Aussie inflation deflation

ABC News in Australia reported the following today:

The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index measures the happiness and wellbeing of Australians.

The latest findings have shown that for the first time in seven years, the wellbeing of men is higher that that of women.

Report author Professor Bob Cummins, from Deakin University, found that women are more sensitive to rising costs as they make more of the household purchasing decisions.

Well, that made me curious, seeing how our economy isn't so hot in the good ol' US either. So after doing a little research, I found the following in a Wall Street Journal blog by Wendy Pollack:

In addition to the well-documented disparity between men’s and women’s pay, there is a persistent gender gap involving consumer prices. Lately, that gap has been widening, Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg tells BusinessWeek. The cost of consumer goods and services targeted at women — including clothes, shoes, cosmetics, jewelry, housekeeping and appliances) have been rising faster than those for typically male products (men’s clothing, sporting goods, televisions, and auto parts and repairs). Using U.S. consumer price inflation data for the past year, Mr. Rosenberg pegs the “female inflation rate” at 3.6% year to year, 18 times the 0.2% rate for men.

Dubs T F? Cause we're not already at a disadvantage?? Of course, there are some reasons for this. WSJ goes on to say:

There are a number of factors driving the disparity. For starters, women currently are experiencing greater job growth than men, fueling an increase in their consumer confidence to six-year highs. That bolsters demand, and consequently, prices, for the things that women are more likely to purchase.

What’s more, women are marrying later than they used to, or not at all. That affects price inflation because single women spend a greater proportion of their income than single men. Unmarried women also tend to spend more money on themselves than men, according to the Census Bureau’s Consumer Expenditure Survey.

Hmmm...makes you take a little different look when at the mall.

The women (and men) know what they're talking about!

I'm watching Hillary's speech at the DNC and thought I'd post some solid pro-femme quotes...'cause nothing's better than reiterating truth. :)

Sylvia Plath:
I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart. I am. I am. I am.

Susan B. Anthony:
The fact is, women are in chains, and their servitude is all the more debasing because they do not realize it.

Hillary Clinton:
I have met thousands and thousands of pro-choice men and women. I have never met anyone who is pro-abortion. Being pro-choice is not being pro-abortion. Being pro-choice is trusting the individual to make the right decision for herself and her family, and not entrusting that decision to anyone wearing the authority of government in any regard.

Virginia Woolf:
The history of men's opposition to women's emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself.

Sojourner Truth:
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.

Margaret Sanger:
Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression.

Ayn Rand:
The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.

Camille Paglia:
We cannot have a world where everyone is a victim. "I'm this way because my father made me this way. I'm this way because my husband made me this way." Yes, we are indeed formed by tramas that happen to us. But you must take charge, you must take over, you are responsible.

Andrea Dworkin:
Woman is not born: she is made. In the making, her humanity is destroyed. She becomes symbol of this, symbol of that: mother of the earth, slut of the universe; but she never becomes herself because it is forbidden for her to do so.

Ursula LeGuin:
We are volcanoes. When we women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains.

Florynce Kennedy:
You've got to rattle your cage door. You've got to let them know that you're in there, and that you want out. Make noise. Cause trouble. You may not win right away, but you'll sure have a lot more fun.

Margaret Sanger:
No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother.

And my personal favorite tonight:

Hillary:
Eleanor Roosevelt understood that every one of us every day has choices to make about the kind of person we are and what we wish to become. You can decide to be someone who brings people together, or you can fall prey to those who wish to divide us. You can be someone who educates yourself, or you can believe that being negative is clever and being cynical is fashionable. You have a choice.

Check out what other women have said!

Jamaica's (finally) working the CEDAW

For those who don't know about The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, better know as CEDAW, here's a brief explanation: CEDAW is the latest international law working to promote the rights of women around the world. Countries who ratify CEDAW are expected to work to improve the status and treatment of women within their country and are monitored by providing reports to the UN. There are no legal punishments, but there are unidentified consequences to not submitting reports and not working to attain these goals. There are currently 185 countries who have passed CEDAW - some include: England, Australia, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Gambia, France, Kuwait, Jamaica, Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

The United States is the only developed country to not have ratified.

Take action and tell U.S. officials that women's rights matter!
More information on CEDAW

Case Example: Jamaica

Jamaican women have been mistreated for too many years to count. Sexual violence from both strangers and trusted persons is particularly high in Jamaica, as is sexual slavery (particularly common is selling daughters to be sex slaves). Investigations against perpetrators can be inadequate and ineffective, there are long delays, and women often face discrimination during the legal process.

Read about Amnesty International's fight for women in Jamaica

Jamaica signed the CEDAW treaty on 17 July 1980 and ratified it on 19 October 1984. In the 36th session of CEDAW, the committee expressed disappointment in Jamaica for not taking action to defend women or eliminate these atrocities. The committee urged Jamaican government to "put in place, without delay, a comprehensive strategy, including clear goals and time tables, to modify or eliminate negative cultural practices and stereotypes that discriminate against women."

(Very) slowly but surely, conditions are beginning to improve. Women are having fewer children (which has helped them in raising their families), thanks to Jamaica's family planning program, which provided information about contraceptives and maintaining sexual health. Women are also trying to build careers. Most recently, the Women's Resource and Outreach Centre (WROC) released a booklet about CEDAW and the treatment of women in Jamaica.

Read an article about the book

From the article:

"It highlights a user friendly manner, how women’s human rights are violated in various areas, for example, through gender based violence, poverty and unemployment, limited access to power and decision-making and persistent gender stereotyping,” [according to Linnette Vassell, chairperson of WROC].

Issues surrounding the convention includes equal pay for equal work, empowerment through equal education, unacceptable working conditions faced by women, sexual harassment and abuse, prejudiced faced by women who are HIV positive and disabled.

Most importantly, anyone on the street should be able to read it.

Hopefully this is the beginning of much-needed change in Jamaica...

Ya mon!

Starting it up...

I've decided to create a new blog that really reflects the issue I'm most passionate about - women's rights. I plan to post interesting stories, both showing progress and setbacks, as well as things I think are worth knowing about. It'll probably be controversial, but all worthwhile writing is. :) Feel free to leave comments about the stories, the information or my reactions to them...this world needs communication to survive!

I don't have anything to post right now except a couple of pictures. Hope ya'll like it!




That's it for now - check back for more coming soon! :)


Special thanks to Amy, who runs Appetite for Equal Rights. Her blog is simply inspiring - check it out! http://appetiteforequalrights.blogspot.com/ Also thanks to the Minnesota Symposium (I think!) for the title of the blog.