Monday, April 13, 2015

Every good word helps the cause

Women's issues in the workplace might be improving but at a snail's pace.
The Federal Reserve Bank of NY looked at the last 10 years and determined that women still earn less than men (duh) and take harder hits when the economy is in a downturn. A few more interesting examples can be sourced via this article: http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/male-ceos-get-bonuses-female-ceos-get-blame/
We're still encouraged to dress 'gender neutral' so as not to draw attention to the fact we're women (not that I condone sequins or clubwear at work). We earn less. We feel awkward stating a pull between child/elder care and working hours. We are not strong in numbers in the sciences or tech industries like we could be. And we're still often expected to take the meeting minutes and organize the office outings ….
From Madonna teaching us that showing a bra strap is just fine in the 80s … to Patricia Arquette calling for wage equality as she received her Oscar this year… to simply asking if one of our male peers would mind taking the minutes… every effort counts when a movement is still trying to build momentum decades after it started. Heck, it's not even been a century since we were allowed to vote! http://www.canadahistoryproject.ca/1914/1914-08-women-vote.html