What Women Want

In the spirit of full disclosure I must confess that I adore Martha Burk. She's smart, has spunk, and is a wonderful mentor and role model for women and girls. Her southern drawl can be disarming, but when she is on a mission -- look out!

Here is a recent article, leading up to the elections.

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What Women Want

Martha Burk
October 24, 2006

Martha Burk is a political psychologist and director of the Corporate Accountability Project for the National Council of Women's Organizations.

Democrats are slavering at their prospects on November 7, when, barring Osama coming out of the freezer on November 6 or another attack on American soil -- real or imagined -- they will take control of the House of Representatives. Voters are more irate than ever with Congress -- latest polls give it a 16 percent approval rating -- so they may turn out in record numbers for an off-year election. Women comprise a majority of registered voters, so should figure prominently in that turnout. That's good news for the Democrats, and it could be good news on a number of ballot initiatives around the country that will affect women's lives more fundamentally and more immediately than which party ekes out a slim majority on Capitol Hill.

The Republican Senate played games with the minimum wage right before they recessed to go home and face the voters. Tying an increase to yet another tax giveaway for the rich, the measure was defeated, but the vote will still allow for some grandstanding on the campaign trail. According to an analysis in the fall issue of Ms. magazine, voters aren't going to wait for a rerun in the new Congress. Proposed increases in the minimum wage are on the ballot in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Ohio. Since adult women are the majority of minimum wage workers, they're likely to pull the "yes" lever. (Even the Governator knows the power of the female vote. Having ticked off the state's nurses a couple of years ago, he just signed an increase in California's minimum wage in anticipation of November 7.)
(full story)