop working statements for each area of the 1996 study. I. MISSION STATEMENT Group This group drafted the following mission statement: To gather and document current information on issues critical to the status and opportunities for women in the community and prepare a report with recommendations for POSITIVE change. II. GOALS AND AUDIENCES/USERS Group Following are this group's suggested goals: - Follow-up on 1986 report - Desegregate information by gender - Incorporate oral history - Incorporate stories with pictures - Identify topical issues "call it like it is" - Provide awareness and information (raw facts) - Do not simply tell people what they already know - Stick to Fort Collins area --identify issues unique to Fort Collins - Challenge stereotypes and assumptions about women's issues III. STRUCTURES FOR PARTICIPATION: 1) Neighborhood committees -Senior services -Larimer County Human Development -Church Groups -- Women's Clubs Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes September 19, 1994 Page 2 of 5 -Ethnic organizations -Youth Services 2) Forum -- open with a panel(s) on women's issues at the Lincoln Center or a City of Fort Collins facility. - Advertise in newspaper - Radio -- talk show - CSU - TV Channel 14 with members of the Women's Commission to talk about this project - Brown bag lunches at major co-sponsors/industries - CSU's Women at Noon series - Questionnaires at High schools, CSU, Women's Study Program, Companies (HP, NCR) - Gather and include any information available from co-sponsors. 3) Do interviews with service providers, and have them in turn do focus groups with their related groups. Discussion within entire Women's Commission Group: How do we include (not ignore) what the 1986 report said while still turning attention to and addressing current issues and areas of opportunity/concern. When the areas of focus/categories/sections of the new report are determined, how and where within the report document will the information relating to updates of old data and information relating to new/current data be integrated? Two possible suggestions are: 1. Maybe a preface at the beginning of the document to acknowledge and update the previous work. 2. Maybe a preface at the beginning of each section for this same purpose. We need to determine what the title should be. This will help to communicate the expectation of the report for users or interested individuals/groups. Example: The 1996 Study of the Status of Women -- A Ten Year Update (with the hope that the focus on the status of women will continue). The title needs to tie to the mission statement. The goals are very general, but are things the research person(s) can focus on and help to define more narrowly. 40 Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes September 19, 1994 Page 3 of 5 IV. AREAS OF CONCERN TO BE ADDRESSED [Note: There are many issues from the prior relevant. This group began by reviewing the the previous study and adding to it. This list. Until work begins on specific areas, group should narrow or expand the area, that to decide what needs to be looked at.] study which are still table of contents from is not an exhaustive they don't feel this s up to those involved This group identified the following areas of concern: Economic/Employment Issues: - FMLA, since this did not exist 10 years ago - How many women are getting City contracts for services - Open Space and how that's affecting the cultural and economic environment of Larimer County - Funding Availability, i.e. S.B.A., Norwest's special funding for women - Women in Management - Retirement Security - (ref. article which indicates women don't look at that until later in life) - Career Counseling - Pay equity - Comparable Worth - Poudre R1 as a general area - Recognition of "good" and "bad" businesses in town relative to women's issues - Growth issues in general - types of industry - Temporary services on the increase, ex. of Foley's not letting employees work full time, relative to benefits - General health area Educational Issues: - Front Range Community College - Women's Center - career training, resume training - Legal education issues provided by the Bar Association. Example: getting own divorce, going after child support - Funding, financial aid scholarships, grants - Cultural/diversity issues --example: number of Hispanic girls dropping out "Even Start" Program - Literacy program - adults Job Opportunities: - Percentage of employers who provide health care insurance and the number of uncovered families in Larimer County - Holistic alternatives - Hospice care Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes September 19, 1994 Page 4 of 5 - Cultural language barriers. Possibility of putting Spanish speaking persons in with Drs. to help explain problems - Preventive care - Eligibility for Social Security Benefits - Department of Social Services -- what's offered and eligibility - Counseling - Senior Center - Care -a -van - Heart attacks -- mammograms Family issues: - Cost of living - Homeless - Food Distribution Center - Transportation - Cultural diversity - Housing aspect of how people treated Legal and Governmental issues - Judicial gender bias --no women on the bench (with exception of municipal judge) The discussion then changed to next steps and logistics of the project, including: - who will be sponsors for this project. - who will be the outside facilitator (s) /researchers/ compilers for this project - how do we develop the raw data obtained into goals and objectives - how do we want to organize this data, this project . +could provide a list of headings to be prioritized +many issues overlap ex. elderly relates to transportation, economic - who will want to access/utilize the information from our report, how will they want to use it --for what purposes, we will want to gain a better understanding of this. The following suggestions were made: 1) Let's not send the person(s) who will do the work out with limiting or specific direction from the Commission. We anticipate this person(s) will come up with a number of ideas we may not think about until some research has been done. Commission on the Status of Women Monthly Meeting Minutes September 19, 1994 Page 5 of 5 2) We need to identify an individuals) who knows how to guide our process or a can make recommendations about our research methodology and about how we can narrow the possible areas of focus in to categories. 3) Whoever will be involved should start meeting with us as soon as possible in order to hear our thinking and have opportunities to make input before we become too concrete in our thinking. The group discussed Carol Plock and Karen Wedge as possible resources. It was suggested that we should begin with Carol, due to her letter to the Commission. It was felt that Carol has lots of resources and knowledge, and may know of other resources. Doreen Kemp will contact Carol Plock and invite her to the next meeting to get her input. OTHER BUSINESS: The question of "excused" vs "unexcused" absences from commission meetings was raised --what is considered to be an "excused" absence. Sharon Roulier will obtain a more clear definition and report back at the next meeting. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.