>

Center for Policy Alternatives
Women & the Economy Program
http://www.cfpa.org/

Contact Information:

1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 710
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202-387-6030
Fax: 202-387-8529
E-mail: info@cfpa.org


CENTER DESCRIPTION

The Women & the Economy Program is a component of the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a nonprofit, non-partisan, non-ideological organization working to build secure and healthy families; thriving, energized communities; sustainable development; a fair and flourishing economy; and an inclusive and participatory democracy. The Women & the Economy Program is committed to furthering the status of women in the public arena and focuses on a myriad of women's policy issues.

AREA(S) OF EXPERTISE


    Child care; economic and social status of women; entrepreneurship; pay equity; poverty; reproductive rights; welfare reform; work and family.

RECENT PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES

  • Dialogue with Women
    • Women's Voices. Through focus groups, state polls, and nationwide surveys with American women, CPA has highlighted the most pressing issues and concerns facing women today. These efforts have demonstrated the effectiveness of such a communications strategy in helping women hold their public officials accountable to their needs and concerns.

  • Entrepreneurship
    • Entrepreneurship Action Day: It's Our Business. On and around June 3, 1999, CPA coordinated a series of news events in Washington and other key cities to highlight the need for an entrepreneurship agenda that will encourage state leaders to invest in and commit to women's businesses. The national movement featured women leaders from diverse sectors.

  • Leadership and Leadership Development
    • 1999 Northern Ireland Political Leadership Opportunity for Women. In January 1999, CPA hosted a political leadership and development seminar for 20 women leaders from Northern Ireland. Experts in the field of fund-raising, media strategy, policy formulation, and campaign management were on hand during the week-long training and networking session.

      Women's Economic Leadership Summit. In April of 1997, CPA sponsored the Women's Economic Leadership Summit with the White House of Women's Initiatives and Outreach. The program produced a framework for a women-led agenda and generated recommendations in the areas of economic self?sufficiency; entrepreneurship; health and security; and family and work.

  • Socioeconomic Status of Women
    • Western Policy Leaders Forum (WPLF). The WPLF is committed to the creation of a network of innovative women leaders from Western states who will focus on developing policies that support women, communities, and families. WPLF focuses on goals and outcomes of public policy through roundtables and legislative strategy sessions. The 1998 forum included elected leaders and community activists from 14 states who identified the critical issues and strategies to building healthy communities and strong families.

      Women and the Economy Campaign. The mission of the campaign is to champion a new economic agenda that bridges race and class and enables women to become full participants in the economy. The campaign also advocates for the strengthening of women's leadership and the development of model policy approaches, such as better pay and advancement opportunities for women; adequate child and elder care; flexible and alternative work schedules; and a harassment-free business environment.

    PUBLICATIONS

  • Adolescents and Girls
    • Girls & Young Women: Cornerstone for the Future, video (1996).

  • Affirmative Action
    • Women's Leadership on Affirmative Action: Values, Economics and Opportunities (1998).

  • Child Care
    • Financing the Future: Innovations in Child Care Financing (1996).

      Child Care Loan Guarantee Act (1993).

      The Child Care Credit Crunch (1993).

      Investing in the Future: Child Care Financing Options for the Public and Private Sectors (1993).

      Child Care Loan Guarantee Funds (1993).

      Reinvesting in Child Care (1991).

  • Economic Literacy
        Dialogue with Women
    • America's Economic Agenda, Women's Voices for Solutions (1998).

      Women's Voices for the Economy '96 (1996).

      Women's Voices for the Economy '96, slides (1996).

      A Matter of Simple Justice (1996).

      Women's Voices for the Economy - 1995 (1995).

      Working Paper from Arlington Hill: The Women's Economic Summit (1992).

      Women's Voices: A Joint Project by CPA and the Ms. Foundation (1992).

  • Entrepreneurship
    • State of the States: Women & Entrepreneurship (1998).

      Women Entrepreneurs: The New Economic Champions (1995).

  • Employment Issues
    • Women at Work: Facts about the Working Women (1998)

      Working Women: More than time for New Approaches (1994)
  • Feminist Thought and Scholarship
    • Alternatives. Monthly newsletter provides updates on CPA activities and legislative issues.

      Women's Resource Directory (1994).
  • Politics
    • State of the States for Women & Politics (1995).

      Report on Women's State Agenda Projects (1994).
  • Reproductive Rights
    • State Report on Reproductive Choice (1994).

      Toward a Healthier Nation: A Reproductive Health Care Agenda (1993).
  • Socioeconomic Status of Women