Soroptimist International
215 893 9000 PHONE
of the Americas
215 893 5200 FAX
1709 Spruce Street
siahq@soroptimist.org E-MAIL
Philadelphia, PA 19103-6103
www.soroptimist.org URL
GROWTH Act 2007
Soroptimist Club Meeting Instructions
Right now a groundbreaking bill that has the potential to help lift millions of women in the developing world
out of poverty is before Congress. The Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive Act or
GROWTH Act was introduced by Senator Durbin and Senator Hutchison on September 19th and by
Representative Lowey and Representative Ros-Lehtinen on July 10th (S.2069/H.R. 2965). The GROWTH Act
is an innovative bill that, if passed, would make the U.S. a leader in reducing poverty and promoting
opportunities for women and families around the world.
How Would the GROWTH Act Help Women Living in Poverty?
The GROWTH Act would shape U.S. assistance and trade policy to empower women in these areas:
! Small Business: Help poor women start and grow their own businesses
! Property Rights: Help increase women's land and property rights
! Wages and Working Conditions: Help improve women’s wages and working conditions by
emphasizing training and education
! Access to Global Trade: Ensure that increased trade benefits women and families living in poverty.
! Local Women’s Organizations: Encourage U.S. agencies to recognize women and to work with local
organizations that focus on women's needs.
Why Economic Opportunities for Women?
Investing in women is surest way to end global poverty. In many poor countries, women produce the majority
of the food supply and are more likely to spend their income on food, education and healthcare for their
children. However, they face unequal barriers to lifting their families out of poverty. Women often work
longer hours in the lowest-paid sectors, earn less stable incomes, and receive less training and fewer economic
opportunities than men do.
Why Is U.S. Policy Important?
As the largest economy in the world, a powerful trading partner, and major international donor, the U.S. can
have a huge impact on the lives of women worldwide. By improving our policies, we can help help millions
of mothers, daughters, and sisters around the world escape poverty.
What can Soroptimist clubs do to support the GROWTH Act?
Soroptimist clubs in the United States are encouraged to support the passage of the GROWTH Act as a way
to help women worldwide to live their dreams and achieve financial independence. There are two simple
ways clubs can support the GROWTH Act—both can be conducted at a single club meeting. The first is to
devote 45 minutes to learning more about the GROWTH Act and to write letters to federal legislators urging
them to support the GROWTH Act. The second is to hold a longer club meeting, approximately 90 minutes,
watch a DVD, learn more about the GROWTH Act and write letters to federal legislators. Soroptimist clubs
can begin supporting the GROWTH Act in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The goal of the
advocacy campaign is to raise awareness of the issue; let elected officials know that this is an important
matter to constituents; and encourage them to become co-sponsors of the GROWTH Act and to support the
legislation when it comes to a vote. Soroptimist will contact interested clubs at each point in the process. To
that end, it is important to let SIA headquarters know of an interest in participating in this advocacy project by
contacting program@soroptimist.org.
© Soroptimist International of the Americas
GROWTH Act
October 2007
Page 1 of 10
Project 1: A Letter-Writing Campaign (30 minutes)
In order to ensure support of the GROWTH Act, federal lawmakers need to know that it is important to their
constituents. Soroptimist can do this by devoting a club meeting to learning more about the GROWTH Act
and what it means for women worldwide. One or two members should agree to serve as facilitators for this
meeting. The facilitators can follow the 10 steps to a successful club project:
1. Studying the information in this kit and requesting additional information from Soroptimist headquarters
if necessary.
2. Learning how to conduct an effective letter-writing campaign.
3. Making copies of the one-page fact sheet for all club members.
4. Providing contact information for your Representative and Senators.
5. Presenting the information to the club about the GROWTH Act and the economic situation for women
worldwide. (The Women and Poverty white paper on the public Soroptimist website is an excellent
resource.)
6. Providing information to the club about writing effective letters.
7. Supplying club members with paper, envelopes, stamps and mailing labels.
8. Ensuring that all letters get in the mail.
9. Reporting to SIA headquarters about the club’s activities.
10. Serving as the contact person with headquarters for follow up.
Project 2: “Maquilapolis: City of Factories” and a Letter-Writing Campaign (90 minutes)
Project Two combines the information in Project One while incorporating the DVD “Maquilapolis: City of
Factories.” Maquilapolis is a documentary film about (and by) workers in Tijuana, Mexico’s, assembly
factories, the maquiladoras. In the film, Carmen and her friend Lourdes confront labor violations,
environmental devastation and urban chaos. Reaching beyond their daily struggles, they organize for change.
The women also use video cameras to document their lives, their city, and their dreams for the future. The
DVD brings to life the necessity for the GROWTH Act; with even a brief introduction to the legislation, club
members will readily understand how it could help women like Carmen and Lourdes.
Facilitators will conduct the following 15 steps to a successful club project:
1. Securing the DVD from SIA headquarters. To order, please email <program@soroptimist.org>.
2. Previewing the DVD and being prepared to lead the discussion following the film.
3. Studying the information in this kit and requesting additional information from Soroptimist headquarters
if necessary.
4. Learning about how to conduct an effective letter-writing campaign.
5. Making copies of the one-page fact sheet for all club members.
6. Providing contact information for your representative and senators.
7. Presenting the DVD.
8. Leading the discussion following the DVD, using the materials in this kit.
9. Presenting the information to the club about the GROWTH Act and the economic situation for women
worldwide. (The Women and Poverty white paper on the public Soroptimist website is an excellent
resource.)
10. Providing information to the club about writing effective letters.
11. Supplying club members with paper, envelopes, stamps and mailing labels.
12. Ensuring that all letters get in the mail.
13. Reporting to SIA headquarters about the club’s activities.
14. Serving as the contact person with headquarters for follow up information described below.
15. Returning the DVD to SIAHQ as soon as the club has finished with it.
Project 3: For Clubs Outside the United States
Soroptimist clubs around the world are concerned with the economic situation for women. All clubs can
benefit from the information about economic conditions for women’s contained in this kit, and may wish to
borrow and view the DVD of Maquilapolis. Another excellent source is the Women and Poverty white paper
© Soroptimist International of the Americas
GROWTH Act
October 2007
Page 2 of 10
available on the Soroptimist website. Club members should educate themselves about the needs of women
worldwide.
In those countries that provide financial assistance, investigate what percentage of foreign aid is targeted to
projects that benefit women. Form partnerships with other organizations and advocate for similar legislation
to the GROWTH Act in the club’s country.
For clubs with a friendship link in the United States, bring the GROWTH Act to their attention and encourage
them to support the project in order to assist women worldwide.
If the club has information about women who have benefited from international aid, please share those stories
with the program department at SIA headquarters. That information can be used in the letter-writing
campaign and in meetings with legislators.
Follow up for Participating Clubs
It is crucial that clubs interested in the GROWTH Act contact the program department at SIA headquarters.
Those clubs that have expressed an interest will receive follow up information on the status of the GROWTH
Act and emails requesting support at targeted moments in the campaign. Furthermore, Women’s Edge
Coalition will be scheduling meetings with legislators across the country in order to garner support.
Soroptimist members will be included in those meetings whenever possible.
Additional information about SIA’s partner, Women’s Edge Coalition:
The Women’s Edge Coalition advocates for international economic policies and human rights that support
women worldwide in their actions to end poverty in their lives, communities and nations.
The Women’s Edge Coalition was created in 1998 by Elise Fiber Smith, co-founder and founding chair, and
Ritu Sharma Fox, co-founder and president, to address the critical economic role that women play in
developing countries, and to recognize that their voices were not being heard by U.S. decision-makers
creating policies and enacting legislation that affects women worldwide.
Edge works to bring those voices before the U.S. government and have them taken into account in U.S.
policy, especially in the areas of international assistance and foreign trade. Edge has authored two major
pieces of legislation that the U.S. Congress will be considering in 2007. One is the GROWTH Act and the
other, co-sponsored by Amnesty International USA and the Family Violence Prevention Fund, addresses the
global dimensions of violence against women.
In all of its work, the Women's Edge Coalition consults extensively with women’s organizations around the
world to assure that their concerns and priorities are considered as policy is drafted. These consultations take
the form of questionnaire-based research as well as advice from women’s organizations via Edge’s board of
directors and its Global Advisory Council.
Edge is a coalition made up of 46 members, including Soroptimist International of the Americas. It also has
individual members who take action on behalf of the world’s women through monthly action alerts and
targeted local events. For more information and to join the mailing list, see www.womensedge.org.
Additional Information Attached:
! One page fact sheet on the GROWTH Act
! List of sponsors and information on how to contact legislators
! Tip sheet on writing effective letters
! Sample letter
! Information about “Maquilapolis: City of Factories”
! Evaluation form for Maquilapolis” showing
© Soroptimist International of the Americas
GROWTH Act
October 2007
Page 3 of 10
The GROWTH Act 2007
Fact Sheet
The Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive Act (GROWTH Act) is groundbreaking
legislation that proposes important change to U.S. international assistance and trade programs to prioritize
the economic opportunities for women living in poverty worldwide. Investing in women is one of the surest
routes to ending poverty in the developing world. If passed, it would make U.S. policy a driver of positive
change for women around the world.
Why is this bill important?
Women are the backbone of the global economy. Women's share of the labor force is increasing in almost
all regions of the world. For example, women make up 40 percent or more of total employment in East and
South-East Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, and women farmers produce 60
to 80 percent of the food in most developing countries. Despite this, women in developing countries tend to
work in the lowest paid sectors, have less stable incomes, work longer hours, have less access to training and
education, and have fewer economic opportunities than men. For instance, although African women are 60
percent of the agricultural labor force, they receive less than 1 percent of the total credit available to
agriculture.
Decades of research and experience have shown that poor women reinvest any extra income they have in their
children, creating a positive cycle of growth for the family. Greater economic opportunity for a woman means
her daughters are more likely to go to school, her babies are more likely to survive infancy and her family is
more likely to eat nutritious meals. The woman herself is less vulnerable to trafficking and HIV/AIDS, and
has more options in the face of violence or abuse.
A large majority of Americans support U.S. investment in reducing poverty worldwide. As the largest
economy in the world, most powerful trading partner and biggest international donor, the United States has a
major effect on women’s lives and economic well-being worldwide. Changing U.S. policy can change
women’s lives.
The GROWTH Act would reshape U.S. international assistance and trade policy to:
! Promote women’s ability to start and grow businesses. The bill focuses on increased support for smalland medium-sized enterprise development by women as well as continued support of microfinance for
women. It aims to help women’s businesses grow and in turn employ other women. Linking microfinance
programs to the small and medium enterprise sector helps build the economic sector as a whole and
encourages sustainable development, especially in developing countries.
! Enhance women’s land and property rights. Women own legal title to very little property worldwide.
This means they cannot use any assets as collateral for loans, or even prove their ownership rights if they
need compensation in the event of a disaster. The bill emphasizes supporting community-based groups
already working on this issue with local women and their country’s legal institutions.
! Increase women’s access to higher quality employment and improve the wages and working
conditions of jobs dominated by women. The bill emphasizes supporting education, training and
advocacy programs to increase women’s skills and inform them of their legal rights in the workplace.
! Ensure that the benefits of trade agreements reach poor women in developing countries, through
programs such as trade capacity building and training for women entrepreneurs.
The GROWTH Act of 2007 also concretely assists poor women by:
1. Establishing an incentive fund within the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) to actively encourage U.S. economic projects in poor developing nations to incorporate
women’s needs.
2. Encouraging all agencies and contractors who implement U.S. assistance programs to partner with
and build the capacity of local civil society and community organizations that work on women’s
empowerment in developing nations.
© Soroptimist International of the Americas
GROWTH Act
October 2007
Page 4 of 10
GROWTH Act 2007
List of Current Sponsors and Information on Contacting Legislators
Initial bill sponsors:
Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)
Additional House co-sponsors (as of October 30th):
Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3]
Rep Capps, Lois [CA-23]
Rep Davis, Artur [AL-7]
Rep Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [FL-21]
Rep Gonzalez, Charles A. [TX-20]
Rep Granger, Kay [TX-12]
Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2]
Rep Kirk, Mark Steven [IL-10]
Rep Klein, Ron [FL-22]
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9]
Rep McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [WA-5]
Rep Payne, Donald M. [NJ-10]
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9]
Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16]
Rep Shays, Christopher [CT-4]
Rep Tauscher, Ellen O. [CA-10]
Rep Watson, Diane E. [CA-33]
Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19]
To find contact information for elected officials, visit:
www.house.gov/writerep/
www.senate.gov
© Soroptimist International of the Americas
GROWTH Act
October 2007
Page 5 of 10
The GROWTH Act
Writing Effective Letters
Writing letters continues to be a successful way to persuade elected officials to support an issue such as the
GROWTH Act. To have a successful letter-writing campaign, club members must be informed about the
issues, stay updated, and share information in an easy to understand format. Letters should be written by
individual club members. However, this type of campaign can be expanded to include people who are not
club members but who also support the economic opportunities for women. It is also possible to send an
official club letter and to conduct a wider individual letter-writing campaign.
Regardless of the type of campaign, all letters should:
! Be brief. The letter should be a maximum of one page. It should identify the subject clearly—asking the
senator or representative to support women’s economic empowerment and co-sponsor the GROWTH Act.
The letter should come to the point quickly and give solid facts.
! Be concise. Write in a simple, easy to read style and keep to a single issue.
! Be original. Original letters have a greater impact than form letters.
! Be informed. For the House of Representatives reference the bill by its numbers: HR 2965; in the Senate
S.2069.
! Be reasonable. The letter should not ask for the impossible.
! Be personal, if possible. Personal experience is the best supporting evidence.
! Ask for an answer. Ask a question and expect more than a form letter in reply. Ask the legislators to state
their opinion of the GROWTH Act in their reply. Constituents have the right to know their position.
! Say thank you. Thank the legislators if they support the GROWTH Act. There is a list of the current cosponsors on the previous page. If the legislators are not listed as co-sponsors, encourage them to add their
names immediately.
At the end of the presentation on the GROWTH Act, schedule time for writing letters. The facilitators should
provide current fact sheets, pens, envelopes and stamps. Make time available during the club meeting to
ensure that each letter gets written. The facilitators should be responsible for collecting and mailing the
letters.
To expand the letter-writing campaign to a larger audience, set up tables outside of shopping centers,
businesses and/or universities. Provide form letters, fact sheets, paper, pens, stamps, envelopes and a place for
signing. Because these people won’t have much time to absorb the information provided and write a cohesive
letter, provide a form letter. Although not as powerful as personal letters, they are still worthwhile. Be
responsible for collecting and mailing the signed letters.
© Soroptimist International of the Americas
GROWTH Act
October 2007
Page 6 of 10
The GROWTH Act
Sample Sign-on Letter
Dear _____,
A new opportunity is coming up soon for taking meaningful, focused action to help the poorest women
around the world gain the opportunity to transform their lives.
A groundbreaking new piece of legislation, the GROWTH Act, H.R. 2965, [or S.2069 for a Senator] will help
women make enormous strides toward economic self-sufficiency. This bill (the “Global Resources and
Opportunities for Women to Thrive Act”) would remove a range of obstacles that prevent women from
participating actively in their countries’ economies. If passed, it would make the U.S. a driver of positive
change for women worldwide.
Here’s what the GROWTH Act would do:
•
Promote women’s ability to start and grow businesses. By expanding programs for microcredit and
increasing support for women’s small- and medium-sized enterprises, the bill would enable more women
to support themselves and others, including employing other women.
•
Enhance women’s land and property rights. Women around the world are prohibited from lowning
land and other property. This blocks their ability to secure loans, and may leave them impoverished if
their husbands die or divorce them. The bill emphasizes support for community-based groups already
working on this issue in local communities.
•
Increase women’s access to quality employment; improve wages and working conditions in job
sectors dominated by women. The bill would expand education, training and advocacy programs that
increase women’s skills and inform them about their legal rights in the workplace.
•
Ensure that international trade benefits women, through programs for trade capacity-building and
training for women entrepreneurs.
The GROWTH Act has been introduced in Congress soon with bipartisan support. Supporting economic
opportunity for women is something that all Americans can unite around. I look forward to hearing from you
about your position on this issue and seeing your name on the list of co-sponsors. Please write to let me know
that you are supporting this legislation.
If you do not support economic opportunity for women worldwide, please respond and let me know your
reasoning, as this issue will affect my vote in the next election.
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
© Soroptimist International of the Americas
GROWTH Act
October 2007
Page 7 of 10
The GROWTH Act
Maquilapolis: City of Factories
How to Order:
E-mail program@soroptimist.org to borrow a cost-free copy of the DVD.
Terms of Use:
This DVD is for use in screenings sponsored or planned by your organization. This DVD is not to be shown
in high school or college classrooms or in public libraries, except with prior approval of the producers. Please
do not duplicate or telecast this DVD. After each showing, please fill out and send in the attached evaluation
form.
If other groups or institutions want to show the film, please encourage those within the U.S. to buy their own
copy by ordering at: http://www.newsreel.org or by calling: California Newsreel Order Dept., 1-877-8117495.
Groups outside the U.S. can get copies by contacting the filmmakers directly: Vicky Funari and Sergio De La
Torre, vfunari@sonic.net, delatorre@ucsd.edu, 1-707-557-0946.
If this DVD is loaned out as part of an outreach campaign, please be sure the recipient is aware of and
promises to respect the above limitations of use, including the commitment to fill out and send in the
evaluation form.
Viewers Guide to Maquilapolis
Maquilapolis is a documentary film about (and by) workers in Tijuana's assembly factories, the
maquiladoras. In Maquilapolis, Carmen and her friend Lourdes confront labor violations, environmental
devastation and urban chaos. Reaching beyond their daily struggle for survival, they organize for change. The
women also use video cameras to document their lives, their city, and their hopes for the future.
This Viewer’s Guide includes:
! information on the world of the maquilas in Mexico;
! a list of questions to help focus on the realities of maquila workers’ lives;
! suggestions on how the GROWTH Act law can become law, just by writing one brief letter.
Maquilas: What and Why?
! “Maquilas” are factories where workers assemble imported materials (like electronics components or precut cloth) into finished products for export to countries like the U.S. Most are owned by foreign investors.
! Many poor developing countries have few industries and very few paid jobs. For them, maquilas often
provide a first step toward industrialization.
! Trade agreements allow maquila owners to import their materials tariff-free, as long as the finished
product is directly exported tax-free. The result: lower production costs.
! Factory owners choose to build maquilas in countries that offer cheap labor and a “favorable investment
climate”—which may mean a lack of effective labor laws or environmental regulation.
! Maquilas don’t need much heavy machinery and the jobs don’t require much training. Therefore, the
factories can relocate easily. And they do, sometimes (as in Maquilapolis) to avoid paying taxes or wages,
and sometimes to move to a country with a lower-paid workforce.
Statistics on Mexico:
! Unemployment: 3.5%
! Population Under National Poverty Line: 20.3%
! Labor Force: 41.3 million
© Soroptimist International of the Americas
GROWTH Act
October 2007
Page 8 of 10
The Maquila Industry in Mexico:
! Started in the 1960s after the U.S. and Mexico signed the “Maquiladora Decree.”
! Rapid growth after the signing of NAFTA, the North America Free Trade Agreement.
! Caused mass migration to the border.
! Over 4,000 factories and a million workers along the border with the U.S.
! Some maquila plants have left Mexico and moved their operations to Southeast Asia, where they have
found cheaper labor.
! The resulting drop in employment may lead some Mexicans, both women and men, to cross the border
and look for work in the U.S. In this way, U.S. trade and investment policies affect the immigration
situation.
Women in the Maquila Industry
Women comprise the majority of maquila workers. Most are young (16–25), very poor, and eager to work.
Many come from rural areas and have never held a paid job. The maquilas offer them their first opportunity to
earn their own income. With low levels of education and skills, they are unlikely to find other formal
employment.
They are targeted for assembly jobs because:
! They are considered to be “docile, have agile hands and offer cheap labor.”
! Most are unaware of their rights as women and as workers.
! Many are single mothers who would take any job to feed their children.
Many women work long hours in maquilas, yet still can’t support their families. In some plants, maquila
workers have to contend with serious problems:
! exhausting work and repetitive-motion injuries;
! sexual abuse, sometimes as a condition for getting or keeping a job;
! on-the-job exposure to toxic chemicals or to textile dust;
! chemical contamination of their communities.
Mexican national labor law requires:
! No worker should be paid less than the minimum wage.
! A percentage of profits should be equally distributed among workers.
! Social security and worker’s housing are contributed to from pre-tax earnings.
! Workers get paid annual and sick leave as well as a mandatory annual raise.
! Employer is required to pay a severance in the case of termination of labor.
! Workers should be protected from work-place hazards.
! Workers have the full right to organize, form unions, and choose representation.
! Yet, foreign companies located in designated “export processing zones” may be legally exempted from
national laws such as these.
Maquila Women: Family Life, Work Life
The following are questions that can be used to lead a discussion in the club meeting about the realities of
women working in the maquilas. What is the maquila experience like? Describe the working environment and
the life conditions of the Mexican maquila workers.
1. What problems did Carmen face at Sanyo? What other problems did she start having when she took a
job at Panasonic? Even after her victory against Sanyo, what problems does Carmen still face?
2. Lourdes had breathing problems and constant rashes due to chemicals from the factories, but she
feared more for the welfare of someone else. Who, and why?
3. What makes life tougher for women who work in the maquilas compared to male workers?
4. What would it take to provide these women good alternatives to working in assembly plants?
5. How can maquila workers get fair pay?
6. How could the U.S. help improve working conditions in the export processing zones?
7. What type of assistance or organization do Carmen, Lourdes and other maquila women need to be
able to protect their legal rights?
© Soroptimist International of the Americas
GROWTH Act
October 2007
Page 9 of 10
How Would the GROWTH Act Help Maquila Women?
For women who work long hours yet still can’t support their families, the GROWTH Act would:
! Increase women’s access to higher quality employment. Improve the wages and working conditions of
jobs dominated by women, so that their work allows them to provide for themselves and their families,
and they don’t have to face debilitating illnesses and injury as the price of being employed.
For women who don’t know what to do when an employer doesn’t pay them the wages, severance pay or
other benefits they are due under the law, the GROWTH Act would:
! Support education, training and advocacy programs, both to increase women’s skills and inform them of
their legal rights in the workplace, like CITTAC did with the women in the movie.
For women who are unemployed or lose their jobs when a plant closes, the GROWTH Act would:
! Promote microcredit programs so women can start businesses, and support larger-scale loans or credit so
their businesses can grow and in turn employ other women. Help to create alternatives to dead-end jobs.
For women living in developing countries where there are virtually no paid jobs, the GROWTH Act would:
! Ensure that the benefits of trade reach women living in poverty in developing countries. Support the
development of alternatives in both employment and self-employment.
Take Action
Help make the GROWTH Act part of U.S. law! Follow the previous instructions on conducting a letterwriting campaign to build support in Congress for these positive and necessary improvements in the lives of
poor women.
© Soroptimist International of the Americas
GROWTH Act
October 2007
Page 10 of 10