Period parity

THANK YOU BARB HUHN!

2021 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

"Barb has been a vital support to the Museum over many years, and especially through the COVID pandemic. She helped us through a time of un nown financial stress and powered up to eep our development department afloat. Barb is always a force of positivity and commitment!" - Museum Staff

wildlifeart.org · 307 - 733 - 5771 · @wildlifeartjh

Local government takes aim at ‘period poverty’

Town and county will put $10K toward stocking Parks and Rec bathrooms with tampons and pads.

By Billy Arnold

New this fiscal year, Teton County and the town of Jackson are paying to provide free menstrual products in Parks and Rec restrooms, taking over some responsibility from a grassroots nonprofit that’s been placing tampons, pads and other products in bathrooms countywide for two or so years.

“It’s huge,” Jean Barash said. “It’s the principle as much as the money.”

Barash is an organizer of the Period Project, a Teton County nonprofit that’s been funding the stocking of free menstrual products in restrooms since the spring of 2019. She listed a dizzying number of places where they’ve worked: St. John’s Episcopal Church, St. John’s Health, Teton County School District No. 1, the Teton County Jail and more.

One of those places used to be the Teton County/Jackson Recreation Center, which otherwise had a few paid dispensers.

But, led by Commission Chairwoman Natalia D. Macker, the Jackson Town Council and Teton County Board of County Commissioners decided to include $10,000 in Parks and Rec’s annual budget to stock pads and tampons in Rec Center bathrooms and other public restrooms the department manages countywide.

Macker said she thought taking over the service was a step forward.

“Women have the right to have access to the hygiene products that they need,” Macker said. “We wouldn’t expect volunteers to be stocking toilet paper in the bathrooms at public parks. We expect to go into the bathroom and have toilet paper.”

The $10,000 in town and county funds is not a huge number. The town of Jackson’s general fund budget for the current fiscal year is roughly $30 million. The county’s is roughly $60 million.

And having the town and county pay to stock Parks and Rec bathrooms adds to a list of other restrooms both government entities are already stocking for free. Those include the town’s public restrooms at the Home Ranch Welcome Center, Miller Park, Deloney Avenue and the town parking garage, as well as a slew of county buildings: the administration building, general service building and law library, the Teton County Jail, the Teton County Courthouse and the Teton County Health Department.

But Macker described the issue as a question of “equity” and “access” and credited the Period Project for getting the ball rolling a few years back.

“Period products are essential hygiene items for people who menstruate,” she said. “Women live in our community. They’re moving around our community. They’re attending activities in our community. And they should have access to the essential hygiene products that they need to do so.”

The problem the Period Project and, increasingly, the town and county are aiming to address is what advocates call “period poverty,” a problem the American Medical Women’s Association defines as “inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools and educations, including but not limited to sanitary products, washing

See PERIOD POVERTY on 21E

OUR NAME MIGHT BE NEW HERE— BUT WE’RE NOT.

We insure more than your stuff. We insure your lifestyle.

We’re a locally owned agency on a mission to elevate the real estate experience on both sides of the Tetons.

Melissa McCurdy, Lauren Stelting, Nacole Hanson, Andrea Graf, Yvonna Watsabaugh

LIFE INSURANCE • RETIREMENT FUNDING • ESTATE STRATEGIES Your local agents, Your local company. DISABILITY INCOME INSURANCE • ANNUITIES • LONG-TERM CARE Helping you protect what matters most.HOME • AUTO • BUSINESS • FARM & RANCH

STEPHANIE BUELOW

Sales Associate

steph@mountainstandardrealty.com 208-701-9989

SHELBY DYER

Sales Associate

shelby@mountainstandardrealty.com 307.690.3803 Proud to be long-time supporters of 4-H and Teton County Fair. Insurance • Investments Located at 1180 S. Highway 89 (PO Box 9610), Jackson, WY | (307) 733-3813

Property-casualty insurance products offered through Mountain West Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company/Laramie, WY Congrats on 60 years!

Womentum Presents

LEADING WITH LEADING WITH

Lea Bonnecaze

Nacole Hanson INTEGRITY INTEGRITY Agent

Agent

(307) 733-3813

Mia Murdock

Agent

A leadership empowerment conference featuring speakers, workshops and conversations 1180 S US Highway 89, Jackson, WY 83001 Securities & services offered through FBL Marketing Services, LLC+, 5400 University Ave., West Des Moines, IA 50266, 877/860-2904, Member SIPC. Property-casualty insurance products offered through Mountain West Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, Laramie, WY. Life insurance and annuity products offered through Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company+*/West Des Moines, Iowa. Long-term care and disability income insurance policies are underwritten by insurance companies that are not affiliated with our companies. +Affiliates *Company provider of Farm Bureau Financial Services

OCT. 29 2021 OCT. 29 2021

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND TICKETS AT

womentumwy.org

KATHRYN ZIESIG / NEWS&GUIDE FILE The Period Project puts out free feminine protection products for girls and women. The town and county will put $10,000 toward stocking Parks and Rec restrooms with pads and tampons.

PERIOD POVERTY

Continued from 20E facilities and waste management.”

Period poverty can result when girls or women struggle to buy pads or tampons, and resort to using things like newspaper. That can cause girls to miss school.

But in Wyoming, people who menstruate also have to pay sales tax when they purchase menstrual products, and the Legislature has not changed that.

It’s had at least two opportunities to do

Sen. Affie Ellis, R-Laramie, introduced in 2020 and advocated in 2021 for the Essential Health Products Dignity Act, a measure that would exempt from sales tax period products as well as adult and child diapers. In 2021, Ellis told the Senate Revenue Committee that most Wyoming businesses tax menstrual products as a “luxury.”

That’s in contrast to what state law considers “essential human goods and services” — groceries, water, eyeglasses, prosthetics, insulin and more — and exempts from sales tax.

The bill didn’t pass the Legislature’s muster in 2020 or 2021.

And, while Ellis said she was still supportive of the concept, she told the News&Guide she wouldn’t be reintroducing the bill this year.

Period Equity, a group of lawyers trying to make menstrual products tax exempt, says women in the United States spend an estimated $150 million a year on period products.

In Wyoming the Essential Health Products Dignity Act — which, again, includes adult and child diapers — would have cost the state roughly $1 million in lost revenue.

Macker believes a tax on menstrual products is discriminatory.

The commissioner said she hoped the town and county’s decision would lead businesses in Teton County to stock menstrual products as well.

And, in lieu of a repeal of the tax on period products, Macker said she hopes other local governments will do what they can to increase access to essential hygiene products.

“Hopefully other places in the state can at least take it up to do the parts that we can in our community around access and equity,” Macker said.

That, for her, involves “making sure that women and girls can participate equally — and that period products aren’t a hindrance to that.”

Contact Billy Arnold at 732-7063 or barnold@jhnewsandguide.com. This Ceiling to Floor and Everything In Between Dirt Blasting - Germ Killing - Indoor Power Washer Gets Your Whole Home Insanely Clean Wicked Fast!

www.SargentSteam.com Call 307-690-6100 Call 307-690-6100 Kathy Harrington | witchyclean15@gmail.com

We are proud to support the women who contribute to the creativity and success of businesses in our community.

We don’t offer care for addicts. We offer care for people.

Continued from 14E younger than 25. Also telling: Women are more likely to gain much more confidence as they headed toward 60 years old, while men’s confidence often declines after age 60.

“It’s possible that these lower levels of confidence at younger ages could motivate women to take more initiative, be more resilient, and to be more receptive to feedback from others, which in turn makes them more effective leaders in the long run,” the authors suggest. “We see a similar trend in women’s perceptions of their overall leadership effectiveness. … Again, women at younger ages rate themselves significantly lower than men but their ratings climb — and eventually supersede those of men — as they get older.”

A community is built by people.

People are

business owners, employees, students, parents, and children. Everything that makes Jackson a spectacular place to live begins with each of us.

Substance abuse is a national emergency & Jackson is not immune.

398063

SUBSTANCE ABUSE CAN AFFECT ANYONE.

ANY AGE, ANY EDUCATION, ANY INCOME, ANY PROFESSION, ANY RACE OR RELIGION.

Visit our website to learn more: www.curranseeley.com 307.733.3908

Speaking of aging

“Whilst men may play the game, women know the score.” — Habeeb Akande

It has long been said that women mature earlier than men, but a survey conducted by the financial website Earnest puts numbers to that common knowledge.

Reporting on the survey of more than 1,000 Millennials, CNBC said, “Across the board, millennial women are more likely than me to say they have already reached a milestone [that] they said represented financial adulthood.”

Living independently, paying their taxes, dealing with insurance and transportation — women ace men in such “adulting” tasks. They also are slightly better at paying off their student loans and buying a home, and there’s a lot of data to show that women on average earn significantly more on their investments than men, 18% vs. 11%.

Other things women are better at than men, according to many a women’s “top 10 things” lists, but also the India Times, include: • Women are better learners and earn better grades in school, even in math, chemistry and other such STEM subjects, despite being discouraged from such fields for decades. Oh, and they’re also better at computer coding and at playing computer games. • Women are cleaner than men. No huge surprise there, but a look at work areas reinforced the obvious, finding the desks of women much less germinfested than those of men. • Women are better at handling stress, perhaps because they are much more likely to talk about their problems than men. They also are better at talking to dogs, according to Elle magazine. • Women are more likely to eat healthier than men, piling on the fruits and veggies and just generally minding their fats and carbs. • Women are cheaper to raise. According to Time Money, 41% of young men will need to call or write home to ask for money compared with 31% of women. One possible explanation is that boys are more likely to get an allowance than girls.

Then there’s higher IQ scores, better chances of graduating from college in four years, being better listeners, mentors and problem-solvers, being more likely to survive an automobile crash ... There are likely many, many factors that go contribute to these results — statistically, males rack up more miles behind the wheel than females, for example, while the gender pay gap perhaps makes women better at handling money than men — but whether you’re talking about nurture or nature, as “King Radio” Span sang, “the women of today smarter than the man in every way.”

That’s right.

Contact Richard Anderson at 7327078 or rich@jhnewsandguide.com.

Real estate sold by real experts.

NOTHING COMPARES

1st Row (L to R): Amy Jennings, Amy Jones, Anne Jones, Ashley Byington, Ashley DiPrisco, Audra Hawkins, Audrey Williams, Barbara Allen, Becky Frisbie 2nd Row: Betsy Campbell, Biz Doyle, Caroline Carpenter, Caroline LaRosa, Cathy Loewer, Chris Wilbrecht, Ciara Thomas, Courtney Campbell, Dawn Bollinger 3rd Row: Deanna Briggs, Debbie Hunter, Donna Clinton, Liz Cheney 4th Row: Elizabeth Vance, Emily Figenshau, Emily Flanagan, Jackie Montgomery 5th Row: Jeanie Staehr, Jenn Dawes, Jennifer Kronberger, Jennifer Livengood, Jerilyn Arriola, Jessica Flammang, Jesse Mayers, Jill Sassi, Joanne LaBelle 6th Row: Jocelyn Emery, Jordan Burns, Judy Raymond, Karin Wertheim, Kate Parsons, Kathryn Brackenridge, Kathy Cisco, Katie Robertson, Kendra O’Donnell 7th Row: Kim Vletas, Kimmy Potter, Kristin Hartnett, Kristine Abbey, Laurie Huff, Linda Hanlon, Lisa Driewer, Lora Davis, Lori Reiland 8th Row: Madeleine Emrick, Marybeth Hansen, Meagan Murtagh, Melinda Day, Melissa Morton, Mercedes Huff, Meredith Landino, Mindy White, Natalie Volcko 9th Row: Padgett Hoke, Pamela Renner, Patty Hartnett, Roxy Pierson, Sarah Kerr, Savannah Lucas, Stephanie Spackman, Sophie Moore, Valerie Conger Not Pictured: Anna Burns, Hilary Cantu, Judy Rogers, Kathleen Guerrieri, Kristin Waddle