More sexist construction signs — this time in Washington DC
Posted: May 28, 2011 Filed under: Construction, Sexist language, Socialization, Working Women | Tags: constructions signs, District of Columbia, feminism, General Services Administration, men working, men working above, men working signs, Old Post Office Pavilion, Sexism, Washington DC, women's rights, working women Leave a comment »This sign was spotted in Washington DC, in a major tourism hub: on Pennsylvania Avenue outside of the Old Post Office Pavilion. Workforce of Women (WOW) has reported on sexist construction signs at the University of Missouri, and we had hoped that such signs were few and far between.
This sign was seen May 25 in front of the Old Post Office Pavilion, right across the street from the Federal Triangle metro stop.
The GSA, the U.S. General Services Administration, is the contact for questions about U.S. government office buildings. They likely will receive a letter similar to the one WOW sent to the University of Missouri’s campus facilities department.
Just to reiterate, Men Working signs were used all over the country during a time when the construction industry excluded women. Since then, women have been given great opportunities to break into fields that are dominated by men. But signs that only say “Men Working” are ignoring the women who have broken into these industries. Many states now use better alternatives to Men Working signs (in DC’s case, “Danger: Workers Above” would suffice).
Springtime is peak tourist season in Washington, DC, and people from across the country and the world flock to see the capitol of a free and progressive society. Unfortunately, these Men Working signs do not reflect the U.S. ideal of freedom and equality, and it would make our nation look much better if these sexist signs changed.
– Posted by Stevie
WOW co-sponsors International Women’s Day
Posted: February 26, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »March 8 marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, and WOW is co-sponsoring an event and magazine, which will highlight the experiences of female journalists from all over the world. At the event a group of five women from Iran, Colombia, China and Eritrea will discuss their experiences in journalism. The magazine will feature the stories, triumphs and challenges of female journalists from every continent (besides Antarctica).
Here’s our one-minute promotional video:
RSVP for the live event here or tune in at GlobalJournalist.org on March 10 at 6:30 p.m.! If you’d like to pose any questions to our panelists, or if you’d like a copy of the magazine, send an email to globaljrnlist@gmail.com
-Posted by Rebecca
European court has selective hearing when it comes to gender discrimination
Posted: February 20, 2011 Filed under: Discrimination, Finance, Legislation, Politics, Solutions, Wage gap, Working Women | Tags: auto insurance, car insurance, driving, driving record, Eurofound, European court, gender discrimination, men drivers, pay gap, Paycheck Fairness Act, wage gap, women drivers Leave a comment »The European court has been considering a ruling that would eliminate gender as a factor when automobile insurance companies are figuring out rates for drivers. Men currently pay more for car insurance because they generally have worse driving records. The proposed change means women would pay more for car insurance. This article in The Guardian calls it ”paying the price for equality.”
That would be all well and good if gender equality truly existed. It’s interesting that the courts in Europe have yet to change the law in a way that would narrow the wage gap between women and men. According to this recent Eurofound study:
“The Eurofound report also revealed an ongoing gender wage gap, with salaries for women on average almost 16% lower than for their male counterparts. However, wages for men and women differ largely across Europe, with Slovakia displaying the largest gap (26.9%) and Slovenia the smallest (6.9%).”
If the European court really wants to take aim at gender discrimination, I hope that their next move would be to tackle the wage gap. May I suggest following U.S. lawmakers, who proposed the Paycheck Fairness Act. The act unfortunately was defeated in the U.S., but its premise is a good one to follow:
- Require employers to prove that the differences in wages for male and female workers are because of a unique need of the business, not based on gender alone.
- Give women more ways to fight gender discrimination in their work places.
- Allow employees to share their salary information with each other.
It’s nice to see the court address gender discrimination, but it’s disappointing that the court has yet to address the wage gap, which women’s rights advocates have been trying to narrow for decades.
– Posted by Stevie
In the news: three U.S. lawsuits alleging gender discrimination
Posted: February 11, 2011 Filed under: College, Discrimination, Lawsuit, Sports, Working Women | Tags: Beverly Hills, California, Chicago, coach, coaching, detective, gender discrimination, harassment, high school, Hillsborough, hostile work environment, Laurie Calder-Green, lawsuit, Loyola University, Orange County, Orange County Board of Education, police, Rachel Shannon, resource officer, settlement, teaching, Wendy Hicks 1 Comment »Today I came across news concerning three different lawsuits in which women charge that they have been discriminated against in the workplace.
In the first case, an associate professor of criminal justice at Loyola University named Wendy Hicks discovered her office had been ransacked without forced entry on Feb. 3, and she was placed on academic suspension soon after for no apparent reason, she says. Hicks is suing the criminal justice department at the Chicago university for creating a hostile work environment and for harassment.
In Beverly Hills, police officer Rachel Shannon sued her department for gender discrimination, saying that she was passed up for a detective promotion and that all of the promotions she applied for were given to less qualified male candidates. Shannon has worked for the department since 1994 and has had a hard time advancing past the position of resource officer at an elementary school. She has said in the case:
“I was told that I would be promoted to detective once a position became available. I applied to six positions and a male was hired for each position. I have more experience and qualifications than the promoted males.”
A Los Angeles judge agreed to hand over to Shannon the job applications of the men who received the promotions she applied for.
In Hillsborough, Calif., the Orange County Board of Education has settled a lawsuit with former high school women’s volleyball and basketball coach Laurie Calder-Green. Calder-Green sued the school board for gender discrimination after getting fired for being verbally aggressive toward her players. Calder-Green, who also taught English at the high school, said the male coaches are allowed to say the same things to their players. She received a $93,000 settlement.
– Posted by Stevie
A sampling of sexism in cable news
Posted: February 10, 2011 Filed under: Bodies, Discrimination, Entertainment Industry, Home, image, Politics, Sexist language, Socialization, Sports, Video, Working Women | Tags: 2008 elections, Amercia, Andy Gray, Don Imus, Fox & Friends, Fox and Friends, FOX News, Hooters, Islamaphobia, Jon Stewart, journalism, Juan Williams, London, media matters, MSNBC, National Public Radio, NPR, racism, Rick Sanchez, Rutgers University, Sexism, Sky Sports Leave a comment »Many in the journalism field feel that perpetuating stereotypes about particular groups of people in news media is unethical. Journalists’ rulebook for appropriate writing style — the Associated Press Stylebook — advises members of media to avoid perpetuating racism, classism, ageism, sexism, homophobia and other ideas that can harm marginalized groups.
So, the clips I’ve seen on mediamatters.org of sexism on the FOX cable news channel are particularly upsetting. Journalists should know better.
MSNBC employee Chris Matthews has made several sexist comments on the air, oftentimes about women who work in politics..
In this clip, one host of Fox and Friends makes a sexist women-belong-in-the-kitchen joke. Another clip, again on Fox and Friends, takes a shot at women who work in politics by calling them all irrational. The stereotype that women are irrational (or moody) is sometimes used to keep us out of high-power positions.
Here’s a story about a woman politician who previously worked at a Hooters restaurant, so I bet you can imagine what the focus of the story was in this clip. And the sexism isn’t just aimed at women who work in politics. In this clip, women who work as actors are valued not just for their acting chops, but for what their bodies look like and which man’s arm they’ve been seen on.
This problem is not limited to FOX News. Sexism has permeated other cable news channels. Who can forget these sexist “gems” that hit American television screens during the 2008 presidential elections?
I think it is particularly interesting to watch the women who co-host or who are on screen with men making sexist comments. Often, you can tell that they are upset, but they quickly suppress their anger at the sexism, regain their composures and smile for the camera. These women shouldn’t have to put up with this. And you even see some women who participate in sexism against other women.
In the past few years, journalists and talk show hosts have been fired for making comments that are offensive to marginalized groups of people. For example:
- CNN’s Rick Sanchez was fired for calling Jon Stewart a bigot and for questioning whether Jewish people count as a minority.
- CBS radio host Don Imus was fired for what media labeled a racial slur when he called Rutgers University’s women basketball players “nappy-headed hos.” The slur was racist and sexist.
- NPR commentator Juan Williams was fired for saying he gets nervous when he sees a traditionally dressed Muslim person on an airplane with him.
- In London, Sky Sports commentator Andy Gray (who also announces for FOX Sports Network) was fired for sexist comments he made about lineswomen in soccer. Hear the entire conversation here.
I wonder how many times journalists and commentators on American cable news will be allowed to get away with display after display of sexism. Will someone finally be held accountable, or will insulting women remain the norm?
– Posted by Stevie
Subordinate roles in the workplace lead to higher stress levels, health problems
Posted: February 3, 2011 Filed under: Health, Management, Socialization, Video, Working Women | Tags: alpha male, baboons, British Civil Service, dopamine, heart disease, hierarchy, management, managers, memory loss, National Geographic, portrait of a killer, robert sapolsky, sapolsky, stress, Whitehall, Whitehall study, women in management, women managers, women's health, workplace stress Leave a comment »Many studies reveal that there are negative health effects to chronic stress. But I learned something new when I recently watched National Geographic’s documentary, “Stress: Portrait of a Killer.” A person’s social ranking has a huge effect on their level of stress.
The studies cited in this documentary immediately made me wonder about stress levels in working women, who are less likely to have leadership roles in the workplace and who are more likely to get stuck with menial labor tasks in the home.
The documentary, which you can watch instantly online if you have Netfix, follows leading neurologist Dr. Robert Sapolsky as he studies stress levels in baboons. These primates have troops of 100 or more, and their political system allows dominant males to rise to the top, where they enjoy all of life’s perks.
Dominant males can pick on lower ranking baboons, who in turn can pick on even lower ranking baboons. Sapolsky found that high-ranking baboons had lower levels of stress hormones while submissive baboons had much higher levels. The submissive baboons also had increased heart rates and higher blood pressure, which have a negative impact on health.
In a different study involving rats, Sapolsky found that stressed rats had fewer brain cells, and that the part of their brains that handle learning and memory were smaller than those in rats who had no stress. Over time, chronic stress can make it difficult to remember things you know perfectly well, he concluded.
The theory linking stress and hierarchy was applied to humans in the Whitehall Study. This study followed 28,000 people over 40 years, and all of them worked for the British civil service. The civil service is structured in a way that includes a complex ranking system, and all of the employees receive equal healthcare.
The results were identical to those in the study on baboons. The lower people were in the hierarchy, the higher their risk for heart disease and other health problems — and their life expectancies were shorter. Having little seniority, a high workload and a fear of having to answer to a manager for every little mistake were just some of the stresses mentioned by employees in the civil service.
Other studies on primates cited in the National Geographic documentary showed that subordinate monkeys had arteries that were clogged more often than their dominant peers. Also, non-stressed primates are able to produce more dopamine in their brains and therefor have a greater ability to feel pleasure in their lives when compared to submissive primates.
In the midst of all of this rather depressing information, there was an uplifting story embedded in the film. One baboon troop Sapolsky studied was able to create a less stressful culture after a tragedy struck the group. Watch this video for more:
– Posted by Stevie
Women take to the streets in Egypt
Posted: February 1, 2011 Filed under: Activism, Politics, Video | Tags: Egypt, Egyptian empowerment, Egyptian protest, Egyptian women, gender, gender index, gender roles, women, women's rights Leave a comment »In envisioning a new Egypt, will Egyptians re-think the circumscribed roles that men and women played in the past?
In the following video reported by The New York Times Asmaa Mahfouz, a 26-year-old Egyptian activist encourages other Egyptians to take to the streets: “As long as you say there is no hope, then there will be no hope, but if you go down and take a stance, then there will be hope.”
As The Times puts it, Egyptian empowerment “has taken all of society by storm– both men and women.”
Here’s another good one:
Global Voices offers a nice run-down of Internet commentary on women’s role in this revolution, which is unprecedented in Egyptian history. Yet, Egypt ranks 82 of 102 countries on the OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index. That index is determined by many variables including family codes and physical integrity. (For more information click here)
When the dust finally settles in Egypt, which might not be for a long time, I wonder if Egyptian women will continue to feel empowered. Will Egyptians create a new society, or will they maintain the status quo in relation to gender roles? It all remains to be seen, but watching these women risk their lives, and put themselves out there, offers a glimpse of hope.
-Posted by Rebecca
Women are finding success in comedy writing, but why aren’t there more in the field?
Posted: January 28, 2011 Filed under: Discrimination, Entertainment Industry, Family, Socialization, Video, Wage gap, Working Women | Tags: college humor, comedy, comedy writers, culture, gender discriminsation, glass ceiling, Kristen Shaal, pay gap, Sarah Schneider, Schneider, Sexism, Shaal, South Park, TechCrunch, The Daily Show, wage gap, women, women in comedy, women in technology, working women 1 Comment »Comedy writer Sarah Schneider of collegehumor.com wrote a piece this week about a lack of women in her industry, despite efforts women have made during past decades to prove their comedy chops. Schneider’s basic premise is:
Kristen Schaal is a comedy writer who appears on The Daily Show and who has written for South Park.
“My immediate reaction to this question is a residual, vague resentment, aimed at absolutely no one in particular. Someone, somewhere, is deciding women aren’t funny! This is an outrage! Show yourself, you amorphous oppressor! I want to know who I’m yelling at!
“But the truth is this: more men are succeeding in comedy because, quite simply, more men are trying. Women have proven themselves just as capable of creating and running sitcoms as men, but they aren’t attempting to do so in the sheer numbers that men are.”
This sounds similar to a debate the swept the Internet last year regarding women in technology jobs. Some advocates noted how troubling it was that there were so few women in tech fields while some people in the technology industry said they would give more jobs to women — if there were more women who actually wanted them.
Some argued that if there was a cultural norm that encouraged girls and women to be more tech savvy, or if there were more women role models in the field, then more women would go into technology. Others wondered if there were less women in the tech field because high-tech jobs are demanding and leave little time to spend with the family. The latter argument assumes that caring for a family should be a higher value for women than for men.
If you are interested in hearing more about the technology discussion, watch this video of a TechCrunch panel discussion of women in technology.
I think the same discussion could be had about women who write comedy. Perhaps it’s not as simple as Schneider says it is. Maybe she should listen more to her gut and confront the cultural stereotypes (that “amorphous oppressor”) that might make hilarious women apprehensive about entering the field.
I will say it is refreshing to see Schneider raise this topic, and she should be praised for the path she has forged as a female comedy writer. It’s also refreshing to see that today women don’t have to be funny in a way that would appeal to a male audience. Women are making jokes that resonate with other women and that speak to the disadvantages that women face. Just watch this video of Kristen Schaal on The Daily Show as she takes jabs at the glass ceiling, the pay gap and other forms of sexism (slightly NSFW).
– Posted by Stevie
Wal-Mart’s gender discrimination lawsuit (Update)
Posted: January 27, 2011 Filed under: Discrimination, Lawsuit, Management, Update, Wage gap, Working Women | Tags: Betty Dukes, class action, Dukes v. Wal-Mart, gender disrimination, lawsuit, Sam's Club, Sexism, Supreme Court, update, Wal-Mart, Walmart, women workers Leave a comment »The class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart for alleged gender discrimination is on the U.S. Supreme Court’s calendar for March 29, a Tuesday. Read our original post on this topic here.
Wal-Mart protesters in Utah
To read even more on the Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores case, check out the following news articles:
- Supreme Court agrees to hear Wal-Mart appeal
- Wal-Mart discrimination case will test class-action boundaries
- One year after Citizens United, the corporate court is still open for business
The case will no doubt garner a large amount of media attention. As the Huffington Post puts it: “Ms. Dukes and the other women who eventually joined her lawsuit argue that the class suing Wal-Mart should consist of all the female employees who have long faced ingrained, systematic discrimination throughout the 3,400-store chain, a number that could range between 500,000 and 1.5 million individuals. That would make this the biggest–and potentially most expensive–discrimination case in history.”
– Posted by Stevie
UN Women’s new action plan highlights financial freedom for women
Posted: January 27, 2011 Filed under: Family, Finance, Legislation, Politics, Solutions, Working Women | Tags: Bachelet, death of a spouse, Declaration of Human Rights, divorce, Eleanor Roosevelt, feminism, finances, financial freedom, human rights, International Women's Day, Michelle Bachelet, UN, UN Women, United Nations, WIFE, Women's Institute for Financial Freedom, women's rights Leave a comment »The United Nations this week presented a 100-day action plan to boost rights for the world’s women. A main component in that plan was the recognition of how important it is for women to have financial freedom.
The United Nations emblem
According to the new plan, each country should strive to:
1. Expand women’s voices, leadership and participation
2. End violence again women
3. Ensure women’s full participation in conflict resolution
4. Enhance women’s economic empowerment
5. Make gender equality a priority in national and local policies
The fourth point brings up the importance of financial independence for women. Women throughout the world often get the short end of the stick when facing difficult transitions such as the loss of a spouse or a divorce. The standard of living for a woman can drop significantly after a divorce.
Being financially independent can help eliminate this burden during a difficult times in a woman’s life. To learn more about obtaining financial independence, visit the website for the Women’s Institute for Financial Education.
Eleanor Roosevelt holds a Spanish copy of the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The document merged the idea from many cultures that there are basic human rights all people deserve.
The division of the UN rolling out this 100-day plan is called UN Women, and the resources the UN has given to examining women’s issues has changes significantly in the last year. UN Women used to be called the oh-so convoluted UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. This part of the UN came into being in July, when four different woman-focused UN agencies merged together.
What’s more, UN Women is supposed to receive more funding when it’s officially launched on Feb. 24, just in time for the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day on March 8.
While announcing the new plan, I think UN Women Executive Directory Michelle Bachelet said it best: “Women’s strength, women’s industry, women’s wisdom are humankind’s greatest untapped resource… The challenge then for UN Women is to show our diverse constituencies how this resource can be effectively tapped in ways that benefit us all.”
The Workforce of Women (WOW) project will keep an eye on how this action plan impacts the lives of working women.
– Posted by Stevie
Workforce of Women
