Women Planning For The 21st Century: Women Planners Unite	.
Irene Fanos, Ramona Mattix, Ramona Mullahey, Barbara Rahder	Author Info

Abstract

Introduction

Purpose of Sessions

These sessions are designed to evaluate women's status and the possibilities posed for planning as we near the start of the 21st century. The need for these sessions is based not only on the fact that women are more likely to work outside the home today than in the past, but that they also spend more time at work than did women in earlier years. Women have increasingly opted to work both full time and year round, partly due to economic necessity, but also due to movement into occupations that require full-time, year-round work. In fact, 18 percent of all families in the United States are single-parent families whose financial support is based on a woman's wages and the majority of these women are working full-time (U.S. DOL, 1996).

Background

The ratio of women's 1995 median weekly earnings to men's was 75.5 percent (U.S. DOL, 1996). Even in traditionally female occupations where women outnumber men, women still earn less than men. Also women are concentrated in lower paying occupations and have overall earnings about three-fourths of men. Employment and earnings rates rise with educational attainment for both females and males, but earnings are lower for females than for males with the same education.

The growing tendency of employers to provide child care benefits, flextime, and family leave policies can further strengthen women's opportunity to meet family responsibilities with fewer work interruptions. Data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) showed that for all men, only 1.6 percent of all potential work-years were spent away from work while for women workers, 14.7 percent of all potential work-years were spent away from paid work. Thus, women spend significantly more time away from work and are apparently unable to build the seniority that men achieve (U. S. DOL, 1993).

In addition, women outlive men by about 17 years. Along with an aging population, this has an impact on the conditions under which older women live which suggests the need for new strategies for providing a decent quality of life for poorer, older women.

This present scenario of life in America defines a situation where women are forced to operate in an environment that simply does not meet our changing needs. A new ideological debate where we reject conventional approaches and instead cite findings from our experiences and our research, and advance our notions for a more equitable treatment of men, women and children, will be the goal of these sessions (Justa, 1993).

The Sessions

Within our communities there are many issues that we resolve through personal solutions, what are they? In each community, the needs vary according to the types of households, the size of the population, the type of land use (urban, suburban, exurban), the modes of transportation, the type of health care, the availability of employment and child care but the solutions are embedded in our daily lives.

At the community level, there needs to be an analysis of several facts given the needs of women including: women's employment needs and the conflicts that women face between their obligations at home and their work schedules. According to the Department of Labor Women's Bureau, sex discrimination persists which means an awareness and strategy to support and protect individuals who unfortunately will experience this type of harassment; on health issues, the development of community-based primary care and the importance of involving communities in planning for primary care facilities; the location of community services; the need for affordable housing; and the design of accessible, convenient transportation systems.

What we have learned from the 1993 APA Women Planning for Change Conference is that women's problems can be addressed through organizing, raising consciousness and increasing opportunities to reverse discrimination. With sharing successes and developing strategies which offer streamlined processes to achieve solutions for overcoming obstacles, we can achieve victories and support for new approaches. This is what we can learn by listening to each other.

References:

Clarke, Una. 1993. Child Care: Improving the Quality, Quantity and Affordability. In Women Planning for Change Conference Proceedings by New York Metro Chapter's Planning and Women Committee, Fanos, I., Johnson, K. Alexander, K., Banks, L., Berry, G. M., Dolinsky, B., Goldberg, J., Friedman, E., Henderson, J. H., Jelks, S., McKnight, C., Regen, J., Siberio, M., Sulmers, M., Wekerle, G. R., & Yonder A. (eds.). American Planning Association New York City Metro Chapter. New York, New York.

Guggenheimer, Elenor. 1993. Legendary Women. In Women Planning for Change Conference Proceedings by New York Metro Chapter's Planning and Women Committee, Fanos, I., et al. (eds.). American Planning Association New York City Metro Chapter. New York, New York.

Justa, Francine. 1993. Legendary Women. In Women Planning for Change Conference Proceedings by New York Metro Chapter's Planning and Women Committee, Fanos, I., et al. (eds.). American Planning Association New York City Metro Chapter. New York, New York.

United States Census Bureau 1990 Census data.

United States Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) Women's Bureau (1993). Earnings Differences Between Women and Men, December.

United States Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) Women's Bureau (1996). Facts on Working Women, 20 Facts on Women Workers, September.