Via MBA@UNC MBA Online & Women 2.0
Courtesy of the MBA@UNC, the online mba program at the University of North Carolina
The intersection of feminism and life
Via MBA@UNC MBA Online & Women 2.0
Courtesy of the MBA@UNC, the online mba program at the University of North Carolina
Cheers to all of the runners in today’s Boston Marathon, but especially to the women. Today marks the 40th anniversary of women being allowed to run officially. It’s hard to grasp the concept that in my lifetime women were banned from the race.
Proof you can’t stop a woman runner, Roberta Gibb ran unofficially in 1966 and Katherine Switzer ran under the name K.V. Switzer in 1967. The image of Switzer being pushed aside by a race official when he realized she was a woman is a piece of marathon and women’s history.
According to The Boston Globe, 11,462 women ran last year’s race, up from 1,219 in 1972.
Run ladies, run.
At the start of Women’s History Month, we wrote, “Be the woman your granddaughter will read about in history class someday.” Women right now have an opportunity to make a significant impact on history. Here are six ways to secure your spot in the history books.
No time to write this week and so much to discuss. So here’s a round up of news from around the web affecting women. Click the links to learn more.
Let’s start with Virginia, where this week the legislation passed two disturbing bills. The first gives a fertilized egg rights. The second forces a woman seeking an abortion to undergo a vaginal ultrasound -an invasive probe that is medically unnecessary. The Washington Post reports on Virginia House Deputy Majority Leader Todd Gilbert who believes “the vast majority” of abortions are just “matters of lifestyle convenience.’’ The Frisky’s Jessica Wakeman writes of the bills, “I’m frightened, quite frightened.” We should all be worried.
The war on women wages on in Washington as politicians continue to argue about a woman’s access to contraception – which, we just want to point out, has nothing to do with creating jobs. In fact, if the GOP and the Catholic Bishops had their way, we could be looking at layoffs at birth control manufacturers such as Merck Pharmaceuticals and Bayer Healthcare. Nor, does it have anything to do with religion despite how some try to spin it. This is about controlling women and maintaining a status quo of male dominated workplaces and power bases.
After the Obama administration offered a compromise to the Affordable Care Act, allowing religious-affiliated institutions to opt out of coverage for contraceptives for employees but requiring their insurers to offer the coverage directly to the employee at no cost, Representative Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) filed new legislation. The Blunt amendment would allow an employer to exclude any health service from the coverage they provide based on any religious beliefs or moral convictions. Scary stuff. Contact your legislator today at 1-888-838-5169 and ask them to oppose the Blunt amendment.
Meanwhile, on the airwaves, men are talking about men creating laws that would affect women. Classic. A study found, during a four day period, the leading cable channels had twice as many men as women discussing contraception. Think Progress reported, “Out of a total of 146 guests who discussed contraception, the cables invited 91 men compared to 55 women as commentators. In other words, males comprised 62 percent of the total guests who commented on contraception.”
On the road to the GOP convention, Rick Santorum is surging in the polls. Women beware. The Atlantic wrote about Santorum’s woman problem. But we think it’s more accurate to talk about women’s Santorum problem. This presidential hopeful is opposed to contraception, has questionable views about women in the workplace and strong views about women in combat. It seems Santorum wants us all to stay home and have babies – forever.
And, at a workplace near you, pregnancy bias is alive and well. You probably already knew that. (We did). But here is a new story from MSNBC that supports what many women experience.
The Susan G. Komen Board of Directors and Founder/CEO Nancy Brinker issued a statement today revising the controversial funding policy that caused an uproar earlier this week:
We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives. The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen. We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not.
Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation. We will amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair.
Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer. Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.
It is our hope and we believe it is time for everyone involved to pause, slow down and reflect on how grants can most effectively and directly be administered without controversies that hurt the cause of women. We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue. We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics – anyone’s politics.
Starting this afternoon, we will have calls with our network and key supporters to refocus our attention on our mission and get back to doing our work. We ask for the public’s understanding and patience as we gather our Komen affiliates from around the country to determine how to move forward in the best interests of the women and people we serve.
We extend our deepest thanks for the outpouring of support we have received from so many in the past few days and we sincerely hope that these changes will be welcomed by those who have expressed their concern.
Cecile Richards, of Planned Parenthood Federation issued this statement:
“The outpouring of support for women in need of lifesaving breast cancer screening this week has been astonishing and is a testament to our nation’s compassion and sincerity.
“During the last week, millions spontaneously joined a national conversation about lifesaving breast cancer prevention care and reinforced shared values about access to health care for all. This compassionate outcry in support of those most in need rose above political, ideological, and cultural divides, and will surely be recognized as one of our nation’s better moments during a contentious political time. Planned Parenthood thanks each and every person who has contributed to elevating the importance of breast cancer prevention for so many women in need.
“In recent weeks, the treasured relationship between the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation and Planned Parenthood has been challenged, and we are now heartened that we can continue to work in partnership toward our shared commitment to breast health for the most underserved women. We are enormously grateful that the Komen Foundation has clarified its grantmaking criteria, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Komen partners, leaders and volunteers. What these past few days have demonstrated is the deep resolve all Americans share in the fight against cancer, and we honor those who are at the helm of this battle.
“Planned Parenthood has been a trusted partner with the Komen Foundation in early cancer detection and prevention services. In particular, Planned Parenthood helps the Komen Foundation reach vulnerable populations — low-income women, African-American women, and Latinas — especially in rural areas and underserved communities where Planned Parenthood health centers are their only source of health care. With Komen Foundation grants, over the past five years, Planned Parenthood health centers provided nearly 170,000 clinical breast exams and more than 6,400 mammogram referrals. With the outpouring of support over the past week, even more women in need will receive lifesaving breast cancer care.”
Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest breast cancer organization, is pulling the funding for breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood centers. In a statement on its website, Planned Parenthood attributed the decision to, “pressure from anti-women’s health political organizations,” and said, “At immediate risk are low-income women, many located in rural and under served communities, served by 19 Planned Parenthood programs funded by the Komen Foundation. This funding has enabled designated Planned Parenthood health centers to provide women with breast health education, screenings, and referrals for mammograms — lifesaving care for women where Planned Parenthood is their only source of health care.”
According to the New York Times, a Komen spokeswoman told the Associated Press, “ the main factor in the decision was a new rule adopted by Komen that prohibits grants to organizations being investigated by local, state or federal authorities…. Planned Parenthood was therefore disqualified from financing because of an inquiry being conducted by Representative Cliff Stearns, Republican of Florida, who is looking at how Planned Parenthood spends and reports its money.”
Just last week, the Susan G. Komen organization issued a press release touting the benefits of screening women of all economic levels. The release read:
Officials with Susan G. Komen for the Cure hailed new government figures that found the gap between white and minority women is narrowing when it comes to breast cancer screening rates, but expressed concern that the numbers still fall short of national goals.
“We’re heartened by word that breast cancer screening rates have been relatively stable in the past decade, but more than concerned that we’re not meeting national targets for breast screenings across all population groups,” said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, Komen founder and CEO. “These figures underscore the need for more women to get educated and get screened if we are to make progress against breast cancer, which is still the number one cancer killer of women worldwide.”
Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that overall, breast cancer screening rates in 2010 were 72.4 percent, well below the national target of 81 percent in CDC’s Healthy People 2020 goals.
and
“This gap in care for uninsured and low-income women is particularly troubling and one we have been working very hard to fill at Susan G. Komen,” Brinker said. “It’s clear that we have far more work to do for women who have no resources, no insurance, and no steady source of healthcare. They need our help the most.”
Planned Parenthood is raising funds to offset this disturbing move. You can make a donation here.
Brava to Virginia State Senator Janet Howell who made a statement this week when she proposed an amendment to Senate Bill 484, which would require a pregnant woman to undergo an ultrasound and have the option to view her fetus before having an abortion. Howell’s amendment would have required men to undergo a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before getting a prescription for erectile dsyfunction drugs.
Proponents of the mandatory ultrasound before abortion argue its part of informed consent – making sure a woman seeking an abortion knows her legal rights and alternatives, and to be sure the confused little lady really understands what she is undertaking. Perhaps Howell just wanted to make sure that men, distressed by their sexual dysfunction, were clear about the risks of Viagra and the choices they had – like abstaining.
Or maybe, she just wanted to make the point that no one should control another person’s body or create legislation requiring unnecessary and invasive procedures on another human being.
Not surprising, Howell’s amendment failed and the bill passed the Senate Education and Health committee. However according to the Richard Times-Dispatch, a new amendment, “being formulated by Democrats would require a physician to offer an ultrasound, but make the ultrasound optional for the patient.” It is expected to come up for a vote in the Senate on Wednesday.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D., Ariz.) announced today she will resign from Congress this week. Giffords will focus on her recovery – she was shot in the head last January at a constituent meet and greet. We wish her well and thank her for her service.
Photo by Bill Morrow used via Creative Commons license.
Republicans, Get In My Vagina!
We can do it.
What It's Like to be a #WorkingMom #infographic
Awesome
