So Much More Than the “Right Thing” To Do

By on July 8, 2013 in Economic Equality, economic security, Family values, global women gender relief, maternal employment

My colleague and great friend Sarah Bibler wrote this week’s post. She’s an expert in how gender issues fit into a nation’s economic growth, and how U.S. foreign policy can do both good and ill for women around the world. She turns her focus towards the U.S. in this piece, and explains how we could use our public policy to empower women and invigorate the economy at the same time. Welcome, Sarah!

It’s worth repeating: gender equality is good for women, men and our economy. In his recent NYT article The Case for Women, former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson echoes the now widely understood (but less widely practiced) mantra that women are “central to the process of economic growth and development.” It’s true!

As the article argues, investing in quality child care and parental leave and eliminating our discriminatory tax policies would all drastically increase American women’s labor market participation and help offset the cost of an aging demographic. We must also know that American women are under represented in corporate board rooms, despite clear evidence that gender balanced boards yield substantially greater profits.

So what’s stopping our gender equitable tax policies, affordable child care, and all around equal participation in economic and political processes? Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, asserts that “not enough people are outraged at the lack of full rights of women in many countries,” including our own. Well, if you’re not outraged about tax policy or child care, maybe you’ll be inspired by this:

On June 26th, UN Women launched its global call to make gender equality a top priority on the international development agenda. Citing persistently high rates of maternal mortality, high gender wage gaps, women’s weak representation in parliament, persistent violence against women and girls, and inadequate access to reproductive health services for women and girls around the world, UN Women makes a compelling case for why gender equality is a development priority.

This call for action might conjure up images of women in the developing world. In Afghanistan, barriers to education result in an 87% illiteracy rate among women and girls; sexual and gender based violence has reached ‘epidemic levels’ across the DRC; and there is an 82% gender wage gap in Pakistan, to name a few.

But these human rights violations apply to the US too, and failure to address them undermines economic growth. Consider these outrageous examples:

  • U.S. maternal mortality rates are amongst the highest of the OECD countries, despite the fact that our prenatal care is the “costliest in the world.”
  • Gender wage gap persists with women making an estimated 82 cents on the (male) dollar, a reality that is fed by the fact that college aged women are far more likely to have unpaid internships than their male counterparts.
  • The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world that does not have laws providing for paid maternity leave.
  • American women hold only 18.3% of congressional seats, which is marginally less than the absurdly low global average of 1 in 5.
  • While U.S. foreign assistance programs invest more in combating gender based violence worldwide (thank you Hillary!), Congress stalled reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act for EIGHTEEN MONTHS before its passage in March.
  • In June alone, new abortion restrictions went into effect in Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi and South Dakota, and despite Wendy Davis’ filibustering efforts, the Texas House passed stricter abortion rules on July 3rd.

This week, as we celebrate our country’s independence, take a moment to reflect on the gaps in justice that still need to be closed, and the positive impact that greater gender equality would have on our country. We need guaranteed reproductive rights and access to reproductive health services from North Dakota to Texas to Virginia. We need policies that ensure paid parental leave. It’s also time for the U.S. to move beyond discriminatory tax policies, and provide social security credits or other mechanisms to encourage caregiving. We need equal wages for men and women, affordable childcare, and quality, affordable maternity care, to name a few.

And although we need greater numbers of women voting on corporate boards and in Congress, we also need to recognize gender equality is not *just* a women’s issue. We need male and female allies on all sides who understand that gender equality is a sure path to economic growth and stability. Now who wouldn’t get behind that?

About Valerie Young

Valerie Young is a public policy analyst who is mad as hell about the status of women in the United States and is doing her part to promote social justice by arming mothers with information and a healthy dose of outrage. She works for the NAMC as the Advocacy Coordinator of their MOTHERS initiative. Follow her on Twitter @WomanInDC and on Facebook as Valerie Young and Your (Wo)Man in Washington.
View all posts by Valerie Young →
  • Linda Juergens

    You make such salient points Valerie. It’s mind-boggling that the US can’t do better in so many of the areas you pointed out. My fear is that we’ll fall farther and farther behind unless we get moving and speak out about the changes we know are necessary to ensure our country’s economic well-being.

  • Ava

    Yes, yes, and yes. We (women) continue to work for less. We (women) continue to remain polite, and even silent while our male counterparts puff their chests, declare their worth, and insist upon salaries and wages, benefits, and perks they deem worthy of their time on the “clock.” My question is this: At what point to we stop working for less? While society can attempt to dictate our social and professional behaviors with negative reinforcements for assertiveness (name calling, social cold shouldering etc..), and positive strokes for passive, self deprecating, door mat-esque behavior, we don’t have to take the bait. Even using our children to evoke that anthropological, difficult to control maternal guilt still works. Why? Because we allow it. We are still conditioned to buy into someone else’s idea of who we are supposed to be. Such good little girls we are.

    Yes, we have come a long way, but not using our charm and guile. Women did not take the right to vote with scented stationary, and asking nicely. We fought, and died for that right, and like any soldier or collective army, we can never forget. It is this very long memory that can either serve us well, or drive the nail into the coffin of our “progress.” So, look carefully around you. Do we look like a society that endured the Suffrage? Often, no. Sadly, our world is a strange clash of cultures at this point. Are you ready to stand up? Are you ready to create your own version of self worth? You will be called a bitch. You may, at times be called a crazy bitch. Other women, who are too afraid of losing their false sense of place in society (one created by men, and for men) will be the worst offenders in the attempt to discredit you and your mission of equality. Pointing fingers at women who speak up and speak out gets them points from the men in their lives. Because let’s face it, there is just nothing sexier to a man than a pretty woman who lives to serve men. Am I right? And frankly, it’s so hot to watch women fight. Did that make you want to stab out your own eyes? Me too. Just remember, you are fighting for those women too. They have yet to wake up, but they need our help. Imagine a world where it’s okay if men are angry with you, and don’t agree with you! Imagine they think you are physically unattractive and a loud mouth! You and I may find this a hint funny, but I live in Texas, and these things scare many women in the south. Many women stay in abusive relationships because they know that a divorce will leave them, and their children struggling to make ends meet, struggling to stay a float in a society that punishes women for just about everything: Bad girl….you work, and put your kids in daycare..bad girl…you don;t agree with your husband on everything..bad girl you left the work force to raise your children..now you are unemployable…bad girl…you….you get the picture.

    Right now, there is a man making more money, doing the same job that you do all day. Maybe you are an attorney. Maybe you are a teacher. Maybe you work at a car wash. Whatever the job, you are the only one who can take a stand. Until we rise up, take our place in society, and create our own talking points, we will be the underdog. We will do 95% of the work at home. We will work outside the home for less pay than our male counterparts, we will spend outrageous amounts of energy debating topics that are bizarre and intentional distractions (like late term abortions), and all the while, we will be under represented in politics, business, the justice system, and more. What can we do? Where do we start? I say we start by saying no. It’s an undervalued word, and underutilized by women in my opinion. Let’s say no to less pay. Find out what the top dollar is in your industry. Ask for it. Let’s say no to the over the top female objectification in the entertainment industry. While you are marching on DC for equal pay, there are girls and young women shaking everything they’ve got on camera in some thug’s rap video. We need to deal with that.

    Our safety, progress, and power in the community is being undermined right now, with sexually violent lyrics, misogynistic rants, and a culture of abuse and loathing. You might think this is someone else’s problem. It’s not. Hate speech against women doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s permeates the air we breath, and is as contagious as a flu virus. While the tone in each setting is much different, a rap video, the board room at a fortune 500, an office on Capitol Hill, the result is collective and malignant in the oppression of women. Vote for those who want you, and your daughters to live in a safe, free, fair world. Vote for women. Run for office. Write articles, and send them to news organizations. Do something every day to counter the culture of sexism. Spend your money only with companies who promote the health and well being of all people (this is tough, do the research), say no to sexism, no to the crimes and injustice, and make sure that you are facing the realities of this world. While I write this, there are young girls living in warehouses, chained to their beds at night, and forced into sex slavery all day. You may be thinking Cambodia. I am talking about Texas. Wherever you live, there is something horrific going on right now, in your town. Get involved, insist on change, expose the truth. Surround yourself with men and women who want the kinder, gentler world. I am a mother, a daughter, a sister, a neighbor, a friend, and I say no to misogynistic bullying…and yes to taking responsibility for my life, and yes to accepting the responsibility that I have to all women and children. Let’s live our lives to be a wonderful example to little girls and boys everywhere…not a horrible warning.