[media-credit name=’ALLISON WELCH/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton visited the Pyle Center Thursday night to speak about her statewide initiative for women’s economic equality in front of an audience of University of Wisconsin students, faculty and other interested parties.

Lawton and others began the initiative, entitled Wisconsin Women Equal Prosperity, after the state received a grade of C- from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research regarding the current standing of Wisconsin women in the economy.

“That’s when I convened a group of women to look at it and … flesh it out to raise the grade for women in Wisconsin once and for all,” Lawton said.

Lawton spoke passionately on a variety of subjects she said directly affect Wisconsin’s women. She used numerous statistics to drive her point home about pay equity and reproductive rights.

“Seventy percent of Wisconsin’s women over 16 years old are in the workforce,” Lawton said. “And we still receive only 70 cents to every dollar a man earns.”

WWEP has organized task forces and a variety of research groups to tackle the economic problems facing Wisconsin’s women, Lawton added.

The program reaches to women from a variety of age ranges, racial backgrounds and geographical locations within Wisconsin. According to Lawton, the program helps both her and her colleagues gain perspectives on the issues at hand.

“It is important that we have the productivity of that diversity,” Lawton added.

The Lieutenant Governor also presented a variety of economic issues women face today, including the availability of childcare, which can hold women back from achieving optimal success in the Wisconsin workforce.

“The number one challenge, and I don’t think anyone will argue, for women’s success in the workforce is access to affordable, available childcare,” Lawton said.

A variety of task forces have also examined and collected data to help develop reports. These reports are then used to create policy to support and encourage women to have a stronger position in the state’s workforce.

UW students from the LaFollette School of Public Affairs are currently helping with the policy research. Lawton added there is an emphasis placed on improving employee-management interactions to bring women’s concerns to the forefront.

“This is a shared agenda that supports the growing prosperity on both sides of the equation [employees and management],” Lawton said.

Lawton insisted there are connections between all women’s issues and their stance in the economy. She noted there is a connection between the lack of reproductive rights for women, violence against women and the disparity in pay equity from men to women.

“There’s just so many issues intertwined,” said Lawton. “It has so many moving parts, and so many people’s interests are involved.”

First-year UW graduate student Jenni Petersen attended the event and said she was impressed by Lawton’s dedication to the project.

“The thing that struck me the most is how much she plans on doing,” Petersen said. “I was really impressed how concerned she is.”