Support for Women’s Issues

Joe knows that his role as an ally is important to lift up women’s issues in a way that men will take responsibility for their own actions and take part in the solutions to gender inequity. As an immigration attorney, Joe worked on a specific project to serve survivors of domestic violence for almost five years. As a result of his work with domestic violence survivors, Joe understands the importance of self-empowerment and taking control. 

As a State Representative, Joe has followed the lead of women and like-minded men to create and establish concrete policies of empowerment. Three such steps that are easy to take right now are 1) opposing any bill that will limit a woman’s right to choose, 2) passing legislation so that women get equal pay for equal work, and 3) supporting legislation for Gun Violence Restraining Orders and similar laws to let survivors of violence know they will be believed and supported.

Supporting the Right to Choose & Adequate Funding for Planned Parenthood 

Joe supports a woman’s right to choose and their right to get the healthcare they need. This includes open access to safe, legal, affordable abortion, birth control, and family planning services, as well as access to adequate, affordable pre- and post-natal care, for all people, regardless of income, location, or education.

As Republicans across the country and in Pennsylvania attempt to utilize the Supreme Court and the Judicial Branch to crush privacy rights, medical rights, and human rights, Joe is fighting to protect the hard-fought rights of people to choose what to do with their bodies. He does not accept any federal, state, or local rollbacks, cuts, or restrictions on the ability of individuals to access quality reproductive healthcare services, birth control, or medically accurate sex education. 

Joe opposes further restrictions to accessing all of the information and education needed for people to make their own choices about their own bodies. Planned Parenthood is an essential resource for people across Pennsylvania who need a place to turn for reproductive health services, education and information. This is an issue that impacts poor people and people of color disproportionately. In some counties across the state, Planned Parenthood fills an essential gap in ways that family doctors and community health facilities are unable to provide the same quality of service. Efforts to strip Planned Parenthood of funding put thousands of Pennsylvanians at risk of being unable to access the healthcare services they rely on, and many more at risk for preventable sexually transmitted diseases. Joe stands with Planned Parenthood, because Planned Parenthood stands with women and men in need of safe and confidential health services.

This matter has developed a renewed sense of urgency following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and although abortion still remains safe and legal in Pennsylvania, this could change given the outcome of November’s election. The Republican-led state legislature is deadset on passing an abortion ban in Pennsylvania (with no exceptions for rape or incest), and this could become a reality should they maintain their majority and succeed in taking the governorship. This grim prospect underscores the importance in electing pro-choice Democrats across the commonwealth.

Pay Equity - Closing the Gender Gap 

Joe supports the simple concept that all people who perform the same work should be paid on the same levels. Women in the U.S. do not receive equal pay for equal work and that needs to change. One way to do this is to support organizing efforts by unions in trades and industries that include female-dominated professions. Increasing union membership in jobs serving women and communities of color has been shown to increase wages and real income. The benefits also extend beyond wages. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, approximately three in four unionized women (74.1 percent) have a pension plan, compared with only slightly more than four in ten (42.3 percent) of nonunion women. As of 2013, more than three in four unionized women (76.6 percent) had employer- or union-provided health insurance coverage, compared with only half (51.4 percent) of nonunion women. 

Joe will support direct legislation that extends pay equity to the entire workforce and creates more transparency so that pay inequity cannot be hidden in concepts like seniority and raises based on starting salaries.

#MeToo and Creating a Culture of Empowerment 

The #MeToo Movement has created an awareness of the prevalence of sexual violence and gender based harassment. We all know people in our lives who have suffered on account of their gender, and Joe himself has seen the impact within his own family. He believes that we need to create a culture of belief and support for victims. Too often victims of sexual assault and harassment are not believed when they come forward, or their experiences are minimized or reflected back at them as blame. Sexual violence is not simply something that happens to someone, it is also something perpetrated by someone. Therefore, the implementation of a new way of approaching these issues has to be intentional and mindful.

Concrete steps that a legislator can take is to support the creation of internal sexual harassment policies and support laws that will establish and reaffirm the validity of sexual violence and the harm it has done in our society. As a cisgendered, white, middle-aged man, Joe recognizes his role as an ally is to make certain that men take responsibility for their roles in the creation of the current culture and become a part of the solution by changing the way we treat women. 

Legislation should focus on the fact that prevention and support is not simply about comforting but it is also about empowering and moving forward. From his law practice, Joe knows a key feature of moving on from a violent relationship is the recognition that power and control are at the center of domestic abuse and that taking control back is a necessary step.