By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
United WE, a women's advocacy group, will be hosting a town hall in Hays to research barriers to women in Kansas.
The research follows a report released in February that explored the status of women in Kansas.
Some of the key findings of that report were that the pandemic disproportionately hurt women, child care continues to be a significant barrier for women in Kansas and the pay gap between men and women in Kansas remains significant.
The report found infant care costs more than in-state tuition in Kansas, and child care consumes an average of 30 percent of Kansas women's earnings.
"Child care was an industry that was stressed before the pandemic and is definitely an industry that is stressed after the pandemic," said Wendy Doyle, United WE president and CEO.
Three hundred child care providers closed during the pandemic, which put additional stress on the industry, she said.
"It's an expensive household budget item," she said. "We know this is a significant barrier to getting women back to work."
Women in Kansas are making 78 cents for every dollar men make despite women in Kansas having higher levels of education, according to the We report.
Women make up more than half of the population in Kansas and vote more often than men but only make up 28 percent of the Kansas Legislature, the report also said.
United WE, which stands for United Women's Empowerment, is a 31-year-old nonprofit agency. The agency uses evidence-based research to create a nonpartisan policy agenda to reduce economic barriers for women and their families, Doyle said.
United WE also encourages economic and civic leadership among women, Doyle said. The group's Appointments Project teaches women how to serve as appointed officials at the city, county or state level.
Following the release of the February Women's Status study, the agency established a Kansas Women's Economic Development Task Force.
The task force members will be leading the Kansas town halls, including the one in Hays, which will seek to test the data from the status study.
"We want to hear from women," Doyle said. "We want to have a conversation. What is working well economically for yourselves and your family? But also identify some barriers. "
The organization seeks to look at what post-pandemic recovery looks like for women and their families. The information gathered during the town halls will be compiled into a report to educate policymakers, as well as the corporate sector.
The town halls are open to all women. The event in Hays will be 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 28 at the Fort Hays State University Black & Gold Room.
You can find a link at united-we.org/townhalls. Free professional child care will be offered. Free lunch will be offered. Women participating also will receive a $10 gift certificate to compensate them for their time.
Translators will also be available.
Women can also participate in a statewide virtual town hall that will be noon to 1 p.m. Aug. 24. Registration for that event can also be found online.
Women of all ages, races, backgrounds and social-economic statuses are encouraged to attend. Middle school and high school girls may also attend.
"Some women may feel like they might not be able to contribute to the conversation, but that is completely untrue," Doyle said. "We want as many perspectives and stories heard as possible and told."
Men are invited to come and listen and learn about the issues being discussed, Doyle said.