NEWS RELEASE: Avakian Names Sunny Petit to Council on Civil Rights

[Bob Estabrook]

Press Release
For Immediate Distribution
February 21, 2012
CONTACT: Bob Estabrook, 503-709-0730
 
Avakian Names Sunny Petit to Council on Civil Rights
Chair of Commission for Women joins OCCR effort on Equal Pay issues
 
PORTLAND—Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian today named a new member of the Oregon Council on Civil Rights (OCCR): Sunny Petit, current chair of the Oregon Commission for Women.  Petit will join her new OCCR colleagues at a Council meeting this Thursday, February 23, at 2:30pm in Portland.
 
“I’m pleased that Sunny has accepted this appointment,” Avakian said.  “Sunny’s work to empower women to advance in politics and other fields is personally inspiring, as well as being invaluable to OCCR’s crucial effort to lay out an action plan to ensure equal pay for equal work in the state of Oregon.”
 
Avakian established OCCR to advise him, as head of Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries and the state Civil Rights Division, and other interested agencies on civil rights issues affecting Oregonians.  Made up of diverse civil rights champions from around Oregon, OCCR is currently focused on developing a practical, community-driven plan to promote pay equity and reward businesses for doing the right thing.  
 
“Equal pay for equal work is a challenging and necessary problem to address and I’m eager for that challenge,” Petit said.  “OCCR brings together great minds and great perspectives and I look forward to adding to an already strong group.  Our Equal Pay Action Plan will be a great collaborative product.”
 
Petit is the Associate Director of Portland State University’s Center for Women, Politics and Policy and has studied and worked on issues such as human trafficking and women’s political development in the United States and abroad.  A native of Eugene, Petit has two degrees from Portland State and helps to run the National Education for Women’s Leadership Oregon program which educates and empowers Oregon college women for active participation in the public policy arena.
 
Information about OCCR’s meetings can be found here; read more about Petit here. 
 
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The mission of the Bureau of Labor and Industries is to protect employment rights, advance employment opportunities, and protect access to housing and public accommodations free from discrimination. 
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