Attendance was a bit spotty at Denver's Equal Pay Day rally yesterday, but my sister, a friend, and I showed up and held our signs and did our part. What was disconcerting, though, were the recent conversations I had with women about the equal-pay issue. Some of the comments:
"There's not really a problem with that, is there?"
"That's not an issue with high-level jobs."
"Oh really?" followed by dead and most definitely uninterested silence
Wake UP, ladies! This is not just about women working in low-paying jobs (as if that would be OK anyway). The median salary for women attorneys was 71% of the median salary of men in 2006. Don't believe me? Think that all numbers are lies and that statistical studies are twisted? See for yourself on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, where they list the median weekly salary for hundreds of professions for both men and women.
What do we want? EQUAL PAY!
When do we want it? NOW!
1 comment:
I've been concerned about the wage gap since it became a well-publicized issue back in the 60's with Gloria Steinem and her peers. Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to fix this. The reasons are numerous and complex, just as the reasons for the failing economy can't be distilled into facts easily understood and fixed. I believe, though, that as long as women have to bear children and be the primary caretaker for them, it will impact all women's earnings. I think we should work harder to make men do their fare share of the continuation of our species. Yeah! Make those lazy laggards carry around a developing fetus! Make them have monthly periods and see how frisky they are in their work life! Make sure their work day begins at 8 when the office comes to life and ends at, oh, about 11:30 when everyone has been fed, homework has been checked over, the kids are bathed and tucked in, the laundry's caught up, floors are swept, bills are paid, messages returned, permission slips signed, lunches packed, groceries purchased, etc. When that happens, when men carry their fare share of the load, when society values the contributions women have made to work and to life, people will all be fairly compensated. And pigs will fly.
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