“The gender wage gap can be measured in dollars and cents, millions upon millions of them over the course of woman’s working life. It cannot be explained away by rhetoric about women’s ‘choices’ to take lower paying jobs or leave the workforce. The law prohibits pay discrimination. It has for a long time,” she wrote.

In concert with a high-power coalition of women’s groups, Equal Rights Advocates has sent letters to all 50 governors today, the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, calling for their help in closing a pay gap that disproportionately punishes women of color and low wage-earners. For more on the Equal Pay Today! campaign, click here.

Among the group of 75 litigators and 25 corporate attorneys, Noreen stands out as a public interest attorney. Also on the list of honorees are ERA Board member Gay Grunfeld (partner at Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP), famed former San Francisco city attorney Louise Renne and current California attorney general Kamala Harris.

Farrell was recognized for her leadership of ERA as well as her lawyering in Bojorquez v. ABM Industries,  Mansourian et al. v. Regents of of the University of California, and Brust et al. v. Regents of the UC. In describing to the Daily Journal why she took these cases on, Noreen said ERA picks cases based on areas in school and the workplace where there’s an “epidemic of injustice.”

Ten years later, Parker’s in the San Francisco Daily Journal for her move from Arnold & Porter, where she was an intellectual property partner, to Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, where she’ll serve as chief legal counsel. You can read ERA’s announcement of the move here.

According to the Daily Journal, Parker will focus on access to services following the passage of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

“Without NBC’s investigation into many Title IX issues and concerns how would we know about half of what’s going on in bay area schools?” Noreen Farrell, with Equal Rights Advocates told the Investigative Unit.

ERA has also filed a request for information from Evergreen, asking for proof it’s following Title IX. She is still waiting for answers.

“What I would advise a school district that has faced these horrible allegations is that they should be upfront doing everything to make sure students feel safe, parents feel confident and that members of the public feel confident,” Farrell said.

“For educators to stick their heads in the sand about sexual abuse of minors and the application of Title IX is a real problem.”

“Picking up on a recent investigative report by the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit, the nonprofit Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) is requesting that 100 Bay Area schools offer evidence of compliance with Title IX, the federal law that makes it illegal for any educational outlet receiving federal funding to discriminate on the basis of gender. . .ERA executive director Noreen Farrell says that is “troubling that 40 years after [Title IX’s] passage, we are still seeing these kinds of problems” and that the failure of some schools to live up to Title IX’s mandates “really sends this message to girls that…protecting you from sexual harassment isn’t important enough to us.”

Full article is here.

Excerpt below:

“The national nonprofit Equal Rights Advocates is demanding answers from Bay Area schools after the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit  exposed that some were not complying with Title IX.

To view original report, click here.

The group is asking 100 Bay Area schools to provide proof of compliance with the federal law that is set up to protect students from sexual harassment and abuse.

A lesser known part of Title IX requires schools to have a system in place to handle sexual harassment and abuse complaints. It also mandates schools designate a Title IX coordinator and publish this individual’s contact information.

ERA is asking for proof of a coordinator and procedures to file complaints that are published.

“We are very very focused on Title IX and why its important and it’s troubling that 40 years after it’s passage we are still seeing these kinds of problems,” Noreen Farrell, ERA’s Executive Director, said.

Excerpts from The Recorder piece about Noreen:

Current goal?

Making civil rights a reality for more women and girls, regardless of their race, immigration status, sexual orientation or income.

Role model?

Nancy Davis was one of the founders of Equal Rights Advocates who is now a San Francisco Superior Court judge. Her organizational vision, passion for social justice, and fierce intellect is an inspiration to me and to many women lawyers for whom she paved the way. I have her photo on my desk at work.