Vitelli statement on International Women's Day

AUGUSTA–In honor of International Women’s Day, Sen. Eloise Vitelli of Arrowsic released the following  statement:

“I have spent the past 40 years dedicated to helping women get a fair chance to succeed in the workplace through training programs and advocacy. While I have seen a lot of progress, too many women continue to face significant barriers that prevent them from entering, remaining and thriving in the workforce. It is deeply frustrating and detrimental to the success of our state, especially when we are living in a period of substantial workforce shortages.

Over the past century, women have fought and won the right to vote, the right to equal education opportunities through title IX and the right to live free from violence. This is good work but we must do more. We need to ensure that women are able to go to work and earn the same pay as their male colleagues in a respectful environment free from harassment and discrimination.

The women I have worked with throughout my career and in the Legislature are unequivocally smart, passionate and dedicated. Excluding an entire gender–or any group of people–from fully participating in the economy is wrong and does a disservice to our state and country. We deserve a chance to succeed and we will fight for it. On International Women’s Day, let’s commit to closing the gender gap in government, boardrooms, main street, and across all industries until everyone has the opportunity to succeed.”