Women
While we have undoubtedly made great strides in the last 100 years, we must acknowledge that we still have a long way to go to fully realize the dream of equal opportunity for all women. This is particularly true in a state like Michigan, where women continue to make only 67 cents for every dollar that men earn; where our reproductive rights remain under constant attack; and where a ban on affirmative action endangers our access to education, health care, and job training programs. As a women’s rights activist and leader, and as state representative for the 53rd District, Rebekah remains committed to turning this tide in Lansing.
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Working with her colleagues, Rebekah has co-sponsored legislation that amends the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to ensure pay equity protections for all workers, regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, physique and marital status (House Bill 4625). Companion legislation also makes gender-based pay discrimination a misdemeanor and creates a Commission on Pay Equity in the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, comprised of state leaders and community and business representatives (House Bills 4626 and 4627). |
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In addition to sponsoring legislation to require all emergency rooms to promptly offer emergency contraception (EC) to survivors of sexual assault (House Bill 6048), Rebekah co-sponsored a package of bills to create the Sexual Assault Victims' Medical Forensic Intervention and Treatment Act and a corresponding fund. These bills provide a funding source that will increase the number of trained professionals and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) programs throughout the state, allowing us to better assist survivors of sexual assault and perform evidence gathering for the prosecution of these cases (House Bills 5054, 5055, 5556, and 5557). |
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Above all, Rebekah knows that women’s issues are everyone’s issues. As the primary caregivers of our children and our aging population, the chief consumers in our economy, and the gatekeepers of family health, women greatly impact the strength and wealth of our state. That’s why she has advocated tirelessly for legislation that advances equality, from House Bill 5261, which requires an employer to provide the same leave to an employee following the adoption of a child as they would following the birth of a child; to House Resolution 207, which urges Congress to enact federal legislation to prevent elder abuse; to House Bill 6226, which prohibits mandated leave for pregnant police officers and allows them to be placed on “light duty.” Throughout her second term, she will continue to promote a women’s agenda that benefits us all. |
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Proven Leadership |
Throughout the years Washtenaw County has been the exception to the troubling statewide decrease in female leadership, consistently capitalizing on our opportunity to elect strong women leaders who know the process, represent our values, and who at the same time offer a diverse perspective to the debate. Rebekah is proud to uphold this tradition and will stay committed to these priorities in her second term:
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Enforcing pay equity for men and women doing equivalent work. |
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Advocating for support programs for domestic violence survivors. |
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Promoting support programs for sexual assault survivors and forwarding legislation that would require emergency room staff to inform survivors about Emergency Contraception, or the “morning-after pill.” |
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Defending affirmative action programs, which help ensure women’s access to educational and employment opportunities. |
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Promoting measures that provide assistance and support to long-term care consumers and family caregivers, which are both largely women. |
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Protecting gender-specific health programs, such as breast, cervical, and prostate cancer screenings, sexually transmitted infections testing, breastfeeding promotion, and prenatal smoking cessation. |
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Working to ensure quality, affordable child care and early education programs so that women are not unnecessarily prohibited from employment. |
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Championing access to the full range of reproductive health care options. |
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