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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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Apr
09

Enough with the Negative Socializing

Posted by Lizzie

I’ve been so sick the last few days and I have gotten very little done. What’s really frustrating is that it’s gorgeous outside - finally - and I’m too miserable to even care. What’s even worse is that Mags and Grump have this same cold. Mags, unfortunately, doesn’t like to sleep when she’s sick (unlike Pee Wee who would catch a cold and sleep until she felt better) and she likes a lot of extra special attention.

Still, this cold hasn’t stopped me from being online. I’m officially an Internet junkie. Mostly. I did manage to get my newsletter “About” page written out (by hand, no typing yet…*sigh*) and will have my very first newsletter out today. Anyway, while I was working (thinking hard) on that “About” page, I was surfing through some forums. I don’t know of many that are active and are interesting, so I’m kind of stuck1. I was either in such a foul mood yesterday that everything pissed me off or I suddenly realized how childish and petty and unintelligent a lot of these women are (women that I have previously respected to some degree). The one word that keeps popping into my head is “catty”. I feel like they’re all hissing and growling and not much else. But “catty” seems wrong too, because eventually a cat will attack and I’m pretty sure cats aren’t as shady as some of these women are. I don’t even know why I was reading there. I guess it’s that “rubbernecking” syndrome. So bad you can’t take your eyes off.

That got me thinking of all the things that women are responsible for in our lives that could influence how we spend our free time. Most of the women I know have to take care of the children, the husband, the parents, the house, the pets, the boss/instructor and then, maybe, take care of themselves. We’re supposed to be super women who can do a million things without batting an eye. At least in my case, I’m supposed to be able to fix everything including the kitchen sink and smile the whole time I’m doing it. Sick? No way. Super women don’t get sick. We don’t get irritated. We don’t get sad. We don’t want to slap someone so hard their great-grandmothers can feel it. Nope. Then we find an oasis of support and community on the Internet and suddenly we can act however we want to act and we don’t have to be “the One” anymore.

Some women don’t let go of that Super woman persona and when they get together it can get so ugly. They want to continue being the center of the universe (not an easy task for women, but that’s where we are in regards to our lives and the people for whom we care). They can’t let go of the power. More than one of this type of personality on one message board and it’s ugly. But a sneaky, in-the-shadows kind of ugly. The kind that you thought you’d never see again outside of secondary school. But it’s worse because they have more practice. They’re taking control and getting rid of the competition while gathering up their followers in neat little circles (also known as “cliques”). And for what? When they get offline and turn to their family, they are still the same person they were before they signed on. Except, maybe, a little more exhausted.

When I socialize online I want to be able to avoid that sort of thing. I have enough to worry about with the family right now, I don’t want to worry about Alpha-female trying to take my blog down. When I’m not feeling well enough to really work then I really shouldn’t be watching the crap getting flung. But I do. I guess for the same reason people still watch “Jerry Springer”. That’s not a good thing. Or maybe just to see people that are more miserable that I am? Could that be it?

We have so much to worry about as it is. At least I do. With school, the new gig (which is only partially a gig), the kids (and soon-to-be grandchild), the husband, my friends, the mother, and the illness there’s really no room for more things to worry myself over. I think that there has to be more important things to think about for these women too, right? They should be supporting each other and not trying to bring each other down.

At any rate, I’ve come to decide that I’m through with that nonsense. I’d rather play solitaire than to let the negativity seep into my soul like that. I’m on a mission here and don’t want to get side-tracked with petty bickering and backstabbing. It’s time to find a new online social media, I think. Of course, I keep saying that, but since I’m making some huge progress toward my ultimate goals I’m pretty sure that I actually mean it this time.

Time to get back to that newsletter. I think that’s enough for me right now.

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  1. I can’t wait until I get more immersed in the new forum for my site and then I won’t have any reason to go back there. [↩]
Posted in Online Play, work from home
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