By John J. Monahan

Men in county get $14,000 more a year

A report from the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women released yesterday found that when it comes to political representation, earnings, and access to higher education, women are still short-changed in Massachusetts.

The report, which compares the status of women in each county, found significant variations of unequal incomes between counties, and varying numbers of women living in poverty.

Income figures are for the year 2000, the most recent information available by county.

The median income for women in Suffolk County of $22,871 was closest to the median male income there of $27,400, while in Worcester County, the median income for men of $35,761 was much higher than the women's median income of $21,491. Female workers with the lowest median incomes were in Hampshire County, where female workers had a median income of $15,474 - $6,980 less than the statewide median income.

Commissioner Suzanna Segat said some of the differences in income stem from the higher rate of women "relegated" to working part-time jobs, a problem compounded by the fact that many in part-time work do not get benefits and pensions. But she said disparity remains a main problem in many workplaces. While the county-to-county comparison shed new light on the income disparities, the group said the study was based on 1999 and 2002 income data.

The report also identified a gender gap in educational opportunities, finding that a man is 50 percent more likely to earn a doctorate degree in Massachusetts than a woman.

At a briefing on the report which is being sent to lawmakers, Commissioner Gloria Coney said women continue to struggle to get to the higher levels of politics.

While the state has yet to elect a woman governor, no woman has ever been elected U.S. senator from Massachusetts and in the House of Representatives she said, all 10 members of the House from Massachusetts are men.

She said while more women than men are registered and vote in the state, no woman has been elected to Congress from Massachusetts since 1983. At the state level, 30 percent of the state senators are women, and they make up 22.5 percent of the House.

Commissioner Linda Cavaioli, executive director of the YWCA of Central Massachusetts, outlined stark findings about the spread of poverty among women in the state, saying a full 10 percent of the women and girls in the state now live under the poverty level.

Worcester's poverty rate among women and girls mirrored the statewide average while a slightly higher than statewide average was found among single women who are heads of households. The commission found almost 24 percent of the single women who are heads of households in Worcester County have an income below the poverty level. By comparison 28.4 percent of women who are heads of households in Suffolk County live below the poverty level; the figure is 32 percent in Hampden County.

On health issues, Commissioner Ellen Calmas, an obstetrician and gynecologist, said there continue to be major health problems facing women, with a continued increase in the diagnosis of breast cancer and large numbers of women struggling with health issues ranging from smoking to HIV infection.

Because treatments are now available to prevent pregnant women from transmitting the virus that causes AIDS to their babies, she recommended all women, especially those considering having children, be screened for HIV.

She said 19 percent of women in the state smoke cigarettes, while another 26 percent are former smokers; those numbers vary considerably by county. While 21.4 percent of women in Worcester Country smoke, the report found only 15 percent smoke in Middlesex County. Ms. Calmas said smoking can be addressed and women who smoke should seek out "remedies."

She said breast cancer rates continue to climb in Massachusetts. While currently breast cancer deaths occur in 26.9 per 100,000 women, two decades ago it was only 7 per 100,000, she said. Whether the increasing incidence of breast cancer is the result of better diagnosis, she said, "remains debatable. Early detection and prevention should be the goal," she said.

Read the original article in The Worcester Telegram.