Speaking of Gender Equity Vermont Commission on Women

The fifth in a series of (Un)Equal Pay podcasts from the Vermont Commission on Women (VCW), this conversation features Marita Canedo, the Milk with Dignity Program Coordinator at Migrant Justice; Amanda Garcés, the Director of Policy, Education and Outreach at Vermont Human Rights Commission; and Drea Tremols, business owner of Soul Vibration Massage Therapy.

The guests contribute not only personal experience and reflection to this discussion but perspective from their work in justice, healing, and equity. The conversation is introduced by VCW Executive Director Cary Brown and moderated by VCW Co-chair Lisa Senecal.

Based on median earnings for full-time, year-round workers, Latina women are paid 57 cents for every dollar paid to white non-Hispanic men. Latina Equal Pay Day fell on October 21st in 2021, a symbolic day illustrating the point into the current year, an extra 10 months, to which Latina women must work to earn as much money as white non-Hispanic men made in the year before, due to the gender wage gap. While they are the group with the largest wage gap, they are far from monolithic. They are from a myriad of cultures and identities and can be of any race.

VCW’s (Un)Equal Pay podcast series examines the ways sexism, racism, homophobia, and ableism intersect, creating much larger wage gaps for women of color, women living with disabilities, and members of our LGBTQ+ community.

Sarah Launderville, Executive Director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living, moderates this dialogue with guests Deborah Lisi-Baker, Winnie Looby, Cara Sachs, and Laura Siegel in this fourth podcast in the Vermont Commission on Women’s Equal Pay Day series.

Introduced by VCW's Executive Director Cary Brown, this episode explores equity and employment through the lens of women with disabilities. In addition to sharing personal experiences, each of these women are making significant professional contributions to disability rights in Vermont and bring that expertise to this discussion:

Deborah Lisi-Baker formerly of UVM’s Center for Disability and Community Inclusion and former Executive Director for the Vermont Center for Independent Living.

Winnie Looby, Ph.D. is a UVM faculty member at the Center on Disability and Community Inclusion in the College of Education and Social Services.

Cara Sachs is a Vermont Center for Independent Living Americans with Disabilities Act Advocate and a personal life coach.

Laura Siegel, MBA is the Vermont State Director of Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deafblind Services.

HB Lozito, the Executive Director of Out in the Open and Representative Taylor Small, the Pride Center of Vermont’s Director of Health & Wellness speak with Vermont Commission on Women (VCW) Commissioner Sarah Mell in this third podcast in the Vermont Commission on Women’s Equal Pay Day series.

This episode explores equity and the economic impacts of COVID-19 in our LGBTQ + community. It also considers additional impacts to those community members living with disabilities and BIPOC members. The conversation touched on rising costs, lack of internet access, and lack of transportation, concerns shared with so many Vermonters during this time. Solutions explored included wage transparency and workplaces that support self-care practices, uplift, and value their employees cultivating an environment of connection and trust.

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 is women's (un)Equal Pay Day, the day into the new year the average woman must work to catch up to the earnings the average man made in the pervious year. Based on median earnings for full-time, year-round workers, American women are paid 82 cents for every dollar paid to American men. This podcast conversation centers on the ways COVID-19 impacts decisions that women and their families are making. It touches on career choice and advancement, including occupational segregation. It explores the critical role of women as essential workers and as early care and education providers in keeping women in the workforce, while calling attention to how their worth is not reflected in earnings or status. Guests on this podcast include educator Lara Scott, the director of Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts (MOVE) at Saint Michael’s College, and Sarah MacDonald, assistant director and classroom educator at the Early Learning Center in Colchester. The conversation is introduced by VCW's executive director Cary Brown and moderated by VCW Commissioner Kellie Campbell, Chief Technology Officer at Vermont Tech and Chair of VCW’s Education and Human Development committee.

Tuesday, March 9th, 2021 is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women's (un)Equal Pay Day, signifying the date into this year that the average AAPI woman must work to catch up with what the average white non-Hispanic American man made in the previous year.

Lisa Senecal, Chair of the Vermont Commission on Women hosts this first episode of our new video podcast series. Lisa sat down with Bor Yang, Executive Director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, and Veramont State Senator Kesha Ram to discuss AAPI (un)Equal Pay Day, the impact of inequity, and their suggestions for change. Our Executive Director Cary Brown provides the introduction.