Fighting breast cancer and wage discrimination

Supporting affordable breast cancer screenings

Breast cancer strikes down too many women in the prime of their lives. The New York State Cancer Registry reports that about 2,263 women in their forties are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, 325 of whom succumb to the disease.

Because early screening and detection are the keys to defeating breast cancer, Assemblywoman Lifton sponsored a measure to make mammograms more accessible by eliminating deductible or co-pay requirements for women over the age of 40 (A.7927).

Helping with recovery

For the tens of thousands of New York women and men who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, the counseling, education, and outreach services provided by community groups are an integral part of recovery. To encourage the development of critical networks and access to breast cancer information and support, Assemblywoman Lifton introduced legislation that would allow community-based groups to receive funding through the Breast Cancer Detection and Education Advisory Council (A.6317).

Fighting to end wage discrimination

Pay equity is about fairness. A recent congressional study indicates that women are paid an average of 79.7 cents for every dollar paid to men, versus 80.4 cents in 1983. Over a working lifetime, that means a lot in lost wages that could go toward bills, rent and saving for a better future.

The difficulties that arise from wage discrimination go beyond financial burdens. There are also the challenges a person endures due to a lack of independence, security and opportunity. This wage gap impacts Social Security benefits and pensions — forcing women and their families to shoulder the burden of wage discrimination long after they’ve stopped working.

Assemblywoman Lifton supports legislation designed to end wage discrimination in New York that would amend the state Labor Law to provide pay equity for all people who perform work of comparable skill, effort and responsibility (A.6252).

To help achieve pay equity for all New Yorkers, Assemblywoman Lifton also supports legislation:

• Implementing a state policy of equal compensation for work of comparable worth for state and public employees (A.737)
• Allowing groups of workers with similar complaints to file them together — helping individuals fighting discrimination to defray the costs associated with filing a complaint alone (A.148)
• Enacting the New York State Fair Pay Act — ensuring pay differentiation is not based on a person’s sex, race, or national origin (A.6701)