Strollerderby : equal pay

Economic Reasons to Become a Man

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:30:00 GMT

Unless you’re willfully ignorant, you’re probably aware that there remains a significant gender wage gap in America—namely, that women make 79 cents for every dollar earned by men. Some people blame this disparity on discrimination, while others argue that it relates to different career goals.

Well, an avant-garde study has determined that discrimination is at least partly at work (gasp!). What better population to test out gender differences on than transgender people? In a study of transgender people in the workforce, researchers found that, across the board, men who became women earned an average of 32 percent less after the transition, while females who became males earned an average of 1.5 percent more after they transitioned.

Some of these people remained in their old jobs after their transitions, while some started new jobs. Some were out to their employers; others were not. The constant was that they had all already attended school and picked a profession—and, across the board, men earned more in this chosen profession.

So, it's official: women don't only earn less than men because they want to be mommies.

Image: Getty

National Organization for Women President Endorses Palin

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:10:00 GMT

Remember that video of Sarah Palin misquoting Madeline Albright at a rally in California? Well, the faux feminism gets more and more outrageous. Guess who introduced Palin? Shelly Mandell, the president of L.A. National Organization for Women, who has endorsed the McCain/Palin ticket.

I attended the March for Women’s Lives in Washington, D.C. back in 2004, which Mandell organized. It was one of the most unifying, uplifting experiences of my life, to be surrounded by thousands of women peacefully demanding reproductive freedom. The fact that Mandell would go on to endorse a staunchly anti-choice presidential ticket is not the only reason her judgment should be seriously questioned. Jezebel has done some digging on Mandell and it turns out that she’s got some skeletons in her closet, including helping to get a fellow NOW rising star arrested.

In her introduction for Palin, Mandell pointed out that Palin will be a champion for Title IX because she plays sports. I'm all for Title IX, but will having an athletic woman in office help other women when her running mate opposes equal pay, as McCain has already done? Will the fact that Palin played basketball in college help women when she fights to make abortion illegal even in the case of incest or rape?

If it were up to Mandell, the National Organization for Women would need to change its name to the National Organization for Powerful People with Female Genitalia. Fortunately, it’s not up to Mandell. The California NOW president has issued a statement that says, in part, “I can assure you that there is no local or state affiliate of NOW, including LA NOW, which endorses or supports the McCain/Palin ticket.”

Photo: Jezebel

Palin: Women Who Don't Support Other Women Go to Hell

MomsRising Takes New York

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 16:33:00 GMT

Yesterday's New York Times featured MomsRising, the grassroots organization founded by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner and Joan Blades (of MoveOn.org) that is making quite a splash arguing for better childcare, more flexible leave programs, and explaining the realities of workplace discrimination.

But MomsRising isn't an alt-group. It boasts 80,000 members (since May 2006) and is actively fostering alliances with groups ranging from the National Organization of Women (NOW) to the Christian Coalition. Nevermind that I attended college with Kristin's husband who broke my best pal's heart, I can see beyond all that, man, into the bigger universal picture of what is at stake here.

Equal pay, quality childcare, the difficulty of working and being a mom. These are struggles that we all share and care about. I'm so totally inspired by the good work of MomsRising. But what do you think? Are they going to accomplish all they've set out to?

Moms Ink: MomsRising Takes Back Feminism

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 12:06:00 GMT

MomsRising, started in 2006 by Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner and Joan Blades (of MoveON.org) comes out of their collaboration The Motherhood Manifesto and is a grassroots movement for parents who want to be part of a movement to further family friendly laws and social policies, including those represented by the acronym M.O.T.H.E.R.:

Maternity/paternity leave

Open flexible work

TV we choose and other after-school options

Healthcare for all kids

Excellent childcare

Realistic and fair wages

MomsRising claims 50,000 members and its efforts have been hailed by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and others. The founders are both experienced activists and the hope is that the agenda put forth by MomsRising and further delineated in their documentary "The Motherhood Manifesto" will achieve broad bi-partisan support moving forward.

As with other feminist movements in the past, MomsRising will struggle to reach beyond the class divides that have hampered the National Organization of Women (NOW) and others. The computer-savvy seem to be the main audience for MomsRising (as with MoveON.org) with the action updates and informational emails coming via the Internet. As with other efforts to date, the faces and voices of MomsRising are predominately white.

Nevertheless, many people feel that a women's movement that finally takes on some of the central struggles of being a parent in today's society is long overdue and a welcome change. Perhaps, as with the suffragettes, this second wave of activists will finally achieve the goals of earlier generations.

I sure hope so.