NC Women Matter and NC Women United are encouraging letters to the editor of the Raleigh News & Observer about five recent articles:

• Activists seek increase in federal minimum wage (Jul 23)
• Planned Parenthood wins federal funds to replace money cut by GOP-led legislature (July 25)
• U.S. poverty on track to rise to highest since 1960s (Jul 22)
• Female doctors grapple with salary inequity (July 24)
• March remembers domestic violence victims in Wake County (Jul 26)

Please submit your article at

www.newsobserver.com/about/newsroom/editor/

and then leave a comment here — especially if your letter is published!

Feel free to use the following facts and references in composing your letter, but remember — the best letters include something new to add to the conversation and a bit of personal experience pertaining to the article.

Need to increase minimum wage: http://bit.ly/Os3QMM

• Increasing the minimum wage and tipped minimum wage are key steps toward fair pay for women. $7.25 an hour amounts to only about $15,080 a year. That’s more than $7,000 below the federal poverty line for a family of four.  People who work for a living should be able to support their families and live off their wages.  $7000 below the federal poverty line for a family of four. People who work for a living should be able to support their families and live off their wages. Its time to #Raisethewage for working women.$7000 below the federal poverty line for a family of four. People who work for a living should be able to support their families and live off their wages. It’s time to #Raisethewage for working women. $7000 below the federal poverty line for a family of four. People who work for a living should be able to support their families and live off their wages. Its time to #Raisethewage for working women. $7000 below the federal poverty line for a family of four. People who work for a living should be able to support their families and live off their wages. Its time to #Raisethewage for working women.
• NC Justice Center factsheet on women and the economy in NC

Planned Parenthood gets Federal money, mitigating effect of state actions: http://bit.ly/O6nNXe

• Visit Planned Parenthood for additional info:

Rising rates of poverty: http://bit.ly/PSvTWP

• According to our partners at the NC Justice Center, the poverty rate for women in NC increased to 17.7 percent in 2009. Almost 828,000 women in North Carolina, or 1 in 5.6 women, live below the federal poverty line. Can you send a letter on this News & Observer story about why poverty alleviation and family economic security matter to women?
• NC Justice Center issue paper on women and the economy

Even women doctors are affected by pay equity: http://bit.ly/Os4JVJ

• “Nationally, female physicians and surgeons earn 71 cents for every man’s dollar, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Neither report accounts for salary influences as strictly as the JAMA does, but other sources document large differences between men and women’s wages.”
• AAUW is a great resource on pay equity issues. http://www.aauw.org/act/laf/library/payequity.cfm
• Check out the NC Women Matter fact sheets on
  • women and the economy and
  • work life balance work

Importance of adequate funding for domestic violence prevention:  http://bit.ly/OpcBV

• Check out our coalition partner, the NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, for some helpful resources in writing your letter. http://nccadv.org/dv_information.htm

If those are your issues, please take pen to paper!

Submit your article at http://www.newsobserver.com/about/newsroom/editor