Addressing Issues of Importance to Women
Women are not a special interest or a "minority" group -- women are the majority. As President, I will not only continue the commitment I have made to women’s concerns in New Mexico, I will go farther than any other candidate to support women and their families. I am out front on women's workplace rights, health, and stopping violence. And I am the only candidate that has pledged to support only Supreme Court Justices that will uphold Roe v. Wade, and the only candidate to propose a caregiver credit in Social Security.
Affirmative Action Advances Equal Opportunity
Affirmative action is still needed to overcome discrimination in hiring, promotion, and educational opportunities. We must keep affirmative action strong to ensure that women and people of color get a fair shake.
Access for Female Business Owners
I will work to assure woman-owned businesses receive their fair share of government procurement dollars, which are paid for by all taxpayers.
Head Start and Pre-K
We must fully fund Head Start, and establish a federal Pre-K program that helps every state offer voluntary pre-kindergarten for every 4-year-old child.
Click here for Governor Richardson's plan for education.
Expand Science, Math and Title IX
I will reverse the weakening of Title IX, and I will also create 250 new science and math academies – and make sure our young women know they're welcome in these academies.
Economic Justice and Pay Equity
Adult women are the largest group earning the minimum wage, and women of color are at the bottom. I support an increase, indexed for inflation. I am the only candidate to call for employers to report pay data by job classification, gender, and race.
Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment
New Mexico has an Equal Rights Amendment, something I am very proud of. Women should be equal in the U.S. Constitution as well.
Paid Family Leave
I voted for the Family and Medical Leave Act while in Congress, and while it was a great step forward, we should now institute paid family leave. It will help businesses reduce turnover and will help working families by granting a much needed benefit at a small shared cost.
The United States should ratify the women's human rights treaty. I will restore full funding for international family planning.
Women's Health
I want every state to provide sexual assault survivors who are treated in emergency rooms with counseling regarding risk of pregnancy and objectively offer emergency contraception. I will also restore full funding to the Office of Women's Health.
Click here for Governor Richardson's healthcare plan.
Iraq War and Women in the Armed Services
We know that the first priority of women voters is ending the war. The solution is to get all of our troops out of Iraq. Click here to read the plan. I will assure that women have the full range of health care in the military, including sexual trauma counseling and reproductive services.
Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health
I am pro-choice and will continue to support abortion rights and medical privacy for women. I am the only candidate explicitly committing to appoint only judges who consider Roe v. Wade settled law.
Strong Social Security
Social Security is the main retirement program for American women, and I oppose any efforts to weaken or privatize it. I am the only candidate calling for a caregiver credit in Social Security.
Fair Taxes
I will work with Congress to permanently abolish the "marriage penalty" in the tax code, making the system fairer to working women and their families.
Fund Work to Stop Violence Against Women
We must restore full funding for the federal Violence Against Women Act, and for the Family Violence Prevention Act, and increase funding for health professionals who help rape survivors.
Click here for Governor Richardson's Comprehensive Women's Policy Platform.