Sorry I haven't posted in a while...things tend to get crazy busy and then I have no energy left at the end of the day to get online at the library. Anyway, saw an interested little story in Yahoo! News about the pay gap between men and women:

It is ironic that the Pennsylvania primary is being held on Equal Pay Day. That's the day in April every year when women's earnings finally catch up with what men made by December 31 of the previous year. The pay gap is still a stubborn problem, with women who work full time, year-round making 77 cents to a man's dollar. And, women are losing ground when it comes to how long it takes to pull even with men - a decade ago Equal Pay Day was April 11.

"Talk to Women for A Change" by Martha Burk

Ironic, indeed. Ironic that I didn't hear a thing about it.

This quote on Equal Pay Day from the Business and Professional Women network shows the difference in race:

Equal Pay Day is held annually in April to signify the point into a year that a woman must work to earn what a man made the previous year. According to the 2006 Census Bureau, women on average earn 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts. For women of color, the wage gap worsens: African American women make 66 cents, Latinas make 55 cents and Asian American women make 80 cents.

Now, there have been studies that show that part of the reason women are lacking in pay is because they don't negotiate, and this can lead to a gap of hundreds of thousands of dollars over one person's career! DEFINITELY negotiate!!! But that doesn't make up for the increasing pay gap between women and men. Just another way to work towards equality!

Wait honey, I need to sign this contract first...

Just wow on this one. An article by NEWSLIVE.com.au states that apparently in an independent state of Australia, women should sign a contract before having sex. Huh? What? Why is this? Ohhh, read on...

An Independent state MP has suggested women should sign a contract before having sex in order to prevent men being subject to false rape allegations, News Limited has reported.

In a response to proposed laws making it an offence to continue a sex act with a person who changes their mind about consent, South Australian MP Ann Bressington suggested to Parliament men should carry a sex contract to prevent being accused of rape.

Are you f'ing KIDDING me??? As if it's not hard enough for women to come forward about being raped, now they have to sign a contract before sex because people think they're lying??!

Ann Brennington states, “This Bill makes men guilty until proven innocent and they will have no defence.” Okay then, Ann, what are you doing to protect innocent women from being raped??? I agree that people who "cry rape" have absolutely no excuse and are ruining the judicial system for those who actually are violated, and yes, this needs to end somehow...but you're putting ALL of the blame and fault on the woman and that's just not right. Worse than that, you're making it even harder for someone who truly WAS raped to come forward about it. Remember, peeps, 1 in 4 women are raped and only 16% of these rapes get reported - check out possible reasons why women don't report rape in this undeniably real and honest blog post.

Women are already:
- Subjected to painful rape kits
- Further harassment by the rapist and their supporters
- Mocking by strangers and trusted ones alike
- "Questions" that are more like accusations by police and others

...and by the time it's all over, they find out the police don't believe them. Cause we needed another reason to worry.

The ONE good thing about this is that it's somewhat two-fold...men without a signed contract could be charged with sexual assault. But considering the amount of cases that actually get anywhere now...well, let's not hold our breath on that one.

Board up!

A workforce-related article to start your day:

Fox Business: Many Women Aspire to For-Profit Board Membership

Many women executives who currently serve on non-profit boards of directors actively aspire to serve on for-profit boards -- where women currently are dramatically underrepresented -- according to a survey released today by the Simmons School of Management (http://www.simmons.edu/som) in Boston.

But survey authors say that the growing number of organizations who want more women board members need to change their traditional search procedures. And women who aspire to board membership need to develop a concrete plan to be recruited...

Women comprise 51 percent of the U.S. managerial work force, but less than 15 percent of board membership of large, publicly traded U.S. corporations -- despite research by Catalyst research and advisory organization showing that Fortune 500 firms with more women board members outperform those with very few women, on such measures as return on equity and return on sales.

Go for it, ladies!

Colleges don't prepare you for this part of the real world

An article came out today in the Los Angeles Times about how women in the military are being raped by their fellow soldiers/commanding officers/physicians/etc. Here are a few highlights...or rather, lowlights.

Sexual assaults are frequent, and frequently ignored, in the armed services.

Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.

41% of female veterans seen at the clinic say they were victims of sexual assault while in the military, and 29% report being raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and the downward spirals many of their lives have since taken.

At the heart of this crisis is an apparent inability or unwillingness to prosecute rapists in the ranks. According to DOD statistics, only 181 out of 2,212 subjects investigated for sexual assault in 2007, including 1,259 reports of rape, were referred to courts-martial, the equivalent of a criminal prosecution in the military. Another 218 were handled via nonpunitive administrative action or discharge, and 201 subjects were disciplined through "nonjudicial punishment," which means they may have been confined to quarters, assigned extra duty or received a similar slap on the wrist. In nearly half of the cases investigated, the chain of command took no action; more than a third of the time, that was because of "insufficient evidence."

THIS IS COMPLETELY INJUST AND UNACCEPTABLE.

Don't get me wrong - I have nothing against the Army as an organization. They have many great programs in place and the soldiers work hard. But they MUST address this issue. Denial and ignorance will never solve this, and they're only proving that they don't care about rape and the offenses against women if they continue to let cases slide by unnoticed.

Sexual harassment doesn't just happen in military work, by any means. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;

In Fiscal Year 2007, EEOC received 12,510 charges of sexual harassment.

And an employer/employee Web site reports:

Currently at least 40% of all women report being sexually harassed at some point in their career

And those are just the people who are brave enough/able to report the issue.

OVER 70% OF RAPE CASES GO UNREPORTED.

These are the kind of things that make me too sad to speak...however, we have to speak up in order to stop atrocities like this from happening.

So how are we going to stop rape? Let's hear it!

Comments are very, very welcome.

Unsexy and the city-Sarah Jessica Parker is fighting back

Sarah Jessica was named Unsexiest Woman of the Year by Maxim Magazine. I'm sorry, but this company shows only half-naked women in vulnerable positions and we're supposed to buy into what they say?? Maybe they should try promoting a look at what real women - who are unbelievably attractive!! - look like. What makes a woman sexy is how she feels about herself, not how she looks in photographs or what kind of clothes she wears. And people wonder why our eating disorder rates are so high and our self-esteem levels are so low...



Tell them off all you want, Sarah Jessica and Jennifer!

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.