Durham adopts resolution to protect women against discrimination
DURHAM, NC (WTVD) -- Durham became the first city in North Carolina to pass the resolution known as CEDAW or Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.
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The resolution was on the agenda for Monday's Durham City Council meeting.
Beth Dehghan is the Executive Director of WomenNC, which is one of the more than 10 organizations forming a North Carolina coalition for CEDAW. The committee has been working to bring the resolution to Durham. She said CEDAW is a bill of rights for women.
"It is an international mechanism that has been adopted by all the countries across the world except six, and the United States is one of the six countries that has not adopted CEDAW," said Dehghan, who also hopes to bring the resolution to other municipalities in North Carolina, including Wake County.
Melissa Peters, executive assistant of WomenNC, said one issue they want to tackle is the gender-wage gap. In North Carolina, women earn 80.9 cents for every dollar a man earns. That's according to "The Status of Women in North Carolina: Employment and Earnings" report by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, NCDOT, North Carolina Council for Youth & Women Involvement and Status of Women in the States.
Peters discussed the other things they want to improve in Durham.
"Another one was health care and looking at mental health services maternal services that are available for women," Peters said. "We also had some of the groups mention interest again in housing because that is a major issue in Durham. As we know, the Triangle is a growing area and sometimes the more we grow the more displaced certain groups of people are."
The group plans to have an oversight group to check in on how the resolution is enforced.
The Durham County Board of Commissioners adopted the resolution last year.
