HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 25

(By Delegates P. White and Brown)



Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to appoint an interim committee to study the economic condition of the women of West Virginia.

Whereas, A woman's ability to be independent is directly related to her ability to support herself financially; and

 Whereas, Victims of domestic violence cite the inability to support themselves as the primary reason for staying with abusive partners; and
 Whereas, West Virginia women earn forty-two percent less than men; and
 Whereas, The enormous wage gap is caused in part by the fact that approximately eighty percent of West Virginia women work in jobs traditionally dominated by women, where the skills, education and experience required for these jobs is undervalued; and
 Whereas, Seventy-seven percent of children in West Virginia under the age of three, who live with a single mother, live in poverty; and
 Whereas, Between 1980 and 1990, women's participation in the labor force increased by more than twenty-three percent as compared to men; and
 Whereas, Women in West virginia make up only two percent of skilled trade workers; and
 Whereas, The availability of child care and eldercare are limited in the majority of West Virginia counties, and in some areas of the State no licensed child care is available, resulting in a lack of access to care for the children of some working mothers; therefore, be it
 Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to appoint an interim study committee to conduct a study of the economic condition of the women of West Virginia; and, be it
 Further Resolved, That the interim study committee report such findings on the economic condition of women in West Virginia and the effect of this condition on the tax base of this State; and, be it
 Further Resolved, That the interim study committee be gender balanced on appointments; and, be it
 Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is requested to report to the regular session of the Legislature on its findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it
 Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary legislation be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.