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Posted by Lizzie on Sep-5-2008
There’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.
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Archive for November, 2008
Nov
28
Posted by admin
I have no appetite control when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. My friend (with whom we spent the day) made an absurd amount of pies and cookies and… brownies. I love brownies. She knows I love brownies. Why would she make brownies?
Anyway, I’ve lost a total of 27 lbs so far. That’s a lot of weight for someone who stands a total of 5 ft 1 inch. I love it. I have a before/after picture, but I’m not going to post it here. Just know that my before picture currently gives me nightmares. I can’t even imagine I was that big. Thankfully my second chin has gone the way of the wind and my face no longer jiggles. Yes, I meant jiggles, because quite frankly I was getting fat. And I don’t need to be fat.
The kids had a blast. My friend has a 6 year-old boy and Mags was chasing him around like she was his shadow. He was really nice to play with her all day. By the end of the day she was calling him “husband” and had declared them married. We asked why we weren’t invited to the wedding and she said they got married in the bathroom. LOL!! I’m pretty sure the little guy didn’t even know he was married. My daughter just decided that they needed to be married and then it was time to sit on the blanket while his older brother pulled them around the dining room. It was hilarious.
My friend’s husband built a fire for us in the dining room (no, it wasn’t the table- they have a wood burner) and we all sat around it chatting. It was a fun time for the grown ups for sure. My friend and I have been friends for 21 years and we’re amazingly similar in manner and humor. So her and I didn’t really even have to say a whole lot to have the other person cracking up. Our husbands would just shake their heads at us. She’s been married to her husband longer than I’ve been to mine, so hers told mine “You see? You see what I deal with?” Grump hasn’t been out there very much and isn’t quite sure how to react to our idiocy. My friend told him he needs to take the stick out of his butt and start laughing. By the time we left he was indeed having a good time. He declared that their house would be our permanent Thanksgiving stop from now on. I had to agree with him on that.
Today I’m catching up on some work and housecleaning. No Black Friday shopping for me. I can’t stand the crowds (buy online, people, and save yourself the headaches). My friend got up and went though. She called because she was upset at some crazy people and I just laughed at her. That’s what she gets for not listening to me. Right?
So all told, we had a magnificent Thanksgiving. The best we had in years. I’m glad we made the choice to forego family. It was a good decision– for everyone.
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Nov
25
Posted by admin
We go through a lot of printers. Well, at least that’s what it seems like. I’ve been using a Brother 3-in-1 and it’s already starting to act crazy. I love it because it does a lot of stuff and the ink is inexpensive, but when I replaced the black ink cartridge it didn’t read it. That’s so annoying because when I’m printing something for school it spurts and sputters and generally gives me a hard time before it finally spits out whatever it is that I need.
The good thing is that they’re so cheap now. I don’t have to spend a lot of money to replace it if I need to. The bad thing is that it costs more to have it repaired than it does to have it replaced. What’s up with that anyway? It’d be nice if I could learn how to fix them in one of my courses. Then I could do it myself and save myself a lot of aggravation.
Speaking of school: The semester’s almost over. I’m so happy. With everything going on I feel like I’m losing my mind. I had to take a math exam yesterday and did I study for it? No, of course I didn’t. Did I do well? No, of course I didn’t. And don’t even get me started on the papers I have to do. I think I probably shouldn’t have taken two extensive writing courses this semester. 
I shot myself in the foot with that one.
On a brighter note, it’s snowing. Oh, wait. That’s not a brighter note. I do not like snow. Not at all. The only thing good about it is that when it’s snowing it’s not too cold to breathe. Last weekend was so cold I thought my head was going to freeze right off my shoulders. And since I’ve seen “Day After Tomorrow” I always freak out when it gets that cold (don’t ask me why because I’m very strange about that sort of thing). The good thing is, though, our gas bills seem to be holding steady. Hopefully the natural gas, like the gasoline, will be cheaper this winter. Keeping my fingers crossed for that one. At any rate, I hate the cold and will be doing cartwheels when I see the first robin in spring. Count on it.
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Nov
24
Posted by admin
I heard my daughter talking about an unlocked phone the other day. Her own prepaid phone was dropped in the dish sink at work while she was washing dishes and texting at the same time (um, yeah). Anyway, I had no idea what she was talking about because I’m old and apparently out of touch. So I looked it up.
I had no idea that you couldn’t take your cell phone to other companies. I know that sounds really strange, but I was under the assumption that when you bought a phone it was yours to do with what you please. Who wants to buy a $200 phone, switch plans and pitch their phone? That’s just crazy. But I guess that’s how cell service providers are able to offer the plans that they do (and stay competitive, of course). People want whatever phone they see and are willing to sign the two-year contract to get it. My friend was like that with her smart phone.
So, Pee Wee is looking to buy an unlocked phone so she can have a really nice phone to use with her prepaid minutes. She’s having some serious issues now that she destroyed her original phone. I wonder if it ever crossed her mind that there was a reason she shouldn’t be texting AND doing the dishes at the same time. Probably not. The kid is going to have carpal tunnel before she’s 20. She can’t stand that she doesn’t have a phone and I won’t buy her one. So, her friends and her are coming up with alternative solutions to this crisis. Good luck to them.
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