Posts Tagged ‘ equal rights ’

You are Not a Pre-Existing Condition

November 4, 2009

By Hello Ladies

Denied Do you know who may be denied health insurance?

* Me. I had a Cesarean section. C-sections are pre-existing conditions.

* A good friend of mine. Her husband hit her. Domestic violence is a pre-existing condition.

*The one in six women who will be sexually assaulted. Rape is a pre-existing condition.

*Another good friend of mine. She underwent IVF. Fertility treatments are a pre-existing condition.

Ladies, we are NOT pre-existing conditions.

The list goes on:

*My cousin. She is having a baby. Many health insurance policies do not cover maternity care.

*My sister. She needs a mammogram. It’s not covered by her insurer.

*My neighbor. Her health insurance company charges her more than they charge men but her employer pays her less. She can’t afford coverage.

*You. If you are a non-smoker. Health insurance companies typically charge female NON-smokers more than male smokers.

Most gender-based discrimination occurs in the private insurance market, where the self-employed and small businesses find insurance. But even among the group health insurance market, gender discrimination exists. Insurance companies are allowed to determine premiums based on the number of women a firm employs.

This is appalling. Health reform is NOT a political issue. It is a matter of human rights. Click HERE to contact Congress TODAY and tell them a woman is NOT a pre-existing condition. We deserve equal coverage for equal premiums.

(*NOTE: Clickon the title of this post to view a video.)

Read more on this topic here and thank you to the National Women’s Law Centerfor their report “Nowhere to Turn: Insurance Companies Treat Women Like a Pre-Existing Condition” which you can download here.

Lap Dancers at Work

October 23, 2009

By Hello Ladies

bizwoman I have another video share today. But before you watch it, place a pillow on the ground. That way, when your jaw hits the floor, it won’t hurt.

Ladies, what year is it? I thought it was 2009: the year women surpassed men on the national payroll, the 21st century, an era when having lap dancers at work was not okay.

I must be wrong. At a recent company event, Yahoo offered lap dancers as entertainment. The gathering was Open Hack Day in Taiwan, an event were developers get together to foster creativity. While most of the images and videos from the event have been removed from the web, Adam Lindsay at www.alt.posterous.com still has footage. (Link shared via a Creative Commons license.) The event was made up of “mainly” male developers. Can you imagine what it was like for the women in attendance?

Granted, Yahoo has offered an apology (not a quasi-Pepsi-type-apology-either) which you can read here. But I, for one, am sick of bad behavior followed by the obligatory sorry statement. Let’s just lose the bad behavior to begin with.

Back in my corporate days, the men were careful enough to pull this crap off site. There was my charming coworker at one company who would take his lunch break across the street at a “gentleman’s club” everyday. His regular order: a cheeseburger and a lap dance. I always tried to schedule our meetings in the morning. I was too creeped out to spend my afternoons with him.

And then there were my guys at the next job. After our management team dinners (I was the only woman on the team) they would bid me goodnight and head over to the strip club. Annoying? Slightly. Just how much can a woman bond with the team when the bonding involved dollar bills and seedy night clubs? Infuriating? Yes, when they EXPENSED their night out.

Update: and speaking of Pepsi. They pulled the Amp app.

Drained, Denied, and Dance

October 22, 2009

By Hello Ladies

Denied

Writing about women can be challenging sometimes because you hear about so many things that drain your energy. For example, there was a story in yesterday’s USA Today about a gay high school girl who wore a tuxedo in her yearbook photo. Girls at the school are traditionally photographed in drapes and boys in tuxedos. However this girl feels more comfortable in a tuxedo. Officials in the Copiah County School District in Mississippi refuse to put her photo in the yearbook. It is hard to understand why these school administrators hold so tightly to their rigid definitions of what is and is not okay. What are they afraid of?

And then there was this sad tale from RH Reality Check: insurers denying women health insurance based on a pre-existing condition – rape. Many think healthcare reform is a political issue and many more are making it a political issue. But for women, healthcare reform is an equity issue. Learn more about women and health insurance. If you’ve ever been unable to afford treatment, if you’ve ever had a c-section, if you need or needed maternity care, if you’ve been a victim of domestic abuse, if you are a woman, you need to know.

And now, because you have read this far when all we’ve offered you is draining news and a plea to stay informed, please accept this small gesture as a token of our appreciation. It is intended to bring a smile to your face and recharge you. From Glee, enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4mMfdzdaio

Updated: Equal Coverage for Equal Premiums

October 15, 2009

By Hello Ladies

Denied Seven years ago, after 32 hours of labor, my doctor recommended I have a Caesarean section. My cervix didn’t dilate and a c-section seemed to be the safest way to deliver my baby. Today, the very decision I made to keep my child safe could be the same reason I can’t provide insurance for him.

As you know, earlier this week the Senate Finance Committee voted to move forward on a healthcare bill known as the Baucus Bill. Now, it must be merged with a separate proposal from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee before it can go to the full Senate for a vote. There is still plenty of work to do. Over the coming weeks, our legislators will continue to examine discriminatory insurance practices and a public option.

Ladies, if you haven’t been paying attention to the healthcare discussion in this country, you need to start now. Here’s why:

- C-sections, evenly medically mandated ones, are considered pre-existing conditions by some insurance companies

- Domestic violence is considered a pre-existing condition by some insurance companies –no not for the batterer, for the victim

- Only 20 states require private insurance companies to cover routine mammograms*

- Women often struggle to find coverage for maternity care. And then they often lose valuable income while on earn maternity leave.

- Women, on average, earn less than men and the wage gap has widened. Our dollars need to stretch further.

- Yet women often pay 30 – 40 percent more for health insurance policies than men do.

I am not a pre-existing condition. I am 51 percent of the population. I am in control of 85 percent of consumer buying power. I am strong—I am able to grow a life inside of me, care for that baby on little to no sleep, recover from abdominal surgery and return to work all in less than three months. I am a breadwinner. I may not make as much as the guy in the office next to me who didn’t give birth, but I’m working on it. I am a registered voter. And I demand equal coverage for equal premiums.

Ladies, click here to tell Congress YOU are not a pre-existing condition. Demand equal care for equal premiums.

Thank you to RH Reality Check for alerting us to the “I am not a pre-existing condition” campaign. Read more here.

*From the National Women’s Law Center Reform Matters fact sheet

Take the Everywoman Quiz

September 17, 2009

By Hello Ladies

Hello Ladies. Take this quick quiz and test your knowledge of women’s leadership and the gender gap. It’s eye-opening.

Women’s Equality Day

August 26, 2009

By Hello Ladies

Notice Today, August 26, is Women’s Equality Day in honor of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granting women the right to vote — only 89 years ago.