and we must help one another, and this is where I implore the men to join in our campaign. That's a long range program. The men-black men-we're not in competition with our black men, because we're not in competition for the same jobs. So until we begin to see common allies among us, I think we are going to push ourselves backward with the same rhetoric and the same old talk.

So, I would like to come back and talk about the forum for implementing the legislation that is already on the books.

Thank you.

[See appendix 2, p. 174 for Dr. Davis' prepared statement.]

Mr. BURTON. That's the trouble. Once you have had experience with the legislative branch, you become so pessimistic.

Ms. Porcino?

STATEMENT OF JANE PORCINO, CODIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL ACTION FORUM FOR OLDER WOMEN

MS. PORCINO. Thank you, Congressman Burton, for the opportunity to testify this morning on behalf of the National Action Forum for Older Women.

This organization was established 18 months ago by Nancy King, of the University of Maryland, and myself, to establish a network of people concerned about issues affecting women in midlife and late life.

Although we address a broad range of issues, I have been invited to speak today about the health problems. It is appropriate that this Committee on Retirement Income and Employment examine the many connections between the health needs of midlife women and employment.

It has been well documented that there has been significant improvement physical health and health image when a person is gainfully and meaningfully employed.

The health issues affecting the capacity of midlife women to meet their own problems and to achieve their highest potential have been for the most part unexplored. For myself and thousands of other women throughout the country, the health concerns of midlife begin with menopause.

My reason for standing before you today goes back almost 10 years, when I unexpectedly found myself in the terrifying life crisis. I had always been in excellent health with high energy, an active wife and mother of seven, substitute teacher, and a vigorous political and social activist in my community. I had expected to breeze through midlife with no difficulties at all. Instead, like many other women, somewhere around the age of 45 I spent a year increasingly less able to make even the simplest decisions, feeling as though my usefulness to the world was ending, frightened that my fundamental role was terminating, seeing no future and feeling I was going crazy.

I could find no support in the community, and was treated by my physician with high doses of estrogen. One morning I could not get out of bed. I think this deep depression was avoidable and after my slow, painful road to recovery, I was determined to build a support system for other women in midlife. I returned to school to gain some new skills and confidence, receiving my MSW in 1975 and am presently an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

I am in a doctoral program now working with relentless passion to raise the country's awareness to the critical concerns of women over 40 and to establish a national network of support to these women. Several recent medical studies show clear and frightening links between the estrogen pill and cancer, yet many doctors continue to use estrogen to treat menopausal women and women with osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is the second major health problem for women, affecting one out of four white women after menopause. About one-half of all American women will be advised to have their wombs removed by hysterectomy. Four times more than women in Sweden. We need to know why.

Betty Ford's recent frank admission of her drug dependency as well as the frequent mention of this problem at these hearings, illustrates the drug and alcohol use among middle aged women can be a hidden and severe problem. One of the critical issues which contribute to these health concerns is the lack of sensitivity and information of positions regarding menopausal and post-menopausal women.

These are just a few of the major health problems affecting the capacity of many women in midlife to achieve their full potential. How can you, who are policymakers, be more responsive to the health needs of women in midlife?

1. Congress should move forward with deliberate speed to require equal numbers of men and women in all existing longitudinal studies which seek Federal support. Indeed, we recommend studies focusing exclusively on the normal processes of female aging.

2. We urge Congress to fund the research necessary to preserve women's health from the hazards of estrogen, to discover a safe method of detecting and preventing the dehabilitation of osteoporosis and to specifically study drug abuse in women in midlife.

3. Broader educational and employment opportunities will reduce health deterioration.

4. All schools of medicine and health care which receive Federal support should be required to include courses on the special needs of the midlife and geriatric patient.

5. Special advocates for women in midlife should be represented on all Federal, State and local health planning groups, hospital boards and governmental health agencies in decisionmaking positions. We recommend the establishment of a National Task Force on Health Care for women in the second half of their lives.

6. A massive health education program for women in midlife is suggested, stressing the importance of nutrition and exercise to combat osteoporosis, preventing the risks of estrogen and urging women to seek second or third opinions before agreeing to the surgical procedure of hysterectomy.

7. A National Action Forum for Older Women, along with the other individuals and groups addressing this hearing would like to go on record as expressing total support for the equal rights amendment.

Finally, Dr. Robert Butler says that women themselves must mobilize to help themselves. And so we are. From 45 States and 6 countries, letters continue to pour in from women in midlife and late life. Together we are forming the network which is the National Action Forum for Older Women. We are seeking financial support to continue to expand this vital organizational effort which is encouraging women in the second half of their lives to appreciate their uniqueness and value and to explore their full potential.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of midlife women. The National Action Forum for Older Women looks forward to a continuing working relationship with the House Select Committee on Aging.

[See appendix 2, p. 179 for Ms. Porcino's prepared statement.] Mr. BURTON. Thank you very much.

Ms. FLEMING.

STATEMENT OF JANE FLEMING, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WIDER OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN, INC., WASHINGTON, D.C.

MS. FLEMING. Thank you for the opportunity to appear today. I speak from a wealth of first-hand experience with the employment problems midlife women face. Fifteen years ago, a group of us, midlife women ourselves, attempted to reenter the labor market after years out raising children. The resources we needed to find employment or retraining, particularly on a part-time basis, simply did not exist. We were forced to do it ourselves by organizing Wider Opportunities for Women, or WOW, as it is widely known.

WOW is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to expand employment opportunities for women. Since 1964, it has worked with thousands of women and hundreds of schools and employers. We see employment as the most crucial single factor in our efforts to help midlife women. We have, therefore, consistently broken ground in a wide range of programs designed to enable women to find meaningful employment and adequate compensation, through part-time and flexible arrangements, through career counseling and job advisory services, through skills training programs for low-income women in nontraditional jobs, and by acting as a resource and advocate for women's employment needs through a network which links approximately 100 women's employment groups nationwide.

WOW programs are designed to give women the support, confidence, and lifelong skills that will enable them to make a permanent transition from unemployment, underemployment, or dependency to stable, well-paid work and a secure future. My written testomony describes in more detail just how we accomplish this, but a few case histories will have to suffice here.

WOW's counseling and job services have enabled one displaced homemaker, for example, with no work experience, no confidence, no money, to become the administrative manager of a new public interest agency. By participation in a 3-year demonstration program for women offenders, one woman now works as a skilled electrical troubleshooter with a utility company. Through WOW, a former journalist and mother of three young children has found part-time work to keep her skills and contacts fresh. And our current skills training program has enabled one of the women you read about in the Washington Post yesterday, a former welfare recipient, to work at repairing electrical office machines for a major corporation and to buy a house for her family.

On the basis of our experience, we make the following, what we feel are doable recommendations: One, Members of Congress and congressional committees should review their own staffing policies to make sure they stand as examples of equal employment opportunity for midlife women; two, look closely at CETA and the Department of

Labor to see how equitably women's employment needs are met. In a recent study, we found that less than 2 percent of the Department of Labor's national training and outreach funds went for women's programs. On the local level women's programs suffer similar discrimination. CETA has a near monopoly of the Nation's employment and training money and is mandated to improve employment opportunities for the economically disadvantaged. As we have all heard, midlife women constitute a large proportion of the economically disadvantaged; therefore, what is done or not done under CETA has enormous impact on efforts to help midlife women achieve economic stability.

Three, include women and women's organizations in policymaking and program development. This is an obvious and essential first step toward adequately representing the concerns and needs of midlife women. Four, provide increased support for effective, community based programs which are currently operated by women's employment and service organizations. Most of these now operate on a shoestring but their potential is great; they have credibility and the community links to reach midlife women in their isolation. These programs, and others like them, can provide the transitional services. midlife women need, and they can do it cost effectively.

Five, recognize the work experience midlife women have gained in the home and in volunteer work by facilitating the transfer of unpaid experience to paid work, and by providing job internships that build on this experience.

Six, many midlife women who need training or retraining face the bitter fact that there is no financial aid available, because they are over a certain age or need to attend school part time. The Federal Government has exhibited little leadership in overcoming such barriers. We, therefore, recommend that there be a thorough review of all Federal educational assistance programs. Those programs that maintain. age barriers and that disallow part-time study should be revised so that they will serve as national models in providing equal opportunity

for all students.

Seven, review all Federal employment and training programs to make sure they include compensatory measures that address the critical needs of midlife women. It is imperative to reverse the pattern of discrimination against middle-aged and older workers in these programs.

And, eight, we feel there is little need for further research at this time. The problems have been identified and are well documented, recommendations have been made, and a number of solutions have been demonstrated. What we feel is needed is to begin, with action and commitment.

[See appendix. 2, p. 183 for Ms. Fleming's prepared statement.] Mr. BURTON. Thank you very much.

The subcommittee believes in taking a close look at real life problems. Had time permitted, we would have been glad to hear from a wide variety of average midlife women from grassroots America. In the brief period remaining, time permits us unfortunately only to hear from one. She comes to us from one of the trail-blazing organizations in the United States, the 2d Displaced Homemaker's Center to be established in America-the one in Baltimore, Md. We are grateful to the center for its cooperation and we welcome Roberta Gaines.

STATEMENT OF MS. ROBERTA GAINES, RESOURCE/REFERRAL DIRECTOR, MARYLAND CENTER FOR DISPLACED HOMEMAKERS, BALTIMORE, MD.

Ms. GAINES. Thank you.

Mr. Chairman, I am Roberta Abrams Gaines, a mother, middleaged woman, and former displaced homemaker. I am now resource/ referral director at the Maryland Center for Displaced Homemakers, Baltimore. I thank you for this opportunity to address you this morning, and for the chance to tell you my personal story, a story not different from that of many women in midlife crises.

I am now 45 years old. Thirteen years ago I was divorced and left with my seven children to support. It is difficult for me to look back over these past years without a lump coming into my throat.

When my husband left me, my children ranged in age, 2 to 12. I had never held a paying job and had not graduated from high school. I looked for work but was not able to find a job. While I hated the idea, I found I had to go to social services for money to be able to live. One of the social services department requirements was that I go to the department of parole and probation for support payments. I did this and my former husband was ordered to pay $35 per week out of his $15,000 per year salary. I entered the WIN program and was encouraged to enter training for a high school equivalency diploma. This permitted me an additional stipend of $60 per month to cover the cost of babysitting. On weekends I babysat and did political jobs so that our family could eat and make mortgage payments.

We lost our house and had to move out of our decent neighborhood into what you might call a ghetto, an area with high crime, fallingdown houses, and a landlord who milked us dry. I had no credit and too many children to be acceptable to most landlords. I was working as clerk at minimum wage and continuing to supplement our income through weekend work. Our income was less than it had been on welfare, but I was proud of taking care of my family on my own.

Of course, to do this, I was a great deal of the time, leaving the children to fend for themselves. You can guess what happened. My sons were my greatest concern. They were reaching the teenage years without strong male presence. I contacted many organizations which were supposed to help with this, but my search was futile. My sons began to get into trouble; got involved with drugs, and both of them were finally arrested. I felt as though all my efforts had only led to this sad and bitter end.

Some help finally did come. My boys got help after they were in legal trouble. And then I heard about a government-subsidized housing unit which had been newly renovated and for which I was eligible. The building housed six families, with a total of 48 children. The materials used in these renovations were inferior. After 1 year, the building was collapsing. I had literally no housing options to me unless my employment situation improved.

That's when I found help with Baltimore New Directions for Women and its new Center for Displaced Homemakers where I now work as resource/referral director. Daily I see women struggling with the same problems I struggled through. I am one of the few lucky ones. My life has taken a turn.

Help is needed to give other women the chance the make similar changes. We need more funds for programs like the job counseling and training assistance for displaced homemakers which the new