Ladies...How much 'Equal Rights' do u really want?

[HAVE_A_HEART]

Ok ladies, for years there have been a lot of complaints about the women of the human species are not getting the same rights as the males of the human species. Somethings have gotten better...maybe not exactly equal...but better. Things such as wages and job opportunities, and the likes. In fact...u gals are even allowed to be on the front lines in the military, and be right in the thick of the battle! Gotta like that--right?

But I ask you..just exactly how much equal rights do u really desire? Are you a strong, card carrying member of the NOW movement? Would u like to do stuff like maybe walk around with a bare chest in public, and not have anybody think anything of it? Do u like the fact that men no longer do 'gentlemenly' things nearly as much as they did maybe 40 years ago, such as opening the doors, or pulling a chair for u? Do u think women of today are better off because of the fight for equality...as compare to the days of womenhood during your mom-s or grandmom-s younger days? Or do u think we went from one extreme to another getting your equal rights, and you wouldn't mind going back to the June Cleaver or Edith Bunker days?

[blondie 11]

Yes, yes, yes, I think women are much better off. To think we had to fight to get the right to vote blows my mind. We as women were at one time lowly creatures. I can open my own door and pull out my own chair if the trade off means I have the right to equal pay, etc. I feel I am equal in education, abilities and I deserve equalities. I carry no card to any organizations, as I do not need to. I taught my daughters, get your education and then you are equal. One is a JD and the other is studying for her phd. They are both married, but one grandchild.

[Mother Sanity (JackieRodzinski)]

With equal rights come equal responsibilities. I prefer all of the rights and selective responsibilities....as long as it doesnt cost any money, ofcourse!
Mother Sanity

[Aggie]

No, I use real sugar and real butter in my kolaches.

[HAVE_A_HEART]

In facilitating equal rights for women, do u feelthat women who are profesional sports journalists have every right to be able to go into a men's locker room while they are showering after a game? Do u feel women, (especially women who are mommies of little ones) should be on the frontlines with the men and have just as equal as an opportunity of dying for our Country as the men do? Do u ladies want your equal rights to go this far?

Guys--how about some responses from you? How do u feel about how far these ladies have come? Hopefully the ladies will let u answer without smaking u!

[blondie 11]

oh come on--do you think these sports journalist get turned on by these jock?s. Its a job. Just like a female Doctor. Does she get turned on when she sees the male form? Women on the front line, I see these ladies every week as they go through my hotel for deployment. It is choice. They are not forced to go. They have to go into theraphy before they go. Now I am going down to see somemore, as Sunday is the day they check in for their 4 days before deployment for iraq.

[Suuse]

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/20...

The wage gap
Why women are still paid less than men
By Evelyn Murphy and E.J. Graff | October 9, 2005

If you are a woman working full time, you will lose between $700,000 and $2 million over your working lifetime -- just because of your sex. Is that fair? No. Can it be stopped? Absolutely.

In 1964, when Congress passed the Civil Rights Act that banned workplace discrimination based on race or sex, women working full time made 59 cents to a full-time working man's dollar. That made sense at the time: As a group, women had less education, less experience, and less opportunity, in part because they were flatly banned from a wide range of occupations. At the time, many people thought the wage gap would close on its own, as the education, experience, and opportunity gaps went away.

But today, 40 years later, the wage gap stands at 23 cents. Women working full time -- not part-time, not on maternity leave, not as consultants -- still earn only 77 cents to a full-time working man's dollar. That's an enormous gap, and it has been stalled in place for more than a decade. It's not closing on its own. It affects women at every economic level, from waitresses to lawyers, from cashiers to CEOs. Many women have a sneaking suspicion that they're unfairly overlooked and underpaid. But do they realize how underpaid?

Let's look at the economic losses a woman will suffer over her lifetime:

A high school graduate loses $700,000. A young woman who graduated from high school last spring and went straight to work would, over her lifetime, make $700,000 less than the young man who graduated next in line.

A college graduate loses $1.2 million. A young woman who graduated from college last spring and went right to work would, over her lifetime, make $1.2 million less than the young man who received his diploma next to her.

A professional school graduate loses $2 million. A young woman who got a degree in business, medicine, or law would, over her lifetime, make $2 million less than the young man at her side.

That graduate may be you. Or she may be your wife, daughter, niece, granddaughter, or friend. Whoever she is, the wage gap will take a heavy toll. That missing 23 cents is a personal loss: vacations not taken or dental work that's put off or health insurance that cannot be afforded.... [Suuse's note: the rest of the article can be accessed by clicking on the link at the top of this post.]

Until we close that gap--COMPLETELY!--there can be little in the way of equality; and pay parity isn't the be-all and end-all of the issue...to which end: I'd like to refer you to Wanda the Fay's post, which says it wonderfully.

Evelyn Murphy, a former lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, is the author of ''Getting Even: Why Women Still Don't Get Paid Like Men--And What To Do About It," on which writer E.J. Graff collaborated.

[Suuse]

For a statistical overview of women's vs. men's pay since 1955, please see:

http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/C350.pdf

[HAVE_A_HEART]

Ok ladies...So answer this---assuming taht the above is proven true, as you know in most work places the topic of who makes what amount of money is generally a hush hush topic. If you were allowed to investigate the actual salries per job, and who makes what, (remembering to key in the instigating factors such as level of education, # of years with the company, and so on), would you want to do that investigation? If you do investigate and you find some questionable descripencies, would u address 'the higher ups' with this concern, even if there may be a risk of you losing your job? If the answer is yes to both questions how would you go about your investigation, and how would u approach thise you feel are responsible for deciding your wages?

[Suuse]

Let's assume that the following footnote offers the "proof" you require:

Sources: Annual data: 1955: Francine D. Blau and Marianne A. Ferber, The Economics of Women, Men, and Work, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, 1992), Table 5.6; 1960 through 2008: U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008,
Table A-2. Weekly data: 1970 and 1975: Blau and Ferber (1992), Table 5.6; 1980 through 2005: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Highlights of Women’s
Earnings in 2005, Table 13; 2006 and 2007: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Usual Weekly Earnings Summary, January 2009, Table 6; 2008: U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings, January 2009, Table 39.

I'm a little confused about which jobs you would have investigated, and what criteria are included in "and so on".

As for bringing any discrepancies to the attention of management: I absolutely would. Of course, if they choose to terminate my employment for doing so--and allowing that both methodologies and research are sound--I think the ensuing lawsuit filed in federal court would be most interesting.

[Whiny Old Bastard]

The very first bill that President Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Wages Act.
Do you think it made, or will make any difference?

[Maricel Evasco]

I don't think much about equal rights because I was lucky to have been raised with a cultural mindset which places high value on the women of the house. We are the "mediators", the "bridges", the "uniters", and "mergers" between family members and even those beyond the sphere of family. We are considered to be the foundation of our society. We are not threatened, nor overpowered by men because as mothers, wives, and as head of states, our voices have always been heard loud and clear.

I only wish America could adopt the Filipino or Polynesian outlook on women.