Aaron Schock

Washington, Nov 11, 2012 - This past November we heard an awful lot about the “war on women,” but the more pressing battle continues to be over the struggle to lower the national unemployment rate - including the staggering unemployment rate for women. While the economic malaise has impacted every demographic of our society and every sector of our economy, one of the hardest hit has been women in the workforce.
 
The labor force participation rate among women is in the midst of a 20-year low. Since January 2009, there are 451,000 more unemployed women in America, which means that the number of unemployed women has increased from five million to 5.45 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The number of women who reported that they are not looking for work has increase by 3.9 million. 
 
Yet in spite of these daunting statistics great strides are being made. There are 7.8 million women-owned businesses in the United States. Women are increasingly seen inside the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies and there is already an elite group of 12 women who are serving as CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies. I would like to see that number increase. 
 
Over the last one hundred years we have seen a flurry of chapters written about the rise of women in our country. The passage of the 19th amendment in 1920 giving women the right to vote began opening the door for unlimited opportunities. Take the last two presidential elections for example; several women candidates become major contenders for the presidency. Their success has represented a transformational moment in presidential politics that I have no doubt will continue to be replicated.
 
In fact it was Abigail Adams, who in a letter in 1776 to her husband, John Adams, urged lawmakers of the Continental Congress to “Remember the Ladies…Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands,” she wrote. 

As Congress concludes its business for the 112th Congress this month and prepares to convene the 113th Congress in January, Abigail Adam’s advice to her husband continues to bear fruit. Congress must stop the looming tax increase that will destroy an additional 700,000 jobs, and continue forward with plans for comprehensive tax reform to lower tax rates for everyone. We need to reduce the unnecessary red tape that is keeping small businesses from creating jobs, and we need to institute an all-of-the-above energy strategy – an energy roadmap - that will lower gas and heating prices, and bring us closer to American energy security and independence. 

These are the issues have been front and center on the minds of Republicans in Congress the last two years. We have taken action by passing legislation to empower small business owners, increase competitiveness for U.S. manufacturers, and maximize domestic energy production and we will continue to do so when we re-convene in January.

The focus right now must be on solving pocket book issue and keeping more of your hard earned money in your hands instead of the governments. 

If we do this, we will not only better the economic picture for women in our country, but we will have created in the process an environment that will spur private sector job creation that will lift up all Americans.