The Independent Women's Forum is being criticized for giving Vice President Mike Pence its first "Working for Women" award, The Washington Post reported.
Critics point to legislation that they say make Pence anything but pro-women.
Pence, when he was governor of Indiana, signed strict anti-abortion rules. As a congressman, he voted against equal pay for women on multiple occasions, and drew fire in his state for a religious-freedom law that some considered to be antagonistic toward gay people, the Post report said.
The forum, a conservative think thank, will present the award to Pence Wednesday at a Women’s History Month reception. A press release said that Pence is "an individual who values free markets, works to create a more dynamic and innovative work world, and celebrates the valuable contributions women make to society."
The forum has said that economic issues are the forum's focus, not abortion issues, the Post reported.
Both Pence and the forum oppose gender-equality rules that progressives have supported. Instead, the forum calls for flexible work schedules and allowing workers to set aside pretax money if they need family leave, according to the Post.
As Indiana governor, Pence cut funding for Planned Parenthood to half of where it was in 2005. Five Planned Parenthood clinics, none of which provided abortions, closed as a result. However, those clinics did provide STD testing, and their closure could have contributed to an outbreak of HIV in one Indiana county, according to Mother Jones.
"Shouldn’t the Independent Women's Forum be recognizing other women for their hard work?" Elisabeth Sherman wrote in Playboy.
A number of Twitter users expressed their dissatisfaction with the announcement:
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