State earns poor grades in report about status of women

A new report card on the status of Montana women gave the state a D- for women's job earnings and a D+ for social and economic autonomy.

"There's bad news, and then there's slightly bad news. There is no good news here," said Diane Sands, program director for the Women's Foundation of Montana.

Sands was in Kalispell Friday to review the report at a women's gathering organized by the local chapter of the American Association of University Women. She is also a member of the advisory committee for the Institute for Women's Policy Research, the national independent research group that conducted the study.

The report, "The Status of Women in Montana," probes women's issues in the state for the first time in about 20 years. It ranked Montana in five key areas: political participation, employment and earnings, social and economic autonomy, reproductive rights and health and well-being.

The most dismal statistic, Sands said, is the fact that Montana ranks the lowest of any state in women's median annual earnings, which in 2002 averaged $24,400 annually. That's about $6,000 below the national median. When compared with seven other states in the Mountain West region, Montana also ranks at the bottom of the regional comparison.

In Montana, women earn 73.5 percent of what men earn in the same occupation, and making it worse, men's earnings have declined, Sands said.

"Montana leads the nation in people holding more than one job," she said. "This is probably the biggest family-values problem we have, but we're like frogs in a pot of hot water. We've lived with these numbers for so long we've accepted them."

Many factors contribute to women's low economic status here, Sands said. The low proportion of women working in professional or managerial positions, and the facts that Montana women are the least likely to own a business and the most likely to live in poverty in the nation, are key contributors.

"In Montana, having a [college] degree doesn't correlate to adequate income," she added.

There's also the "princess complex" to consider, the notion that "someone else will take care of me," said one woman in the audience.

Sands agreed, noting her displeasure at a variety of recent movies for young girls with princess themes. "They still want to believe someone will rescue them in the end," she said.

The report gave Montana its highest grade, a B-, for health and well-being of women, and that's largely due to healthier lifestyles in western states than in urban areas, Sands said.

The state earned C grades for political participation and reproductive rights.

Montana should invest in stronger support programs with potential to improve women's status, the Institute for Women's Policy Research recommended. But just the opposite has happened, Sands pointed out. The Displaced Homemakers Network and Women's Economic Development Corp., two organizations that helped Montana women a few years ago, have disappeared, along with educational programs such as Expanding Your Horizons.

Also gone is the gender-equity specialist at the state Office of Public Instruction, and that means no one is tracking women's status in Montana with any depth or regularity, she added.

The study recommends increased investment in technological training opportunities for women, increasing minimum wages to living-wage levels and increasing access to education for all women, including American Indians. Another suggestion is to restore funding for welfare programs such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, to keep women and their families out of poverty.

Sands suggested women's advocates push for a statewide initiative that could address issues such as the minimum wage and child care.

The Institute also releases a national report on the status of women every two years; this year's report included a special focus on American Indian women.

"It's not a question of whether women get short-changed," said Institute president Heidi Hartmann in a prepared statement. "It's how badly they get short-changed, and that varies a lot from state to state."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com