State Senator
Gale Candaras

State Representatives


Cheryl Coakley-Rivera
Anne Gobi
Rosemary Sandlin


Select Board members
Kathleen Grady, Longmeadow
Kathleen Conley Norbut, Monson

Elected and Appointed Officials
Candy Glazer, Chair Longmeadow DTC
Gerry DePace, Executive Board, Monson DTC

10/12/08
Women for Ashe

Women for Ashe are a diverse and growing group of women from every walk of life in and around the 2nd Hampden District. We are supporting Brian Ashe based on his successful record of advocating for women and girls on a wide range of issues that effect our daily lives. We have worked with Brian to form the following statements that together, we believe should be of highest priority in state government to address the needs of women and girls in Massachusetts. Brian’s commitment to equality for women is deeply rooted in his vision for his daughter's generation to live in a society that protects, promotes and preserves the dignity of women and humankind.

Right to Economic Progress

Increase jobs and job skills by promoting job development, increasing access to education and training, and improving transportation options

Brian Ashe believes that families need to have decent paying jobs or they will continue to leave Massachusetts in search of an affordable life style. The combined effects of available jobs, job readiness, and adequate transportation require coordinated leadership. Economic issues are matters of survival for women and girls in the state of Massachusetts. Opportunities for advancement are second to those for men and boys with pay inequities continuing to plague this great state with economic second-class status based upon gender. Seventy-two percent of families living below the federal poverty level in Massachusetts are headed by single mothers. Hampden County has the highest rate of poverty for women with children under age five years, according to a comprehensive report by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women.

Brian Ashe believes that we must aggressively use the development tools already in existence in the Commonwealth and implement innovative strategies to attract new jobs while retaining existing opportunities. He will partner with the Western Massachusetts delegation to ensure that our workforce has the skills necessary to meet the demands of the job market through improved funding for training. Brian believes that local and regional transportation for workers must be readily available and infrastructure must be maintained and expanded. He supports the proposed Pioneer Valley Commuter Rail initiatives and as a member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization will work to bring increased funds to our region for roads, bridges and infrastructure.

Brian Ashe believes that training for the jobs of today and tomorrow must be accelerated and strengthened, ESL classes expanded and customized for meeting job requirements, and partnerships with institutions of higher learning developed for affordable skill development and retention of graduates. The colleges in the Pioneer Valley include excellent state and private colleges that are tremendous resources for our citizens. These colleges must be made affordable and accessible for a wide range of residents in our district.

Right to Equal Pay

It is a common misconception that women and men are now on a level playing field in terms of pay equity. In fact, many women are still paid less then men of the same experience and educational level. Massachusetts women employed by state government should be paid equal to their male counterparts who are doing similar jobs, and we need to act now to ensure that happens.

Pay Equity legislation addresses gender-based discrimination by requiring employers, in this case the state, to use gender-neutral criteria to set wages. By establishing “equal pay for work of equal value,” pay equity corrects the historical practice of paying less work performed by women. Women may perform jobs with different duties than the jobs performed by men, but if the “male” and “female” jobs are equally valuable to the organization they should be paid comparably.

While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibit discrimination based on sex and requires equal pay for equal work, they are hard to enforce and also hard to prove in court if violated. The first state to implement pay equity legislation was Minnesota in 1982. Its purpose was to ensure that women, who typically held lower paying jobs, were paid the same as men who were doing similar jobs in terms of skill and education level.

Iowa, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin have also made steps to provide wage equity for women. Ontario, Canada took it a step further in 1988 and was able to implement pay equity legislation for both the public and private sector. It is time for Massachusetts to move forward to provide women pay equity in state government.

In 2002, Massachusetts women who worked full-time made a median of $30,300 while men made a median of $40,100 . In 2004, Massachusetts women made 79.3 cents for every dollar a man did . Specifically, the legislation would require the state gather the wage data for both male and female state workers. This evaluation needs to occur before pay equity can be implemented and will compare “male” and “female” state jobs with different titles, but with similar skill levels. This way jobs can be considered “equal” and the wages can then be compared. Data from the overall economy illustrates the dilemma women face. A high school graduate loses $700,000 in her lifetime, a college graduate loses $1.2 million in her lifetime and a professional school graduate loses $2 million in her lifetime due to the wage gap, which are conservative estimates and assumes a woman works for 47 years without stopping. These losses also show up later in life with a smaller pension.

Pay equity is important not only for women, but their families as well. While men were formerly considered the main wage earners, it is important to recognize the contribution that women’s wages make to their families. On national average, families with two working parents lose a total of $200 billion in income due to the wage gap. Just imagine what any family would be able to do with even a small fraction of that amount of money. They would be able to buy that much needed car or finally be able to take a well deserved relaxing vacation to reconnect as a family. If married women made the same amount as men, the family’s income would rise almost 6 percent. Without the wage gap, single parent families would bring the poverty rate down from 24.3 percent to 12.6 percent and families with two working parents would bring the rate down from 2.1 percent to .6 percent.

Some of the arguments against pay equity are that wages would be brought down for everyone if pay equity was achieved, it would cost too much to implement, and pay equity legislation would disrupt the United States economy , however these arguments are not valid. Pay equity would not lower wages because it would be against the law to do so. Men who work in female dominated jobs would also benefit from pay equity and would see a raise in their earnings as well. When compared to how much bringing a case to court costs and how much business would be lost if a company was found guilty of sexual discrimination, it is more cost effective to fix the wage gap. A disruption to the economy is not a valid reason to fail to pursue equal pay either. The Equal Pay Act, minimum wage, and child labor laws, which all provoked the same concern, were all implemented without major disruption to the economy. By letting women, and men know how much money is being lost due to the wage gap, progress can be made. State government can rectify the injustice by enacting laws that are easy to enforce and bring tougher penalties if violated. Only when pay equity is achieved can society claim that women are legally equal to men.

Right to High Quality Education

The fiscal challenges brought by under funded mandates from the state and federal levels have created obstacles and challenges for public education in all communities in Massachusetts.

Brian supports full funding of extraordinary special education and transportation costs as well as innovative programs to advance the levels of math, science and technology for girls and women in public education. He is working with educators and school committee members in the district to devise proposals for the state to take ownership of the unfunded and under funded mandates that cripple local school budgets. He will propose costs controls and budget management through the Department of Education to reduce unpredictable spikes in special education. Brian’s step-mother Margaret Ashe is a retired teacher whose entire career was dedicated to the education of students in the Springfield public school system. She and many other family members and friends who are professional educators have joined Brian’s team to get him elected to the House of Representatives for the 2nd Hampden District.

¹ “Real Cuts-Real People-Real Pain, The Effects of the Fiscal Crisis on Women and Girls in Massachusetts”, Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 2004.

Right to be Free from Domestic Violence

The abuse of women, children and elders is reprehensible. Brian Ashe supports comprehensive domestic violence policies including: prevention, intervention, victim support services and swift action by law enforcement and the judicial system toward perpetrators. Comprehensive policies assert that the societal problem of domestic violence will be solved when all members of society join together to identify and provide improved education and resources to end domestic violence. Brian has a proven record with over 15 years of experience working with survivors, advocates, offenders, legislators, and social service providers to reduce domestic violence. His vision and skills are needed to expand the safety net for victims and move toward a brighter future for those suffering from domestic abuse. Intervention and the expansion of education and job opportunities are keys in reducing recidivism.

Right to Affordable, Accessible, High Quality Health Care

Health care is inextricably linked to the highest concerns of women and girls in the state of Massachusetts. Both as primary health care providers and consumers, the quality, affordability and accessibility to health care regardless of gender, ethnic and socio-economic status is crucial to women and public policy.

Brian commends the leadership in the Administration and the Legislature for moving the agenda forward on universal health care while creating consensus for a ‘first in the nation’ model of health care reform. Consensus building is a strong asset that Brian brings to the office of state representative. He is committed to seeing those reforms funded and implemented and not derailed by corporate interests. Comprehensive health care is expensive and cost controls must continue to be evaluated and implemented on all levels of the process. Administrative and Executive costs by large insurers must be reigned in to reduce the burden on small businesses, individuals and families. Brian supports aggressive exploration of all municipal and state workers merging into one health care system that offers several plan options, affordable premiums, cost controls and the benefits of bulk purchasing power.

Brian’s support for women in the medical/health care fields stems from his understanding that the largest percentage of direct care workers in the field of health care are women. Brian is concerned about the stressors, challenges and need for decent working conditions, equitable pay and opportunities for advancement for women in the medical/health care professions.