Gov. Richardson Appoints Martha Burk as Women’s Issues Advisor

Gov. Bill Richardson introduced Corrales resident Martha Burk yesterday as his Senior Advisor on Women’s Issues. Great pick. Burk, who served as the Senior Adviser for Women’s Issues for Richardson's presidential campaign, is a nationally recognized expert on pay equity and other women’s issues. She's a political psychologist, feminist, and former Chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations who led a protest at the 2003 Masters Tournament in Augusta, GA to bring attention to the male-only membership rules of the Augusta National Golf Club, which hosted it.

Burk currently runs the Corporate Accountability Project for the National Council of Women's Organizations. She's also a syndicated columnist, and serves as Money Editor for Ms. Magazine. She's authored two books -- Cult of Power: Sex Discrimination in Corporate American and What Can Be Done About It, and Your Money And Your Life: The High Stakes for Women Voters in ’08 and Beyond.

During yesterday's news conference, Richardson said of the appointment, “I’m not looking for more reports that will simply highlight what we already know –- that many women are not getting a fair shake when it comes to employment and pay equity. That’s why I tapped Dr. Burk for this role, because she knows these issues perhaps better than anyone and she is prepared, like me, to take bold action."

Richardson said Dr. Burk will advise him as he works with the Legislature to double the New Mexico child day care credit -– which will help more than 11,000 working families who pay more than $5,000 a year on child care:

• The child day care credit will be increased from $1,200 to $2,400 for families with three or more children, from $960 to $1,920 for families with two children, and from $480 to $960 for families with one child.

• Families with income up to twice the New Mexico minimum wage will be eligible for the credit.

• Expansion of the child day care credit will benefit 8,600 working families who qualify for the credit under current law, plus an additional 3,700 working families. The estimated cost of the expansion is $6.2 million.

Dr. Burke will also work on other women’s issues, including:

• Address pay equity in state government by requiring state agencies to report on employment and pay by gender, race and job category.

• Require employment and pay reporting from contractors doing business with the state.

• Train women, such as displaced homemakers, so they are prepared for better paying jobs.

• Build on efforts by the Commission on the Status of Women to get more women in non-traditional jobs, which pay better.

• Increase efforts to channel more of our girls into science, math, and technology, and determine when and why girls drop out of these programs.

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