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Pay equality

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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Posted in Featured, irritations
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Recent Posts

Mar
13

Other Things Besides That

Posted by Lizzie

The last few months I’ve been getting deeper and deeper into SEO and blogging for dollars (to put it lightly). I’ve joined some forums, read a lot of posts and used a couple of different services1. I don’t think I did as well as some, but not as poorly as others. I like what I’m doing currently, but it’s not making me rich (though I have paid a couple of bills this month- thanks). But the drama2 sucked me in.

After Google penalized bloggers for doing paid posts, there was much teeth gnashing and hair pulling. Then bloggers started turning on each other. One company assures it’s contractors3 that they are going to eliminate Google’s algorithm from their segmentation. This has many of the more vocal supporters of said company dancing happily while waiting…and waiting…and waiting. Anyway, it’s a mess and I don’t even know why I care. That’s the problem.

So, I went back into my bag of tricks and found a couple of more things that work for me. One of them is Brijit4. For Brijit, you pick from the available articles and write a 60-100 word synopsis (abstract) of the article. They have 3 slots, but only pick one article. So, it’s kind of a competition, the best one written gets published and you get $5. After publication, the Brijit staff then cleans (edits) it up to make it more palatable for the site5 . The more abstracts you write, the more likely you are to get published. And if you look at the articles/videos that are due the soonest, find one with 3 open slots, you’re more likely to get chosen. It’s not guaranteed, but if you’re a good writer then you can make some money at it.

As an example, here is one I did today (it was published today):

I Don’t Believe in Atheists -

Wilder talks to Chris Hedges about his new book, I Don’t Believe in Atheists, and his ongoing debates with New Atheists such as Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens. Hedges candidly explains why he believes that New Atheists are just as bad as Christian fundamentalists; both groups are full of hate and bigotry. As for the blow-by-blow, he calls Harris “intellectually shallow” and Hitchens “amoral.” Hedges’ insight is in-depth and revealing, and Wilder does an excellent job of drawing out his ire.
in Salon by Charly Wilder, 13 March 2008
This abstract was edited by Brijit. Read more here…

I use this as an example of other supplemental income. I recently saw a post by a young lady lamenting her loss of PageRank and how this could potentially threaten her health. She mentioned different companies that pay for PageRank and that Google has effectively taken away her livelihood. I thought that was way off the mark, simply because Google never agreed to pay her anything and it was the companies that contracted her that hurt her by depending on PR. Someone mentioned that fact in the comments6 and I almost asked if she did anything like Brijit.

If you’re burnt out on the SEO thing and not making enough off of your blog (or are writing for literally a dozen blogs) then you might consider something a little different. Even as a supplemental. Brijit is just one example. For other resources, the WAHM.com message boards are full of information. It’s more than just “not putting all your eggs in one basket” at this point.

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  1. I don’t consider myself an “employee” per se, nor do I believe I am considered an employee, but that’s an argument for another time [↩]
  2. I cannot believe the drama [↩]
  3. They too are not employees [↩]
  4. This is not a referral code. [↩]
  5. If Needed. [↩]
  6. I thought it was cold-hearted considering the nature of the post- but it was factual [↩]
Posted in work from home, writing, writing gigs
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