NASW applauds President Obama for appointing Julia Pierson as Director of the United States Secret Service (USSS). This is a milestone for women and the USSS as Ms. Person is the first woman in the agency’s nearly 150 year history to hold the top leadership position. In January, NASW expressed concern with the change in direction the President was taking on appointing women, of all ethnicities, to Cabinet positions... 

“If members of our military can meet the qualifications for a job, then they should have the right to serve, regardless of creed, color, gender or sexual orientation,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) applauds the decision of the Department of Defense to lift the ban on women in direct combat roles, setting a historic precedent and opening up more than 230,000 positions... 

In 2009, NASW was pleased to see President Obama build a diverse Cabinet and even participated as a co-sponsor in the celebration of Women Appointees of the Obama Administration. Conversely, since returning from the holidays the President has made four high level appointments all of which are white men. With the departures of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, and Administrator of the... 

The National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) has created a petition asking Congress to allow them to build on the National Mall. Established in 1996, NWHM has not been able to establish a permanent physical site— to some extent due to Congressional inaction. NWHM has been petitioning for the right to build on the Mall since 2003, and with only one vacant site remaining at the Mall, it is urgent that Congress act now.... 

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Just in time for Social Security’s 77th anniversary, the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) released an animated, four-minute video that explains the basics about Social Security, including its purpose, who pays for it, who gets it, and what it means to seniors, working families, and children now and in the future.  “This video is a valuable tool to share with friends, neighbors, co-workers... 

While women constitute 51 percent of the population of the United States, they experience disparate treatment.  There continues to be a gender gap in earnings between men and women.  Household income varies dramatically and women, and women-headed households, are more likely to live in poverty.  Social work is a female-majority profession and women are the majority of clients served by the profession.  Social workers... 

April 17 is Equal Pay Day. That date marks the amount of time women must work each year before their pay catches up with men’s compensation for the same job. The signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Act in 2009 helped, as that legislation provided victims of discrimination a broader timeframe in which to seek legal remedies. However, it did not actually require the pay gap to be narrowed or eliminated. Now, we commemorate... 

The minimum wage is typically regarded as gender neutral, but there’s another aspect to this issue: workers whose tips are part of their overall compensation.  From that point of view, women are doing considerably worse than men. The federal minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers is $2.13, the same as in 1992.  Granted, restaurants are supposed to fill in the gap between that figure and the minimum wage of $7.25,... 

Yesterday, GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney explained his reasons for seeking the Presidency and said that he is running for the middle class and that he is, “not concerned about the very poor.” His excuse was that, “we have a safety net there. If it needs a repair, I’ll fix it.” He even went further when pressed that his statement sounded odd, that “it’s not good being poor.” Many social work clients... 

The recent drop in unemployment to 8.6 percent was widely greeted with enthusiasm. However, it is important to note which populations actually comprise that figure. Women who maintain families face unemployment rates over 12 percent, and more than five million women over the age of 20 are unemployed. Duration of unemployment is another key factor, with women under 20 needing roughly ten months to find work while women...