Pay equality
Posted by Lizzie on Sep-5-2008There’s a lot of talk about women’s issues this election cycle. Thanks to Hillary Clinton, and now Sarah Palin, we’re back in the spotlight. In that vein, Congress is pressing for a revote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which failed to pass previously. McCain has come out again it:
“I am all in favor of pay equity for women, but this kind of legislation, as is typical of what’s being proposed by my friends on the other side of the aisle, opens us up to lawsuits for all kinds of problems,” the expected GOP presidential nominee told reporters. “This is government playing a much, much greater role in the business of a private enterprise system.”
I’ve recently engaged in a half-hearted IT job search - in anticipation of my eventual graduation from the Tech program. There seems to be a little available, but I’ve heard that women are not treated favorably in the IT industry. It would please me, and thousands of other women, tremendously if this actually became law. Would I know that my male counterparts were making more than me? Probably not. But this act would give me recourse should I find out about a pay discrepancy after the fact. As a woman hoping to work in a male-dominated field, I would feel just a little better knowing I had a safety net.
There was some talk that this law isn’t necessary. I beg to differ. I worked with a company (unrelated to the tech field) that cut me a mystery check. When I inquired to what the purpose of the check was, I was told that it was to make up for a pay difference between me and my male counterparts. I had no idea that the men were making that much more per hour than I was, but there was a lawsuit and the settlement agreement was that this company would pay the hourly difference to each female for whatever period of time they agreed to (I think it was 3 months, even though I’d been there for over a year at that point). I left that company not long afterward, but my eyes had been opened. The reasoning for the lower pay was that women are mothers and so are prone to miss work because of their sick children. Men, on the other hand, are more reliable and should be rewarded. Really?
At a time when a major political party has nominated a self-proclaimed “hockey mom” to be vice president, there should be no more “she should get less because she’s a mom”. This woman is seeking a job while parenting 5 children (and potentially helping parent a grandchild) so the reason listed above would apply to her and her pay should be cut significantly. Right? No. Wrong. Her husband will be able to tend to the children while she runs for office and he can tend to the children while she continues to govern Alaska (except that he’s got a full-time job plus an extra job on the side in the summer, but that’s not this issue). It’s only fair that the rest of American women enjoy the same equality in pay as the women who govern them.
Sphere: Related Content
Thanks for the link to my post about Izea. However, I did want to point out that my post occurred before Colleen’s. Feel free to check the time stamps or ask Jules.
It was actually pretty funny, because you could see Colleen and I feverishly writing at the same time.
Sorry, Techie! I saw Colleen’s first and wrongly assumed hers was first. I was so excited about it all last night, etc. :)I did read both posts, but didn’t look at the time stamps,which I should have. I apologize for that.
I actually imagined the two of you competing to see who could pust publish first, which I thought was really funny. Amidst all the excitement of last night, you guys were hammering away trying to get the story out.
I wasn’t racing Techie - I was racing my dying laptop battery. The time stamp on mine is way off - it’s still on Eastern time and daylight savings, I think! LOL
Hi, Colleen! Thanks for stopping by.
LOL! I understand that, of course. Sometimes my imagination takes over.
I’m glad you got to break the news for those of use chatting last night anyway. It was nice to be a part of that.