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Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Digital Library Collections
This is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections.
Collection: Barr, William: Files
Folder Title: [Women's Issues] (2)
Box: 14
To see more digitized collections visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digital-library
To see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library inventories visit:
https://reaganlibrary.gov/document-collection
Contact a reference archivist at: [email protected]
Citation Guidelines: https://reaganlibrary.gov/citing
National Archives Catalogue: https://catalog.archives.gov/
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
August 12, 1982
NOTE FOR ROGER PORTER
FROM:
BILL BARR
This is the updated matrix
for the President's luncheon
that Mr. Harper requested.
WOMEN'S ISSUE MATRIX
Responsibility
Action Necessary to
Completion
Issue
Present Status
WH
Agency
Finalize Policy
Target Date
Child Support
Action plan
Carleson/
HHS/
Implementation of
September
Enforcement
being developed
Lozano
Justice
recommended Presi-
to focus attention
dential-Cabinet
on issue and to
action plan.
enhance enforce-
ment.
Affirmative
Being studied by
Harper/
Justice/EEOC/
Draft of a compre-
Late Fall
Action
the special
Uhlmann
Labor/OMB
hensive policy
EEO Working Group
statement needs to
of the Cabinet
be completed.
Council on Legal
Policy.
Identifica-
Project contin-
Williamson/ White House
Ongoing effort
Ongoing effort
tion of state
uing. If OMB
Dole/
with input
laws that
approves, project
Duggin
from states.
discriminate
will also examine
on basis of
state enactments
gender.
during past year.
Identifica-
E.O. 12336
Cicconi/
Justice, with
CCLP will consider
October/November
tion of
established
Uhlmann
input from
the report and
federal
process. Draft
other
issue instructions
laws that
report completed
agencies.
to Task Force on
discriminate
and transmitted
Legal Equity.
on basis of
to CCLP. Is
gender.
being circulated
to CCLP depart-
ments for review.
Responsibility
Action Necessary to
Completion
Issue
Present Status
WH
Agency
Finalize Policy
Target Date
Number of
Continuing
von Damm
All Agencies
Ongoing effort
Ongoing effort
Women in
efforts to place
indirectly
Administra-
more women in
involved.
tion.
"visible"
positions.
OFCCP
Revision of
Boyden
Labor-Shong
The Vice President's
Next Year
regulations
Gray
& Ryan
Task Force on Regula-
still pending
tory Relief must
in Labor Dept.
review all changes
and decide if this
is an appropriate
time for issuing them.
Title IX
We have taken
Horowitz
Education/
Policy is finalized.
Not applicable
positions that
Justice
Pell Grants are
federal assistance
but Guaranteed
Student Loans
are not.
Abortion
President on
Bauer/
HHS/NIH
Possible Presidential
Debate on anti-
record against
Uhlmann
help in obtaining
abortion measure
current abortion
favorable vote on
scheduled in
on demand policy
anti-abortion
Senate for
and for Congress
measure in Senate.
Aug. 16-18 as
taking legislative
part of debt
action.
ceiling.
ERA
Amendment failed.
Elizabeth
Not
No Administration
Not applicable
Dole
Applicable.
action pending. ERA
re-introduced.
DOCUMENT No. 090700 PD
OFFICE OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT
STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 8/17/82
8/24/82
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
Polls Says Most Women Perceive Job Sex Bias
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
HARPER
DRUG POLICY
PORTER
TURNER
BARR
D. LEONARD
BAUER
OFFICE OF POLICY INFORMATION
BOGGS
GRAY
BRADLEY
HOPKINS
CARLESON
PROPERTY REVIEW BOARD
DENEND
OTHER
FAIRBANKS
FERRARA
GUNN
B. LEONARD
MALOLEY
MONTOYA
SMITH
UHLMANN
ADMINISTRATION
Remarks:
What do you recommend that we do to counter this perception?
or create the perception that we are righting this wrong?
Edwin L. Harper
Assistant to the President
Please return this tracking
for Policy Development
sheet with your response.
(x6515)
DOCUMENT No. 090700 PD
OFFICE OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT
STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 8/17/82
8/24/82
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
Polls Says Most Women Perceive Job Sex Bias
SUBJECT:
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
HARPER
DRUG POLICY
PORTER
TURNER
BARR
D. LEONARD
BAUER
OFFICE OF POLICY INFORMATION
BOGGS
GRAY
BRADLEY
HOPKINS
CARLESON
PROPERTY REVIEW BOARD
DENEND
OTHER
FAIRBANKS
FERRARA
GUNN
B. LEONARD
MALOLEY
MONTOYA
SMITH
UHLMANN
ADMINISTRATION
Remarks:
What do you recommend that we do to counter this perception?
or create the perception that we are righting this wrong?
Edwin L. Harper
Assistant to the President
Please return this tracking
for Policy Development
sheet with your response.
(x6515)
THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 1982
Poll Says Most Women Perceive Job Sex Bias
At a time when more than half the
percent said they did and 5 percent said
The latest survey also found that, by a
adult women in America are working
they had no opinion.
ratio of 65 to 32, women who had been
and make up 42 percent of the national
The two surveys found that the atti-
employed were less likely to believe
labor force, 54 percent of them feel they
tudes of men on the question had not
they "have equal job opportunities with
do not have equal employment oppor-
changed since 1975, with 50 percent feel-
men" than those who were never for-
tunities with men, according to the
ing women did not have equal job oppor-
mally employed.
Gallup Poll.
tunities, 46 thinking they did and 4 per-
cent having no opinion.
In addition to work experience, the
Forty-one percent feel they do have
survey found that education was a
equal job opportunities with men and 5
Heightened Awareness Cited
factor. "Sixty-eight percent of college-
percent have no opinion.
"This is not to say that job bias has
educated women in the latest survey
In 1975, the last time the organization
actually grown during the seven-year
say their sex does not have equal job op-
asked the question and when 39 percent
interval," the Gallup report said. "In-
portunities," the report said. "The fig-
of the labor force was female, 46 per-
stead, the figures probably reflect, at
ure for women whose education ended
cent of women felt they did not have
least in part, heightened awareness of
at or before the high school level is 49
equal opportunities in employment, 49
sex discrimination in employment."
percent."
Moreover, when asked, "If a woman
has the same ability as a man, does she
have as good a chance to become the ex-
ecutive of a company?" 71 percent of
the women with a college education
said they did not. Among women with
less education, 50 percent had that opin-
ion.
Over all, 56 percent of the women sur-
veyed said they did not have equal ac-
cess to top executive positions; 40 per-
cent felt they did and 4 percent had no
opinion.
Forty-nine percent of the men ques-
tioned felt opportunities for top jobs
were not the same for men and women;
45 percent felt they had equality of ac-
cess and 6 percent had no opinion.
Fifty-two percent of the 766 adult
women in the survey said they would
rather work for a man than for a
woman, as did 40 percent of the 765
adult men.
The survey, conducted June 25-28,
had a margin for error of plus or minus
five percentage points.
DOCUMENT NO. 0976 54
PD
OFFICE OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT
STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 9/17/82
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
9/20/82
SUBJECT: The teminization of Poverty - Press Suidance
ACTION FYI
ACTION
FYI
HARPER
DRUG POLICY
PORTER
TURNER
BARR
D. LEONARD
BOGGS
OFFICE OF POLICY INFORMATION
BRADLEY
HOPKINS
CARLESON
COBB
DENEND
PROPERTY REVIEW BOARD
FAIRBANKS
OTHER
FERRARA
GALEBACH
GARFINKEL
GUNN
B. LEONARD
LI
MONTOYA
SMITH
UHLMANN
ADMINISTRATION
REMARKS:
any comments.
I. Ruck
Edwin L. Harper
Please return this tracking
Assistant to the President
sheet with your response
for Policy Development
(x6515)
THE FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY
When asked by the press to comment on the "feminization of
poverty", it is easy to be led into a defensive or negative
posture. The term itself has a negative connotation and the
thrust behind the question will often be that Ronald Reagan and
the policies of his Administration are somehow responsible for
this phenomenon.
To provide a substantive and sincere response, I would suggest
that an Administration spokesman adhere to the following logical
sequence in his or her comments on this issue.
First:
Define precisely what the term "feminization of
poverty" means.
Second:
Don't be led into accepting responsibility for
this phenomenon.
Third:
Explain what this Administration has done, and is
doing to (a) provide economic opportunity for
women; and (b) reduce poverty for all Americans.
Each of these points is outlined below, with back-up data.
I.
What is the "Feminization of Poverty"?
This term has been coined by a number of women's activist
organizations and refers to the fact that the number of women
living below the poverty level has increased dramatically in the
past 10 years. The following data is most often raised to
illustrate this point:
*
The number of low-income households headed by females
nearly doubled from 23 percent in 1966 to 42 percent in
1979.
*
Fifteen percent of all families are now headed by women,
and female-headed families make up half of all poor families.
*
More than half the mothers of young children are in the
labor force, yet only 10-15 percent of working mothers have
the resources and available facilities to enroll their
children in full-day child care centers.
*
One out of three full-time working women earn less than
$7,000 per year.
The National Advisory Council on Economic Opportunity has
predicted that, if the growth rate continues at the same
pace of increase, 100 percent of the poverty population of
the U.S. will be female-headed families by the year 2,000.
-2-
II. The Reagan Administration Inherited This Trend
*
The increase of women at the poverty level is not a new
event. This phenomenon began in the 60's and accelerated
during the 70's. We are seeing now the results of that
twenty-year trend -- more single women living alone and raising
children without husbands.
Changes in moral values, inflation, and the decline of private
sector productivity created the phenomenon of the 70's -- the
single, unskilled, and poor women.
Poverty declined steadily after a postwar level of 33 percent
of the population to 13 percent in 1968. Poverty then stopped
declining and began rising again.
III. The Reagan Administration Has Instituted Tax and Program
Reforms Which Will Directly Benefit Women -- And Particularly
Low-Income Women.
*
Reducing Inflation. The most effective way to combat poverty
in America is by controlling inflation. The inflation rate has
been cut about in half -- from 12.4 percent in 1980 to 6.7
percent in May 1982.
*
A woman working full-time at the minimum wage and earning
$6,700 a year is $382 better off than if the 1980 rates had
continued unabated.
This means that reduced inflation rates have added almost
$1,000 in purchasing power to families with incomes of $15,000.
* Reduced Estate Taxes. Reduced inheritance and estate taxes
help women, since thier life expectancy is nearly eight years
more than men, yet many women are dependent on their husband's
income or business for economic survival. Under past policies
many widows had to sell their family business or farm, and
give up all their savings to pay estate taxes. The new estate
tax changes exempt 99.7 percent of all inheritances, and this
directly benefits surviving widows.
accounts
*
Changes in IRAs. One important cause of poverty among women
is insufficient planning or saving for retirement. To help
correct this problem, the 15 percent income limitation on
individual retirement accoutns has been removed. This means
that women who work to supplement their family's income can
contribute as much as $1,250 more to her IRA account. Even
for women who don't work, husbands can contribute $500 more
to their wives account each year than in the past.
antide
-3-
*
Child Care Credit. To aid mothers, the tax credit for child
care expenses has been raised from $400 for one child to $720
effective next year. In addition, the 1981 tax act provides
incentives for employers to include prepaid day care in their
employee benefit packages.
IV. Reagan Administration Programs To Assist The Poor
*
Contrary to what many critics are saying, overall spending
is not being cut. The FY '83 budget is $38 billion larger
than the one for 1982.
*
The President's economic recovery program is based upon pre-
serving benefit levels for the core group of poor people for
whom program benefits are intended. The Administration is
ensuring that federal resources are targetted to the neediest
while discouraging individuals and families who are able to
support themselves from continuing to rely on federal assistance.
*
In sum, federal income assistance to the poor will be one-third
higher in 1985 than it was in 1980 and more than seven times the
amount spent in 1970.
*
The president is not gutting programs that help the needy.
Guaranteed Student Loans. Under Carter, spending in 1980 was
$1.4 billion. Under Reagan, spending in 1983 will be $2.6 billion.
SSI For Elderly, Poor and Blind. Under Carter, spending in
1980 was $6.5 billion. Under Reagan, spending in 1983 will be
$8.9 billion.
Health Care. Under Jimmy Carter, spending in 1980 was $58 billion.
Under Reagan, spending in 1983 will be $78 billion.
*
The FY '83 budget includes a broad variety of safety net
programs to assist the poor:
Twenty-eight percent of all federal spending will go to the
elderly, an average of $7,850 per individual (above the age of
65) in payments and services.
The federal government will subsidize approximately 95 million
meals per day. This is 14 percent of all meals in the U.S.
Almost seven million post-secondary awards or loans will be
available to students or their parents through federal student
assistance programs.
Through increased funding for Medicaid and Medicare, the Federal
government will provide medical care for some 47 million aged,
disabled, and needy Americans -- about 20% of our total popu-
lation, and 99% of those over 65.
-4-
Approximately $2.3 billion will be spent on training and
employment programs, providing skills for almost one million
low-income or disadvantated people, 90% of the recipients will
be below the age of 25 or recipients of Aid to Families
with Dependent Children.
Job training will be provided for almost one million low-
income persons, 90% of whom will be below the age 25 or
on welfare.
More than 40% of all college students will continue to
receive federal education assistance.
About 3.4 million American households will receive HUD
subsidized housing assistance and 10.2 million people
will receive rental assistance.
DEPARTMENT THE OF THE UNITED
White House Office of Policy Information
OF
STATES
ISSUE UPDATE
Washington, D.C.
Number 7
September 17, 1982
This paper, prepared for Reagan Administration officials by
the White House Office of Policy Information, outlines the
Administration's record in addressing the specific legal and
economic concerns of women.
ECONOMIC AND LEGAL EQUITY FOR WOMEN
During the 1980 presidential campaign, Governor Reagan
stated that "As President, I would
advance,
guarantee
and
promote equal rights for women
I consider the women of
this nation a great source of strength, creativity and
stability. As President, I plan to recognize and utilize that
source to the fullest."
The Reagan Administration is making every effort to
keep this campaign pledge. After only a year and a half in
office, this Administration has made considerable progress in
addressing the vital economic, social and legal concerns of
women.
The Economic Plan
Women have made enormous strides, both socially and
economically, over the past two decades. President Reagan is
committed to ensuring that these gains continue.
For women who wish to enter the job market or advance in
their careers, the President has sought to remove barriers and
disincentives to employment. For women who wish to
concentrate on their roles as wives, mothers and homemakers,
he has implemented economic policies which will allow them to
more easily do so.
In either case, the President recognizes the value and
reward both in raising a family and in working outside the
home. He has sought to lessen the economic pressures that
could force women to choose one or the other against their
preferences.
To this end, he has put in place an economic program
which, while beneficial to all Americans, will be particularly
advantageous to women.
-2-
The key to the President's economic recovery program is
economic growth. The program is expected to create one
million additional jobs by 1986, above what would otherwise be
expected. This will be of special help to women, who will
likely comprise as many as two-thirds of the new entrants into
the work force during this time.
There are growing signs that the program is succeeding.
Already, inflation has fallen from the double-digit levels of
1979-1980 to less than 6% for the first seven months of this
year. These gains will be of greatest help to medium- and
low-income women, especially those who head single-parent
households. For instance, a woman working full-time at the
median wage of $11, a year will realize an annual increase
of nearly $700 in purchasing power over what she would have
had if the 1980 inflation rate had persisted.
This decline in inflation will also make it easier for
women to work as homemakers if they wish to. In recent years,
high inflation rates have made it difficult or impossible for
large numbers of single-earner families to make ends meet;
many wives therefore began looking for jobs out of economic
necessity. By slowing the growth of family expenditures,
lower inflation rates will return to them the choice of
whether or not to work outside the home.
Tax Issues
President Reagan recognizes that in the past the U.S. tax
code has discriminated against women. To reverse this, he has
instituted tax reforms which substantially correct three major
inequities: the marriage tax penalty, Individual Retirement
Account (IRA) limitations, and confiscatory inheritance
taxes. In addition, he has instituted other tax reforms which
will reduce existing biases against women.
The "marriage tax penalty," which imposes a special tax
burden on married couples where both spouses work, is one of
the most glaring examples of discriminatory provisions in the
tax code. Prior to last year, married couples filing jointly
were taxed at substantially higher marginal rates than were
two single individuals earning the same income. Thus, the
marriage tax penalty actually served to discourage couples
from marrying.
Moreover, because women generally entered the labor force
after their husbands had, their income was, for tax purposes,
added on top of their husbands' income. Women thus faced much
higher marginal tax rates beginning with their first dollar
earned -- a significant disincentive to working outside the
home.
The tax changes approved last year in the President's
1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act will greatly reduce this
penalty by permitting a two-earner couple to keep
-3-
substantially more of what they earn. A typical two-earner
family, for instance, will save up to $300 per year in taxes
when the plan is fully in effect in 1984.
Another set of provisions which the President signed into
law last year removed the 15% income limitation on IRAS,
increased the limits for contributions to IRAs from $1,500 to
$2,000 per year, and for the first time permitted any working
American to have an IRA account, even if the employer also
provided its employees with a private pension or retirement
plan. These steps will be of great help to women working
outside the home and saving for their retirement.
In
addition, paid spouses will now be permitted to contribute
$500 more each year to spousal accounts, which will aid
non-paid spouses who work as homemakers.
The virtual elimination of the estate tax enacted last
year is also of particular benefit to women, since they
outlive men by an average of eight years. In the past, many
women who had worked alongside their husbands building a
family farm or business were forced to sell it when their
husband died in order to pay the estate taxes. The new law
will prevent this from occuring by providing for unlimited
property transfers between spouses. The law also raises the
tax exemption on inherited property from $175,625 in 1981 to
$600,000 by 1987, thus preserving intact some 99.7% of all
estates.
The President's efforts to promote greater economic
opportunity and equity for women does not stop there.
President Reagan has acted to aid parents working outside the
home by approving an increase in the tax credit for child care
expenses, to become effective next year. For parents who earn
less than $10,000 per year, the credit will rise from $400 to
$720 per child. The credit is then reduced by one percentage
point for each additional $2,000 of income above $10,000. For
parents with incomes of $28,000 or more, the allowable credit
remains fixed at $480 per child.
The 1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act also provides
incentives for employers to include prepaid day care in their
employee benefit packages, and raises the dependent care tax
credit from $4,000 to $4,800. These tax reforms will go a
long way toward helping women achieve greater financial
independence and security -- especially for the growing number
of working mothers who are the heads of single-parent
households.
Finally, the indexing of the income tax to inflation,
approved last year and taking effect in 1985, will be of
significant help to women whose income increases over time.
No longer will inflation be allowed to force taxpayers into
higher tax brackets -- thus hindering women's advance up the
economic ladder.
-4-
Other Economic Issues
In addition to these tax reforms, the President has
proposed other economic changes to improve women's financial
status. For example, the Administration has approved a change
in the official definition of poverty. Previously, the
poverty level had been higher for men than for women, thereby
understating the proportion of women experiencing financial
hardship. To correct this inequity, the Reagan Administration
instituted a sex-neutral definition of poverty to ensure that
women are evaluated by the same assistance criteria as are
men.
The President has also signed into law the Uniformed
Services Spouses' Protection Act. This law repairs a
situation that had left thousands of military wives in
financial jeopardy. Because they must move frequently to
satisfy the career requirements of their husbands, they find
it difficult or impossible to establish an independent career
that would qualify them for a pension.
The new law will correct the previous practice by
allowing state courts to divide military retirement benefits
in divorce settlements. By thus recognizing the economic
contributions that both homemakers and wage-earning wives have
made to marriages, the law will strengthen the long-term
financial security of military wives.
Finally, the President, on July 23, 1982, signed the
Flexible and Compressed Work Schedules Act of 1982, which will
permanently allow federal agencies to adopt "flexitime"
schedules for their employees. Under flexitime, federal
agencies may permit employees to arrange their work hours on a
more flexible basis in order to meet their personal needs. As
the President stated when signing the bill, institutionalizing
flexitime will be "particularly important to working mothers
who used the flexibility in scheduling work hours to help them
meet their responsibilities both at home and at the office."
Legal Issues
In conjunction with these efforts to promote economic
equity and opportunity for women, President Reagan has also
committed his Administration to the identification and
correction of both federal and state laws and regulations
which discriminate against women.
To identify areas of discrimination at the federal level,
the President has directed, by Executive Order, that the
Justice Department complete a review of federal laws and
regulations, isolating those that discriminate on the basis of
sex. When the identification process is complete, the
Attorney General will report the effort's findings to the
-5-
President through the Cabinet Council on Legal Policy. The
President will then determine which laws and regulations
should be altered or eliminated.
Once decisions have been made, the Administration will
work with Congress to change statutes in need of reform.
Regulatory changes will be implemented by the President's
"Task Force on Legal Equity for Women," which is composed of
members from each of 21 federal departments and agencies. The
majority of the members, 14 of whom are women, hold the rank
of Assistant Secretary or above in their departments or
agencies, and will therefore have sufficient stature and
authority to put in place the changes decided upon by the
President.
The President also recently announced the formation of
the White House Coordinating Council on Women, to be chaired
by Elizabeth Dole, Assistant to the President for Public
Liaison. The Coordinating Council will serve as a focal point
for the coordination of federal policies and issues that are
of particular concern to women.
Action at the federal level alone, however, is not
enough, for many state and local laws that discriminate
against women still exist. Although these laws were generally
established with good intentions -- such as safeguarding women
from unusually long work hours or physically demanding tasks
-- they were based on the paternalistic notion that women
needed an extra dose of protection because they were, somehow,
the "weaker sex." Other critics have charged, less
generously, that some of these laws were enacted to insulate
male workers from female competition in the work place.
Whatever the intent, it has little relevance today. The
fact that these laws violate the economic and civil rights of
women to compete openly in the job market means that they
cannot be fairly justified.
To assist governors and local officials in identifying
and correcting such discriminatory laws and regulations, the
President last year established the "Fifty States Project."
Each governor was asked to select a representative from his
staff to work' with Thelma Duggin, whom the President has
appointed as director of the Project. Both the state and
White House representatives to the Project have met with the
President, and he has personally urged them to work diligently
to see that such laws are changed.
Progress is already being made. In many states, the
review process is well underway, and the Administration is now
working with those states on corrective legislation. In other
states where the review process has just begun, the governors
have appointed a liaison to the Fifty States Project with whom
the White House will continue to work closely.
-6-
Presidential Appointments
President Reagan has also made a determined effort to
find qualified women to fill important posts within the
executive branch. As a result, he has selected more women for
presidential appointments than has any previous president in
the first 16 months of his administration -- almost 10 percent
more than President Carter during the same period of time.
The President has appointed more than 300 women to serve as
top-level presidential appointments -- more than 70 of whom
were selected for full-time positions.
The most significant appointment has been Sandra Day
O'Connor, the first woman ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme
Court. President Reagan has appointed women to many other
major policy positions as well: Jeane Kirkpatrick, as U.S.
Representative to the United Nations; Anne Gorsuch, as
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Loret
Ruppe, as Director of the Peace Corps; Nancy Steorts, as
Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission; Janet
Steiger, as Chairman of the U.S. Postal Rate Commission; and
Nancy Maloley, as member of the President's Council on
Environmental Quality.
Women also hold several crucial positions on the White
House staff. Among them are Elizabeth Dole, Assistant to the
President for Public Liaison; Helene von Damm, Assistant to
the President for Presidential Personnel; Karna Small
Stringer, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of
Media Relations and Planning; Pamela Turner, Deputy Assistant
to the President for Legislative Affairs; and Becky Norton
Dunlop, Special Assistant to the President and Director of the
Office of Cabinet Affairs.
Of the 1,253 Schedule C positions (non-presidentially
commissioned political appointees) filled by the
Administration, women have been named to 695, or more than
half. In addition, the President has selected more than 250
women for part-time presidential advisory boards and
commissions -- an increase again over the number named by the
previous administration -- and more than 100 women for the
Senior Executive Service.
These appointments, taken together, represent more than
1,200 women who have been selected for posts in the Reagan
Administration. It should be noted that these women had to
compete for their positions of responsibility with numerous
other highly qualified candidates, and were chosen because of
their abilities, not because of an arbitrary quota.
-7-
Conclusion
President Reagan has worked vigorously to identify and
eliminate economic and legal discrimination against women. He
has established effective mechanisms for implementing the
necessary changes, and has forcefully demonstrated his
commitment to equal opportunity for women by appointing a
large number of talented women to key posts in his
Administration.
In the end, however, it is the President's program for
economic recovery which will benefit women the most. The
program will increase real incomes and create a million new
jobs. Such results will be especially beneficial to women,
who will comprise as many as two-thirds of the total number of
new job market entrants over the next few years, and will
continue to head a growing proportion of households.
Thus, by generating real economic growth, the President's
policies will ensure that women not only have the right to
build upon their economic and social gains of the past two
decades, but have full and equal opportunity to do so as well.
#
MEMORANDUM TO: PRESIDENT REAGAN
FROM: PHYLLIS SCHLAFLY
GOAL:
TO ASSIST THE RE-ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT
AND ALL "REAGANAUTS" IN THE 1984 ELECTION
NUCLEAR FREEZE PROBLEM:
Plan to help defeat the freeze using
women as spokesmen.
E.R.A. PROBLEM:
We have proved that the President's
position against ERA is correct. The
American people and the states do NOT
want ERA.
BUT, ERA remains as a "no-win", "gangplank"
issue for Republican candidates,
because ERA leaders will support only
Democrats, and only candidates who
support the whole package of ERA,
abortion, and gay rights.
(e.g., opposition to Heckler, Fenwick,
Gov. Jim Thompson)
GOAL:
To make "lemonade" out of a "lemon"
(ERA).
To make ERA go away (NOT just to defeat
it); To make ERA distasteful to the ERAers
and Democrats by locking it into other
constitutional amendments, especially
Right-to-Life.
ARGUMENT:
ERA has had 10 years and 2 chances
(including the extension).
It isn't FAIR to give ERA a third chance,
when other constitutional amendments
haven't had even one chance in the
states.
If Congress is going to consider constitutiona
amendments, in FAIRNESS it should
utilize this opportunity to consider
the Prayer, Right-to-Life, and Balanced
Budget amendments which this
Administration supports.
RECOMMENDATION:
Write letter to Bob Michel.
ERA and the Republican Party
This is not a strategy for defeating a renewed ERA. If the
98th Congress does send that amendment, again, to the States,
we will defeat it in the State legislatures, by a wider margin
than last time. ERA proponents know that. So why are they pouring
their resources into this new congressional effort?
*Their purpose is not pro-ERA. It is anti-GOP. They want a
new ERA as a weapon against Republicans on the State level.
*They want to drag the President into a messy battle over
ERA, probably in the 1984 election year.
*They need a new ERA as a fund-raising mechanism for their
organizations.
*They want to keep Eagle Forum and allied pro-Reagan
organizations pinned down on the old ERA battle line,
rather than fighting against the Nuclear Freeze and
other initiatives of the Left.
In that context, there are several things the Administration
should not do:
*Let the House Democratic Leadership dictate the timing of
this issue, for the maximum harm to GOP congressmen.
*Fight over again old ERA battles, which enable extremists
to portray the President as insensitive toward women.
*Play by the rules of the Democratic Leadership: what's ours
is negotiable.
But if the Administration does nothing, it will be doing all of
the above. Our goal should be so altering the congressional agenda,
that ERA will not even be brought to a vote.
To recapture the initiative -- that is, to avoid becoming
the whipping boy of the Democratic Leadership -- the
Administration should:
*Send to Bob Michel, or to some other appropriate
House Republican, a letter urging House Republicans
to use any constitutional vehicle to force House
consideration of "the people's constitutional agenda."
Specifically, this means:
*Without even mentioning ERA, you raise the specter of
Republicans offering, as amendments to ERA, their own
constitutional proposals regarding abortion, busing,
school prayer, and a balanced budget.
*You send the Democratic Leadership a clear signal that,
if they force ERA to a vote in Committee, the Judiciary
Committee members will also have to vote on subjects
they dread. (Remember the Committee's refusal last year
to even consider your balanced budget constitutional
amendment.)
*You redefine the issue on your terms: basic fairness.
The Democratic Leadership refuses a fair vote on matters
of critical concern to the American people (and your
own constituencies). If we're going to vote on ERA, it
is only fair to vote on matters much more important to
the voting public.
*Tip O'Neill will understand that the tables are turned.
He can force an ERA vote. He can block Republican
constitutional amendments, one way or another, on prayer
and abortion and balanced budgets. But he would pay a
heavy political price for doing that. He is not likely
to do so.
Timing: If the Administration does not head it off.
*Democratic Leadership expects House hearings on May.
*Several months pass before ERA goes to House floor, to
organize support and squeeze maximum political advantage
from the issue.
*Late 1983-early 1984, House vote.
*Mid-to-late 1984, Senate vote, to do maximum damage to
large number of Republican incumbents.
Proposed Presidential actions:
*Most important is the proposed letter to Bob Michel.
Direct your appointees to "talk up" the beneficial impact
of your economic program upon women (small businesses,
retirees, widows) and upon families. With all due respect,
your own Administration has not taken the credit it
deserves in this regard.
Avoid inadvertently legitimating ERA by staff discussion
of "alternative ERAs. " Any ERA undermines your political
posture in the House.
Practical Results:
*Attention focused on Democratic shortcomings -- House
gag rules, refusal to deal with important social issues --
rather than your stand on ERA.
*Assertion of your (politically beneficial) social agenda,
rather than that of the Democratic National Committee.
Reestablishing the Reagan Coalition in the House, to
restore the legislative momentum of 1981. Your bipartisan
alliance has collapsed, leaving you with only Tip O'Neill
to bargain. By proposing that the House consider all
pending constitutional amendments, you seriously threaten
Democratic cohesion in the House.
*The Democratic Leadership will have a powerful disincentive
to bring ERA to the floor for a vote. Which is the best
possible outcome for your Administration.
*Meanwhile, you will not have become entangled in the
ERA issue itself.
Dear Bob:
Over the last two years, a number of serious constitutional
issues have not received full and fair consideration in the
Congress.
In the case of constitutional amendments dealing with
some of these issues, the procedural opportunities for the
House to consider them are particularly limited. It is there-
fore crucial that, if the House is called upon to consider
any constitutional amendment during the 98th Congress, the
opportunity be utilized to consider amendments dealing with
other constitutional concerns which many of us share.
These include my Administration's amendments relating
to school prayer and a balanced budget, the Unity Human Life
Amendment, which I support, and others.
There has been much talk about "fairness" recently. To
my mind, fairness implies that the Congress should at least
consider the constitutional amendments for which the states
and the American people have petitioned Congress in recent
years.
I look forward to working with you and other interested
Members in advancing the fair and open consideration of these
constitutional issues.
CC: Bob Michel
How to Deal with ERA at News Conference
Q:
What is your position
A:
ERA has had ten years and two chances
on the reintroduction
(including the time extension). .
of ERA?
It isn't FAIR that the states haven't
yet had a chance to vote on a Prayer
Amendment (which we've been wanting
since the Supreme Court decision of
1963) , or on a Right to Life amend-
ment (which we've been wanting since
the Supreme Court Decision of 1973) ,
or on a Balanced Budget Amendment.
Bill just to keep you abreast
DOCUMENT NO.
105669
PD
OFFICE OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT
STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 10/27/82
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
FYI
SUBJECT: Judy Mann, Women's Vote, October 27. + Ny Times
ACTION FYI
ACTION
FYI
HARPER
DRUG POLICY
PORTER
TURNER
BARR
D. LEONARD
BOGGS
OFFICE OF POLICY INFORMATION
BRADLEY
HOPKINS
CARLESON
COBB
DENEND
PROPERTY REVIEW BOARD
FAIRBANKS
OTHER
FERRARA
Elizabeth Dole
GALEBACH
Helene von Damm
GARFINKEL
Dave Gergen
GUNN
Joe Wright
B. LEONARD
Pete Teeley
LI
Margaret Tutwiler
MONTOYA
Dee Jepsen
ROCK
Martha Hesse
ROPER
Susan Alvarado
SMITH
J. Bonnie Newman
UHLMANN
Judy Pond
ADMINISTRATION
Joanna Bistany
Thelma Duggin
REMARKS:
White House Coordinating Council on Women, Working Group, and other
interested parties:
Attached in case you missed it, Suspect we 11 have a specific
idea post election.
Emily Faily Rock Ruch
Edwin L. Harper
Please return this tracking
Assistant to the President
sheet with your response
for Policy Development
(x6515)
Male-Female Split on Politics
Found Decisive in Some Polls
By ADAM CLYMER
The split in political attitudes be-
gence, both parties are concentrating
tween men and women, a trend that Re-
on women. Although they share some
publicans have feared since women's
tactics, such as greater use of daytime
unhappiness with President Reagan be-
television, the parties argue over
came clear in national polls last year,
whether the Reagan Administration's
has emerged as a major factor in many
economic and budget policies have hit
1982 election contests.
women hardest. Many Republicans are
Politicians report that what they call
seeking to shield themselves from the
the gender gap is showing up widely in
effects of women's dislike for the Ad-
campaigns from coast to coast. Their
ministration, shown repeatedly in na-
campaign polls usually find Democrats
tional polls, by emphasizing education
getting more support from women
or the elderly in their campaigns.
while Republicans have more backing
But right now, according to the latest
from men.
public polls of campaigns, women's
Facing this unaccustomed diver-
support is providing a lead for such
Democratic gubernatorial candidates
as Mario Cuomo in New York, Bill Clin-
ton in Arkansas and Tom Bradley in
California.
Heavier backing from men, the polls
show, provides the margin that has
such Republicans as Pete Wilson, the
Senate candidate in California; Terry
Branstad, the candidate for Governor
in Iowa, and Senator Harrison H.
Schmitt of New Mexico leading their
races.
In other races, a candidate found by
polls to be in the lead shows a greater
lead with one sex than with the other.
For example, Senator David H. Duren-
berger, a Republican, has a lead of 15
Continued on Page A20, Column 3
DEBI & MARTY WISH THEIR FATHER, MIKE
BARON. THE BEST OF LUCK WITH BARON
BUICK!,
ADVT.
Male-Female Split Found Decisive in Some Races
Continued From Page 1
out, especially among younger women
happy with cuts in student loans, he
even among men, with an edge for Mr.
who appear more alienated from Mr.
said, while those up to about age 40 are
Bradley of 46 to 44 percent, but Mr.
percentage points among over his
Reagan and his party, have spurred
concerned over day care and equal ac-
Bradley had a lead of 49 to 38 percent
challenger, Mark Dayton, in Minneso-
Democratic interest.
cess to jobs. Middle-aged and older
among women.
ta, as against only a 5-point lead among
Ann F. Lewis, political director of the
women are worried about Social Securi-
But in the other key California race,
women. And in some contests, like the
Democratic National Committee, re-
ty, he said.
the disparate gender preferences
Missouri Senate race between Senator
cently wrote Democratic candidates,
'How You Like Their Dresses'
helped the Republican Senate candi-
John C. Danforth and State Senator
urging them to get involved with "Get
date. Mr. Wilson and Gov. Edmund G.
Moreover, Mr. Deardourff said, Mr.
Out the Women's Vote Day."
Brown Jr., a Democrat, were about.
Harriett Woods, polls show the respec-
Reagan does not seem sensitive to cur-
The Republican National Committee
even among women, with Mr. Wilson
tive gender advantages to be equal and
rent women's concerns.
has sought to counter this trend with
"Ronald Reagan comes from a back-
getting 43 percent and Mr. Brown 41.
to cancel each other out.
mailings that argue that the Adminis-
But Mr. Wilson led by 49 to 41 percént
There are few public polls of individ-
ground where the nicest thing you could
tration's record of appointing women is
ual House races. But the latest Harris
do for women is to open the door for
among men and 46 to 41 percent overall
"impressive," that Mr. Reagan has a
them and tell them how much you like
Durenberger-Dayton Margin
Poll, based on interviewing from Oct. 9
"wholebearted commitment toward in-
their new dresses," he said.
The Minnesota poll of The Minneap-
to 13, found that while men divided 48
suring equal opportunities for women"
Republicans such as Miss Sinnott and
olis Star and Tribune, released Oct. 3,
percent to 43 percent in favor of Demo-
and that "homemakers and working
Mr. Stone argue that the gap is not as
gave Mr. Durenberger a lead of only 50:
cratic House candidates nationally,
women have benefited from the Presi-
wide as earlier this year, and there is
to 45 percent among women, but a lead
women provided Democrats with a
dent's economic recovery program."
some evidence for this view in national
of 56 to 41 percent among men. His over-,
more decisive edge of 53 to 39 percent.
polls.
all lead over Mr. Dayton, the Demo-
He Sees Recent Change
Nancy Sinnott, executive director of
While local circumstances and the
crat, was 52 percent to 43 percent.
William Greener 3d, director of com-
the National Republican Congressional
personalities, tactics and records of in-
In New Mexico, a poll released this
munications for the committee, said:
Committee, has access to dozens of
dividual candidates affect the impact of
week by Zia Research showed Senator.
"We realize we have a problem. We are
working to decrease it." He said he
the gap, state polls this year show it is
Schmitt trailing Attorney General Jeff
polls of individual races and said she
usually found Republicans getting 3 or 4
making a difference.
Bingaman, a Democrat, among women
thought women in recent weeks had
by 44 to 43 percent. But Mr. Schmitt led.
come to have a greater appreciation of
Poll Results in New York
percentage points less support from
by 52 to 35 percent among men and 47 to.
women and more from men than do
what he termed Mr. Reagan's peace
Last week's New York Times poll of
40 percent overall.
Democrats.
initiatives and success in fighting infla-
New York found Lieut. Gov. Cuomo
The Iowa poll, published Oct. 10 by
Seeking to exploit the difference,
tion.
barely trailing, 44 to 47 percent, among
The Des Moines Register, gave Lieuten-
Democrats are working with women's
Nevertheless, he said, the divergence
men who were likely voters in his race
ant Governor Branstad a lead of 47 per-
groups to encourage heavier voting.
between male and female voters means
with Lewis Lehrman, the Republican
cent to 43 percent over Roxanne Conlin,
"Get Out the Women's Vote Day" is to
"Republican candidates have ground
candidate for Governor. But he led, 52
a Democrat. He led by 50 to 42 percent
be proclaimed Saturday by governors
that they have to make up.
percent to 44 percent, among women
among men and they were about even
in several states, and the Democratic
One Republican consultant, Roger
and 48 percent to 41 percent overall.
among women. She had 45 percent and
National Committee has mailed all
Stone, said the effects of the divergence
A poll by KATV in Little Rock, Ark.,
he had 43 percent backing from women.
Democratic candidates advice on how
had not turned out to be "the sea change
early this month found former Gover-
The Danforth-Woods race offers
to capitalize on this.
problem we thought it would be," espe-
nor Clinton leading Gov. Frank D.
striking differences. A St. Louis Globe-
cially for Republican candidates who
White, a Republican, by a 53 to 25 per-
Democrat poll published week before
More Votes by Women Than Men
stressed their commitments to issues
cent margin among women, enough to
last gave Mr. Danforth a lead of 56 to 41.
There are more women in the popula-
such as education and equal pay.
overcome a slim deficit of 45 to 42 per-
percent among men, while Mrs. Woods,
tion and more votes have been cast by
But John Deardourff, a producer of
cent among men. Mr. Clinton's overall
a Democrat, had a margin of 52 to 39
women than by men since about 1964.
television commercials for Republi-
lead was 48 percent to 34.
percent among women. The poll said
On a percentage basis, according to
cans, said the problem was serious.
Mayor Bradley of Los Angeles led At-
they were even at 47 percent each.
Census Bureau studies, the percentage
"Women in every different age
torney General George Deukmejian, a
Miss Sinnott said that in most cases
of women who voted was lower than
bracket have a different reason to be
Republican, by a margin of 48 to 41 per-
Republican women candidates did not
that of men until 1980, when they were
unhappy with Republicans," he said.
cent in a Los Angeles Times Poll pub-
suffer so seriously from the gap as did
equal. The findings of increasing turn-
The youngest adult women may be un-
lished last Sunday. They were about
male candidates.
Wednesday, October 27, 1982
number of Democrats are
campaigning on women's issues, Lewis
D
emocrat Richard Davis, in a tight
says, ranging from a congressional
race against Paul Trible for the U.S.
candidate running against a New Right
Senate from Virginia, is polling more
JUDY
incumbent in Alabama to Frank
strongly among women, according to
Lautenberg, who is running against
campaign manager James Carville. The
Millicent Fenwick for the Senate seat
campaign has organized a business and
MANN
from New Jersey
professional women's group for Davis,
One of the ironies of this election is
and is actively courting support of
that the National Organization for
women on walking tours and at a
Women has endorsed Lautenberg,
symposium on women's special concerns
despite Fenwick's record on women's
held recently in Northern Virginia.
WOMEN'S VOTE
rights issues. Eleanor Smeal, NOW
While Trible has been endorsed by Jerry
president, cites Fenwick's votes on
Falwell, Davis has been endorsed by
Reagan economic programs, as well as
NOW and the National Women's
S
he identified herself as a "pink-collar
the organization's desire to shift control
Political Caucus.
paper pusher, aiming to be a
of key Senate committees away from
Michigan Democrat Robert Carr has a
machinist." She sent $10, a gift from a
New Right Republicans.
women's issues task force and is using
neighbor who had used her washer and
Lautenberg is featuring NOW's
women's issues in his campaign for the
dryer. Another woman sent $5, with a
support in his television advertisements.
congressional seat from the East Lansing
note saying it came from baby-sitting.
Smeal says he is the first candidate she
area. Douglas Sosnik, his campaign
By political action committee
knows of to do 80.
manager, says Carr started out slightly
standards, these contributions are
"Which shows how important we
behind in June but is now ahead in their
infinitesimal. Yet they reflect the
think it is," says Charles Perkins, media
polling and the gender gap "is showing
growing support by women of candidates
coordinator for the campaign. "We think
up very definitely and increasing." Carr
who speak to their concerns, in this case,
the women's vote is crucial."
has received NOW's endorsement and
state Sen. Harriet Woods, the
"What we have developed," says
financial support. "The power of the
Democratic candidate for the Senate
Lewis, "is a subset of very tight races in
women's vote is clearly going to be the
from Missouri. Woods, once considered a
which the women's vote could make the
message of this election," says Sosnik.
long shot to defeat Republican Sen.
difference."
Women outnumber men, and in 1980,
John Danforth, has now drawn even in
for the first time, they voted in numbers
the polls. And it is women who are
equal to men. If their voting trend
making the difference.
continues, they should outvote men in
A St. Louis Globe-Democrat poll done
the 1982 election, and there seems little
early in the campaign found 51 percent
question that they will vote differently
of the women. preferring Danforth, with
from men. This was the suffragettes'
41 percent for Woods and 9 percent
dream. And while the election is being
undecided. A poll done Oct. 9 found 52
seen as a referendum on Reagonomics, it
percent of the women now support
may well find its place in history as the
Woods, to 39 percent for Danforth. Men
first election in which women used their
continue to favor Danforth by 56 to 41,
vote to shift the course.
although that lead is down.
"We have gotten gotten a great deal of
financial support from women as well as
volunteer time," says campaign manager
Jody Newman. "Women are learning
that running a campaign like this is,
extremely expensive. Women who
haven't contributed before are
contributing and women who have
contributed are making larger donations
than they ever have before."
I are benefiting from the growing
t is not just women candidates who
involvement of women in politics. "I see
it almost everywhere," says Ann Lewis,
political director for the Democratic
National Committee. She cites the latest
Harris poll that shows that women
continue to support Democrats by 53 to
39 percent, while men support the party
by a much smaller margin of 48 to 43.
"As the election tightens, one of the
things that holds true is the gender gap,"
she SAVR.