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Women's issues will need funding to move forward

JEFFERSON CITY - Women's services will have to grapple for a piece of Missouri's shrinking budget pie when the state legislature convenes in January.

Several women in state government called for support of legislation to improve women's interests in health, education and employment following Tuesday's release of a report on the status of women in Missouri.

But Rep. Deleta Williams, D-Warrensburg, said any proposed legislation would meet with familiar obstacles.

"It's going to be difficult," Williams said. "The budget situation creates a lot of problems for moving forward."

For Rep. Vicky Riback Wilson, D-Columbia, moving forward means making some changes in women's access to health care. The new report, a product of the Washington-based Institute for Women's Policy Research, gave Missouri a C average in the category of health issues.

"The information in the report is not new, but it puts it in a new context," Wilson said.

Wilson said she is disappointed with Missouri's report card on abortion availability and insurance coverage for mental health -- two concerns she has brought to the legislature in the past. Nationally, the institute ranked Missouri 28th in "reproductive rights" and 27th in its "health and well-being index."

However, what Wilson termed "access" issues usually come down to the bottom line, and she said wider availability of services would ultimately be a question of appropriations.

Williams said she hopes legislators will consider health issues carefully.

"Health care is nonpartisan," Williams said, adding that the information from this report should not be put on the shelf.

Jean Sinzdak, a state outreach associate with the Institute for Women's Policy Research, said the purpose of the ongoing nationwide study is to "highlight the disparity of women's experiences across the states -- or to point out where states are doing well."

The report by the privately funded, nonpartisan institute measured political participation, employment, earnings and other social and economic factors regarding women. Missouri was included in the Midwestern region of the study, comparing the state with Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. In this region, Missouri came in second for political participation and employment for women but earned a C average across the board.