Research & reports:

Adoption report stresses protection for birthparents' rights

U.S. comes up short in new gender gap index
Plus: related articles

Politics & Public Policy:

Post-election euphoria, movement on the minimum wage, progress on same-sex unions in New Jersey, who's behind campaigns to kill affirmative action, more.

Work & family:

Update on FRD fight in Pennsylvania, opt-out reporting, women's wages, extreme jobs, more.

Mothering:

Notes on the Motherlode Conference

Reproduction of the rich and famous, breeding God's army, when assisted reproductive technology goes wrong, more.

Women's issues:

Why media matters, alpha girls, more.

Reproductive health & rights:

When assisted reproductive technology goes wrong, states say no to abstinence-only education funding, women missing in stem cell debate, more.

Adoption report stresses protection for birthparents' rights

A new report from the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute corrects misperceptions about the characteristics of women who place their infants for adoption and calls for greater legal protection for birthparents. The report, Safeguarding the Rights and Well-Being of Birthparents in the Adoption Process (November 2006), includes a number of important findings and recommendations, including the finding that more adoptions take place in the U.S. than is commonly perceived or reported. The Institute estimates that more than 135,000 U.S. adoptions take place each year, with between 13,000 and 14,000 involving babies who are voluntarily relinquished by parents domestically.

"Adoption's history of secrecy has left us with too little accurate information with which to shape the most ethical and humane laws, policies and practices," said Adam Pertman, the Executive Director of the Adoption Institute in a November 19 press release. "With this project, we have set out to change that reality and, we hope, to instigate improvements in the lives of millions of people."

Although the research on adoption is incomplete -- the report notes that there are "no current studies that have examined a representative sample of women (or men) choosing to place their children for adoption today" -- the Institute concludes that women who place their infants for adoption are likely to be in their twenties and to have completed high school; many have other children. Contrary to outdated stereotypes of birthmothers as women "who crave anonymity and oppose contact by children placed for adoption," most birthmothers want, at a minimum, to receive information about their children and many desire ongoing contact.

The report also concludes that laws in most states do not protect birthparents' right to be fully informed of their legal rights and options at all points in the adoption process, or ensure the enforceability of private adoption contracts. The Institute also recommends modifying state laws on the timing of relinquishment and revocation so that birthparents have "several weeks" before the decision to place a child for adoption becomes final, and stresses more aggressive protection of birthfathers' rights in the adoption process, including better systems of reporting and notification. Finally, the report emphasizes the need for further research on birthparents' needs and preferences and a "broader array of post-adoption services" for birthparents, including counseling or mediation services to facilitate open-adoption arrangements.

The full report, which includes a summary of current research on adoption and the well-being of birthparents, is available from the Institute's web site.

Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
www.adoptioninstitute.org

Major New Report on Birthparents Finds Flawed Stereotypes, Practices
Press Release, 19.nov.06

Safeguarding the Rights and Well-Being of Birthparents in the Adoption Process
Susan Smith, Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, November 2006
Executive Summary
Full Report, 68 pages in .pdf

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U.S. comes up short in new gender gap index

A new analysis of gender inequality in 115 countries ranks the Unites States in 22nd place -- behind Canada (15), Australia(14), and nearly every country in Western Europe. The report, published by the World Economic Forum, uses new methodology to measure gaps in men's and women's outcomes in economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival indicators, and political empowerment. While no county in the world has managed to eliminate the gender gap, the Nordic countries have made the most progress, with Sweden having closed 80 percent of its gender gap. The ten countries with the smallest gender gap are Sweden (1), Norway (2), Finland (3), Iceland (4), Germany (5), the Philippines (6), New Zealand (7), Denmark (8), the United Kingdom (9) and Ireland (10).

Although the United States ranked in the top ten on measurements of economic participation and health indicators, the nation lost ground on gender gaps in educational attainment (65) and political empowerment (66); among global economic leaders, only Italy and Japan a had lower ranking in women's representation in political leadership.

Unlike a similar analysis conducted in 2005, the 2006 Gender Gap Index does not include maternity leave policies or access to government-provided childcare in key gender equity measurements, although information on childcare, maternity leave benefits and other indicators of women's wellbeing and access to opportunity are included in the detailed country profiles.

There are other caveats on the conclusiveness of the Index rankings. Since the study does not measure cultural factors, it is impossible to know how ideological constructions of male and female difference continue to impact women's security and social inclusion, even in countries with the smallest gender gaps according to technical measurements. But the critical missing variable in the new index -- possibly because no consistent cross-national data exists for a comparison -- is the gender gap in time spent on unpaid caregiving and household work.

The Global Gender Gap Report 2006 covers all current and candidate European Union countries, 20 from Latin America and the Caribbean, over 20 from sub-Saharan Africa and 10 from the Arab world. Together, the 115 economies cover over 90 percent of the world’s population.

World Economic Forum
www.weforum.org

The Global Gender Gap Report 2006
Index page with links to press release, report highlights, an interview with co-author Saadia Zahidi and related resources

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Related articles:

U.N. Women Primed for Stronger, Central Agency
Bojana Stoparic, Women's eNews, 24.nov.06
A U.N. report urges the creation of a single women's agency with higher standing. The study follows another U.N. report on global violence that may spur the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign starting Nov. 25.

Thanksgiving Tastes Sweet and Sour to U.S. Women
By Peggy Drexler, Women's eNews, 22.nov.06
With a Madame Speaker of the House arriving in the New Year, women have a political horn of plenty to enjoy this Thanksgiving. Peggy Drexler says Tuesday's Global Gender Gap report shows how far U.S. women still have to go.

Failure to Thrive
Judith Stadtman Tucker, The Huffington Post, 20.nov.06
"This month's election was an unmistakable signal that the voters across America, and especially in New Hampshire, are ready for a new direction in government. But let's be clear: the welfare of women and working families really isn't at the top of the agenda. And if we want to put key family and economic justice issues on the political map for 2008, we've got a lot of educating and organizing to do. The good news is that it may finally be possible to get lawmakers to comprehend the urgency of these issues."

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Post-election euphoria, movement on the minimum wage,
progress on same-sex unions in NJ, who's behind campaigns to kill affirmative action, more.

Women's Rights Advocates Cheer New Speaker's Agenda
Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy, 13.nov.06
"Feminists continue to celebrate the results of the 2006 midterm elections and recognize the hard work and resolve that brought many new women's rights supporters to Congress. As much as we enjoy a good celebration, it's not too soon to ask: What next?"

San Francisco Voters Pass Paid Sick Days Measure,
Paving the Way for Change the Country Urgently Needs
Debra L. Ness, National Partnership for Women & Families, 8.nov.06
Press statement. "This first-of- its-kind measure is critically important, with San Francisco now poised to lead the way in demonstrating that a minimum standard of paid sick days makes sense for businesses, families and communities. Paid sick days are the next frontier in the work to make America’s workplaces more famil- friendly." 2 pages, in .pdf

Paid sick leave may be next big cause
Christian Zappone, CNNMoney.com, 17.nov.06
National movement gets lift after San Francisco passes ordinance mandating leave to all workers.

Minimum wage trends:
Understanding past and contemporary research
Liana Fox, Economic Policy Institute, 25.oct.06
"There is a growing view among economists that the minimum wage offers substantial benefits to low-wage workers without negative effect. Although there are still dissenters, the best recent research has shown that the job loss reported in earlier analyses does not, in fact, occur when the minimum wage is increased. There is little question that the overall impact of a minimum wage is positive." EPI Briefing Paper 178, also available in .pdf.

Growing the Minimum Wage
Peter Dreier, TomPaine.com, 27.nov.06
"With the Democrats now in a stronger position in Congress, many union leaders and community groups want them to push not only to raise the federal minimum wage, but also to include a path-breaking cost of living adjustment, so that inflation doesn't continue to erode its purchasing power."