Featured Post
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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Jul
13
Posted by Lizzie under
family,
work from home
Today wasn’t very productive. My goal starting this morning was three articles. Unfortunately, life had other plans. My sister came to stay for me for the day and Lillady was especially needy. When Grump came home from work he wasn’t able to babysit and pretty soon my mother was here. I managed to get one article submitted. Oops.
I did manage to get one article written this evening. It was about shopping for cribs. I’d almost forgotten how intense it was to decide on Lillady’s crib. We chose the 3-in-one convertible crib so that we wouldn’t have to buy another bed when she outgrew the crib.
3-on-1 convertible crib’s are nice because when babies become toddlers all you have to do is drop the mattress to the lowest level and take off the rail. Voilà! You’ve got a toddler bed. And later on you can use the head and foot boards for a full sized bed. It’s very convenient, even if they are a little bit pricier coming out of the gate.
We actually ended up co-sleeping with Lillady, but the convertible came in handy anyway. We took the rail off and moved the crib right up against the bed. So, she still gets the comfort of being close to me and I get plenty of room to sleep. Of course, it took us a while to figure this out (I’m a little slow at times), so sleep was hard going for a while. Taking that rail off and shoving the crib up against the bed made a world of difference. If you decide to do something like this I advise you to make sure the mattresses are even and that there isn’t a noticeable gap between them. We managed this by putting the crib against the wall and the bed against the crib. Works wonderfully. Especially now that Lillady is getting big enough to fling her limbs all over when she’s having a wild dream.
Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to get up earlier than the family and actually get some work done. I feel like all of today was just wasted. I didn’t even get out to re-tie the tomatoes. My poor garden is getting wild. A little scary even.
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Jul
12
Posted by Lizzie under
work from home
I haven’t had my morning cup of coffee yet and already I find myself “networking”. This is an important part of freelance work, because without contacts getting a job and making the money is extremely hard. I’ve been learning this with my articles. I get more money with more page views and with more contacts I can get more page views. It can all work out pretty well.
Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time. And with a toddler that can be hard to manage. So, it’s best to set yourself up on a schedule. I’m still working out the kinks in mine.
When you first wake up, after “getting ready” for work, determine if you need to do any research. If the kids aren’t up yet (I normally get up about an hour and a half earlier than mine), then research, jot down your notes, and get a feel for what you want to write. This way when the inevitable interruptions come you can simply lay it to the side and take care of the familial needs.
Now, when you have a few extra minutes, do a little networking. Answer some emails, respond to comments on your blog, and comment other places. It’s important to get your name out there and to make some online friends.
Later, possibly in the evening when everyone’s starting to wind down, take a few minutes and write up the first draft of your article. When the kids go to bed, and you’ve got that time for yourself, write it again. This second writing will use the structure of the first (probably bad) draft, which saves you some time. Now you can re-read it, do your edits and send it in (or save it for later).
But you’ve got to do a little more networking. That comes before it’s bed time. And you’re probably exhausted, but it’s important to get page views and make contacts. So, just leave little comments, don’t get windy in your emails, and all will be well. If most of your network consists of work-from-home moms you’ll soon see that they’re just as tired as you are.
Tags: work from home, networking, scheduling time
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Jul
11
Posted by Lizzie under
work from home
Great news! Right now a debate article I wrote for Helium is on the front page.
I’m positively thrilled. Of course, I’m bouncing from number one to number 3 to number 2…blah. That’s ok though. I feel good seeing it up there. The more exposure I get the better.
Well, actually, in this case it’s probably not the better because I did rush that article out and didn’t read it out loud like I should have. Whatever. Hopefully not to many people notice. And if they do, so what? They give the page clicks I need to make some money. That’s ok.
Also, I heard from AC last night. They’ve made an offer. The best news about that is that they’ve offered me higher than is customary (from what I’m learning in the forums). That makes me feel all warm and cozy inside. That article, “How to Personalize You WordPress Themes- Without Knowing CSS or HTML”, is better written and formatted. I wasn’t in a huge hurry to get that one out. I’m afraid I won’t get an offer for the one I submitted last night, though. Bad Lizzie! I know better than to submit without writing and rewriting. Good grief, I’m horrible anymore.
Anyway, you can read me on Helium here and my Associated Content stuff is here.
Now that I’m feeling so much better I have a lot of ideas. I better get crackin’!
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