Posts Tagged ‘ massachusetts senate ’

Poll Shows Senator Brown with Nine Point Lead Against Elizabeth Warren

February 20, 2012
By
Senator Brown

Senator Brown

Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren

What’s going on in Massachusetts? Last Monday, Senator Scott Brown explained his support of the Blunt Amendment, legislation that could allow an employer to exclude any health service from the coverage they provide based on any religious beliefs or moral convictions.

Just two days after Brown issued his statement, a Suffolk University poll showed him leading Elizabeth Warren, his Democratic challenger, by nine points. Ladies, it’s time to start paying attention to this race.

Senator Brown claims his support of the Blunt Amendment is grounded in a desire to protect religion from government interference. He says it’s not a political issue. But it is. The Obama administration is not forcing religious organizations to compromise beliefs by providing contraceptive coverage to employees. They are allowing religiously affiliated employers such as Catholic hospitals to opt out of that coverage, but are also requiring insurance companies to provide the coverage, without raising the cost of the premiums to employees who request it.

Many pundits question why the GOP would wage an attack on contraception mid-campaign and risk alienating women voters, especially when most data shows a majority of Catholics use and/or support contraception. But I can see why Brown would make this move despite his past track record. Brown, according to The Maddow Blog, voted as a member of the Massachusetts General Court in favor of a measure that required insurers carry contraceptive coverage for women and also voted in favor of a bill mandating hospitals to offer emergency contraception to rape victims, “even after lawmakers defeated his amendment to allow religious hospitals to opt out of the requirement.”

In the special election to fill the late Senator Kennedy’s seat, Scott Brown campaigned as the 41st vote, a potential deciding vote against Obama’s healthcare reform. Conservative interest groups poured money and volunteers into the race. The American Future Fund launched a $400,000 attack ad against Brown’s Democratic rival, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and Brown raised $1 million dollars in a 24 hour period. We think Brown is actually playing it safe – taking  a page from his winning 2010 play book and banking on out of state donors to help re-elect him. While Brown is out fundraising Warren, she is pulling in more money from out of state.

Massachusetts has never elected a female Senator. At a time when a record number of bills have been introduced regarding women’s health, all-male panels in Washington are discussing contraception, and women are suddenly a hot-button topic in the presidential debates, we need female representation more than ever before. We wrote this two years ago when Scott Brown first ran for the Senate, and it is still relevant today:

Women represent 51 percent of the population but only 17 percent of the legislation. Until a group reaches critical mass, at least 30 percent representation in leadership, they are viewed and evaluated as “special interest” rather than representative. Every competent, qualified women we elect, brings us one step closer to critical mass. And, as we’ve written before,

“Women legislators bring much needed attention to so-called women’s issues such as childcare, elder care, fair workplace policies and healthcare. They serve as role models for young girls and increase women’s overall participation in government and civic issues. And women politicians work hard. According to a study from the University of Chicago and Stanford University, women in Congress, on average, introduce more bills and secure more money for their districts than their male counterparts do.”

No candidate is ever perfect ladies. But if we are going to work together to support our interests, we must remove the phrase, “I want to vote for a woman, but…” from our vocabulary and take action.

Ladies, we are under attack. Stay informed. Stay vocal. Run for office.

What Should We Do About Sexism and Bachmann?

January 5, 2012
By

Michele Bachmann

Let’s not waste time debating whether sexism was a factor in Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann’s failed bid for president. It was. Let’s instead focus on what we will do about it. Because something needs to be done.

Not that we wanted to see Bachmann in the White House. God no. But nor do we want to see Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry or any other anti-woman candidate get elected. But why is Bachmann going home and not the other non-Romneys? For several reasons.

First, there is a double standard at work. Susan Mulligan at U.S. News points out, “Michele Bachmann, the Tea Party-approving Republican Congresswoman from Minnesota, has said some crazy things… All of that provides a solid basis for questioning her as a candidate and wondering whether she’s suited for the Oval Office. But has Bachmann said or done anything more bizarre than some of her opponents, including several who are above her in polling in Iowa?” Not really.

Second, women don’t “look presidential.” Remember when Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen wrote, “I can think of no reason why anyone who, for some unaccountable reason, supports Michele Bachmann will not move over to Perry… Perry, who actually looks like a president …” Women don’t look presidential because we’ve never seen a woman president. And people from Iowa (as well as Mississippi) have never elected a woman to their congressional delegation or as governor.  My state of Massachusetts has never elected a woman senator or governor. And the list goes on leaving the Unites States ranking 40th in the world for women’s political empowerment.

Third, the media skews the news. We knew this when Hillary Clinton ran for president. Now we have data to prove it. Paul Bedard, also at U.S. News recently wrote, “Two new scholarly studies that blow the whistle on the industry’s lopsided reliance on male reporters find that the media first belittled (Hillary Clinton’s) effort against Barack Obama, then jumped the gun to push her out of the race earlier than any other recent strong primary challenger.” Remember Bachman’s Newsweek cover photo? Case in point.

One could argue, as a conservative, Bachmann faced a greater challenge than a liberal candidate. As Amanda Marcotte wrote for Reuters, “As a conservative female politician with an evangelical base, Bachmann was forced to hang her ambitions on voters who believe in traditional gender roles. …The problems arise when anti-feminist women start to seek real power for themselves. …That base is unable to grant serious power to a woman, no matter how much she promised to use it to disempower other women.”

Patricia Murphy quotes two such women in The Washington Post. “Jeanne Jennings of Johnston, Iowa, for instance, said Tuesday night that she likes Bachmann very much indeed, but chose to caucus for Rick Santorum instead. ‘I was for Michele Bachmann for a long time. I read her book. Wonderful book, wonderful family, wonderful person,” Jennings said. “But then I just started thinking about being presidential and I don’t know that we’re ready for a woman for president. I think what we really need to do is get Rick Santorum for president and Michele Bachmann for vice president.’” And, “Georgiana Cleveland from Boone, Iowa, said the same: ‘I guess maybe we here are not quite ready for a women president.’”

Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America, wrote about why she backed Santorum at FOXNews.com “Michele Bachmann was a serious candidate, a fierce competitor, and an excellent communicator. She made everyone in the race better, because she made them define their conservative credentials. This wasn’t her year, but mark my words, her day will come.” When?

After Martha Coakley lost the Massachusetts Senate seat to Scott Brown last winter Politico reported on the unions’ response to her candidacy, “Massachusetts labor leaders expressed frustration at the anti-woman bias in their ranks. ‘I’m not voting for the broad’ is the message Teamster leader Robert Cullinane told POLITICO he’s hearing.” With men like that, we need women to rally.

Whether you are conservative, moderate or liberal, electing women needs to be a priority because:

  • Women are 51 percent of the population but only 17 percent of Congress and that’s not representative government.
  • Last year, 1,100 pieces of legislation about women’s reproductive health were introduced — by a majority male legislative body.
  • And our daughters, who we promise can grow up and be anything they want, need to see what they want to be. Where are their role models?

In The Hello Ladies Guide to Sexism in Politics, we talk about why sexism in matters:

Sexism hurts. A 2010 poll by Lake Research Partners revealed that “even mild sexist language has an impact on voters’ likelihood to vote for a female candidate and on how favorable they feel toward a woman seeking office.” The Inter-Parliamentary Union, an organization whose mission is to establish representative democracy across the globe, sees gender parity as the path to democracy stating, “The concept of democracy will only assume true and dynamic significance when political policies and national legislation are decided upon jointly by men and women with equitable regard for the interests and aptitudes of both halves of the population.”

So what do we do?

  • We need to call out sexism when we see it. Organizations like Name It Change It allow people to report sexist coverage and then call on the media outlets to change behavior.
  • We need to contribute to and volunteer on women’s campaigns. It takes a lot of money and people to get someone elected.
  • We need to lose the phrase, I want to support a woman candidate but….,” and vote for women if they are qualified AND support women’s rights.
  • We need to run for office.  Organizations like She Should Run, The White House Project, The 2012 Project and Ready to Run offer support and coaching for women seeking office. If not you, then who?

 

 

Women Newsmakers in 2011

December 31, 2011
By
Betty Dukes and Walmart plaintiffs

Betty Dukes and Walmart plaintiffs

Another year almost over, another few cents narrowing the wage gap. Here’s a look back at some of the stories that impacted or involved women in 2011:

Reproductive rights under attack: Three days into the year we wrote, “Congressman John Boehner (R-Ohio) will become Speaker of the House Wednesday and women should pay attention. … In fact, he represents a significant threat to women’s reproductive rights.” And indeed 2011 saw some of the most aggressive attacks on women’s reproductive health. Ashley Portero at the International Business Times has a round up of the staggering number measures related to reproductive health introduced in 2011 including:

  • H.R. 3 with its disturbing “forcible rape”  language (as if all rape isn’t forcible?)
  • H.R. 358, the Protect Life Act, or as some are called it, the Let Women Die Act.
  • The Heartbeat Bill, which would ban abortions after the first detectable fetal heartbeat- before many women even know they are pregnant. Two fetuses were witnesses at an Ohio legislative committee contemplating this bill.
  • And of course, the attack on Planned Parenthood.

Rape and intimate partner violence a very real threat: Speaking of women’s health, in November the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, a comprehensive survey on sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence revealing in the United States nearly 1 in 5 women have been raped,  and more than 1 in 3 women have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner.

DialloTwo brave women speak out: Two women bravely spoke out against sexual violence and took to the mainstream media thereby letting the world know the stigma of rape belongs to the rapist, not the raped. Nafitassou Diallo, the woman who accused Dominique Strauss Kahn (DSK),  former head of the International Monetary Fund of raping her in a New York hotel room, and Lara Logan, the CBS correspondent who was brutally assaulted in Egypt went on primetime television and shared their stories.

Ginni Rometty

Ginni Rometty

IMF and IBM appoint women to top spots: Following the allegations against Strauss Kahn, Christine Lagarde, France’s finance minister, was named the new head of the International Monetary Fund. And technology giant IBM appointed its first ever woman CEO, Virginia (Ginni) Rometty while former eBay chief Meg Whitmasn was named CEO at Hewlett Packard. However, Avon’s CEO Andrea Jung, stepped down and Carol Bartz was fired by Yahoo. While there was plenty of movement, the 2011 Catalyst Census:Fortune 500 Women Board Directors, Executive Officers and Top Earners reported in the corporate world “women have made no significant gains in the last year and are no further along the corporate ladder than they were six years ago.”

The Supreme Court blocks Walmart discrimination suit: In June, The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in the Walmart v. Dukes case in favor of Walmart. The court ruled the gender discrimination suit against Walmart could not proceed as a class action. In doing so the court overturned a U.S. appeal court ruling that granted class action status to female employees of the giant retailer. The decision was widely viewed as a win for big business and a blow to women and we wrote, “The decision leaves women alone in their fight against discriminatory practices, steeling for a long, expensive, and sometimes nasty battle, or merely biting their tongue.”

The wage gap remains: Underscoring why the Walmart ruling matters, in March the White House Council on Women and Girls issued the report, Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economical Well-Being, which noted women have not only caught up with men in college attendance but younger women are now more likely than younger men to have a college or a master’s degree and the number of women and men in the labor force has nearly equalized in recent years. However, the gains in education and jobs has not translated into wage and equity. At all levels of education, women earned about 75 percent of what their male counterparts earned in 2009.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Three women win the Nobel Prize: In October, The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to three women in recognition of “their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” The Nobel Committee divided the award equally between Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman.

Politics continues to be a sexist sport: In August we published “The Hello Ladies Guide to Sexism in Politics” so women could follow along during a wild year for women in politics. The year began with a horrific attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who we were thrilled to see return to the House in August for the debt ceiling vote. Also in January, the formidable Maryland Senator Barbara A. Mikulski became the longest-serving woman in U.S. Senate history. Mid year Congresswoman Michele Bachmann announced her candidacy for president and thankfully former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin did not. In September, Elizabeth Warren officially entered the Massachusetts Senate race. And throughout the year, many in the  media, and certainly Herman Cain, continued to demonstrate sexist behavior towards women in politics. Name It Change It has a good roundup of sexist media coverage in 2011.

We said goodbye to two strong women and hello to many more: Former Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, who was the first female vice presidential candidate of the United States, passed away in March as did Former First Lady Betty Ford in July. As we said goodbye to these inspiring women, we were introduced to emerging leaders like:

 

  • Afrykayn Moon who held her ground when a public transit bus driver ordered her to either cover up or get off the bus while she  was breastfeeding her child
  • Michelle Hickman, who staged a nationwide nurse-in at Target after she was asked by Target employees to relocate while nursing her child at the store
  • and Penis Mom who reminded us to speak out out against outdated gender stereotypes and biases and made us laugh while doing it.

We’re looking forward to covering more heroines in 2012.

 

 

 

If I Were Santa

December 14, 2011
By

Santa's gift bagIf I were Santa, I’d be making my list and checking it twice. And here are the gifts I would give:

For Our Daughters: The gift of self-esteem and positive role models

The mass media perpetuates a message that women and girls’ value comes from beauty and sexuality – and it affects us. Sixty-five percent of women and girls have an eating disorder. Eighty percent of the op-ed pages are dominated by men. The number of women in senior management positions globally has gone from 24 to 20 percent from 2004 to 2009.

For Corporate America: More women in leadership positions

There is a large, and growing, body of research connecting women at the tops of organizations to a strong bottom line performance. However, women comprise 53 percent of new hires, but only 37 percent of managers, 26 percent of vice-presidents, and just 14 percent of executive committees.

 

For Working Mothers: Flexible work arrangements … and a day of rest

The life of a working mother is challenging. Flexible work arrangements give parents the ability to work more flexibly and better manage the challenges of work and family.

For Working Families: Passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act

According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, women earn, on average, just .78 cents for every dollar a man earns. And for women of color, the gap is much greater. Fair pay is not a woman’s issue, it’s a family issue. An estimated two-thirds of all U.S. households rely on a woman’s salary at least partially.”

For All Women: The ratification of CEDAW

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty that supports fundamental human rights and equality for women around the world. CEDAW was adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. To date, 186 of 193 countries have ratified the treaty. The United States has not.

For President Obama: The courage to stand up for women’s reproductive rights

Women helped President Obama get elected in 2008 and they can be expected to play a major role in the 2012 election too. In return, women need Obama to take a stronger stance on women’s rights, and in particular, women’s reproductive health – regardless of the pressures he’s facing from his opponents.

For the GOP: The Sanctity of Life

The US ranks poorly for infant mortality rates and maternal death rates; more than two women die every day from pregnancy related causes. Yet many lawmakers try to block women’s access to much-needed health services, supposedly  in the name of life. For Christmas, we want to give them the gift of truly honoring the sanctity of life – all life – and to see them work toward improving the health and life of mothers.

For Massachusetts: A woman Senator

Massachusetts has never sent a woman to the Senate. Although 51 percent of the U.S. population is female, women hold just 16.5 percent of the seats in Congress. That puts the US at 69th in the world for gender parity. We need more women in office.

For Victims of Domestic Violence: Hope

Domestic violence victims and their advocates need money to gain freedom from abuse, to protect children from abusive partners or ex-partners and develop public policy efforts related to domestic violence. Please donate and give them support and hope.

What gifts would you give? You can add to my list at The Skinny Scoop.

 

Senator Brown’s Locker Room Response to Elizabeth Warren

October 6, 2011
By
Senator Brown

Senator Brown

Senator Scott Brown resorted to a locker room-style response this morning on a local Boston radio station when speaking about Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren.

Earlier in the week, during a Democratic primary debate, Warren was asked how she paid her tuition. Alluding to Senator Scott Brown’s Cosmopolitan photo shoot she said, “I kept my clothes on.”

This morning, the radio show host asked Brown, “Have you officially responded to Elizabeth Warren’s comment about how she didn’t take her clothes off?” To which the Senator responded, “Thank God,” then he and the host laughed like teenagers.

We weren’t thrilled when we heard Warren’s comment during the debate. We’d prefer she stay on the high road. However, while Warren referenced Brown’s actions, the  Senator referenced his challenger’s appearance. His comment was low.

Was it sexist? Perhaps the “Blink-and-you-might-miss-it“ variety. Taken alone, what Brown said could be viewed as just immature and not very savvy. But couple it with previous campaign behavior – with his silence on the campaign trail in 2010 when a supporter suggested shoving a curling iron in then opponent Martha Coakley - and it stinks.

Read The Hello Ladies Guide to Sexism in Politics here.

 

 

Photo from Medill DC used with a Creative Commons License


Ignorant Legislator of the Week

October 1, 2011
By

MagicianLife’s been hectic lately, but we just had to find the time to bring you a new Ignorant Legislator of the Week. The chair of the Abington, Mass. school committee is this week’s pick. Russell Fitzgerald, who is also an amateur magician, apparently starts all of his board meetings with a trick. However, the AP reported:

“Russell Fitzgerald may have crossed a line … when he performed a trick that made it appear that he and a teacher ripped the bra off another committee member through her clothes.” We’re not sure what’s unclear to the AP reporter. Fitzgerald did cross a line.

The Brockton Enterprise, who’s writer also states Fitzgerald may have crossed a line, reported:

“Asked if the magic trick was inappropriate, Fitzgerald responded after the meeting, ‘No, I don’t think so.’

“”Why did you choose this particular trick,” a reporter then asked.

“’I like it,” Fitzgerald said.”

The AP has since reported that Fitzgerald, “says he is sorry for the embarrassment he caused committee member … He also says he will no longer perform tricks before meetings.”

The “bra trick” story has gone viral, covered at sites from Gawker to the Washington Post, and many commentors have suggested critics of Fitzgerald’s trick should “lighten up.” Here’s why we shouldn’t:

While bra tricks may be funny at cocktail parties, they aren’t funny at government meetings. Until we reach some level of equal representation, or at least a critical mass of women in office, we cannot tolerate embarrasing or objectifying women who serve.

- Women represent just 17 percent of Congress (holding 90 of the 535 seats) in Congress.

- The United States has never elected a woman president.

- Fitzgerald’s state of Massachusetts has never elected a woman to the Senate.

- Fitzgerald’s town has an all-male board of selectman.

- In each election cycle, we see both blatant and subtle examples of sexism.

Our daughters need to see women as leaders, not punchlines. We tell girls they can grow up and be anything they want but we don’t give them many examples to follow. They cannot be, what they cannot see.

Until things change, we can’t “lighten up” and our elected officials need to help, not hurt, the cause.

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Image is from ”The Eagle Magician” magazine, March, 1918.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth Warren Is Running for Senate

September 14, 2011
By
Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren has officially entered the Massachusetts Senate race. She enters a crowded Democratic primary field which includes Newton Mayor Setti Warren and City Year founder Alan Khazei, to challenge Republican Senator Scott Brown who won the special election last year to fill the late Senator Kennedy’s seat.

In an email to supporters, Warren said, “Washington gives some of the biggest corporations in the world special loopholes and tax breaks, while middle-class families and small businesses struggle. This is wrong. Our hard-working families deserve someone who believes in them, someone who is going to stand up and fight for their interests. That’s why I’m running for the United States Senate.”

Warren,  a Harvard law professor, made headlines earlier this year when she was tapped by President Obama to start the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency she championed following the financial meltdown on Wall Street. She came under intense scrutiny and fire from Republicans and Obama ultimately appointed Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the organization.

Warren is smart and tough and many Democratic party insiders think she is the candidate best suited to raise the money needed to run against Brown. Visit her campaign site to learn more.

Footnote: I am writing this blog post while I sit with my young daughter. I tell her Elizabeth Warren is running against Senator Scott Brown and remind her Massachusetts has never sent a woman to the Senate. “I want to be a Senator someday so I can make rules,” she says. I am so proud. “Like everyday is chocolate day,”  she finishes. Yet another reason we need more women in office. I love her.

 

 

 

The Hello Ladies Guide to Sexism in Politics

August 18, 2011
By
Political attack ad against Janice Hahn

The latest presidential election cycle has only just begun and already we are engaged in some lively discussions about the sexist treatment of candidate Michele Bachmann. Was the Newsweek cover photo of the Congresswoman and the accompanying headline sexist? Was the “submissive wife” question out of line?  Sexism may seem more out in front during a presidential campaign but it exists in politics all the time – and at the state and local level too. Some of the sexism is over the top, and some not so obvious. To help you easily identify and respond to unfair treatment of female politicians, here is “The Hello Ladies Guide to Sexism in Politics.”

Overt sexism: In this category we have the outrageous remarks that make you scream, “How does this person (insert name of person who spoke or wrote the sexist comment) keep their job?!” Examples: Conan O’Brien sidekick Andy Richter’s recent tweet that read, “There’s nothing wrong with Michele Bachmann that two solid weeks of orgasms won’t cure.” Statements like that one attempt to reduce a female candidate to a shrew, a sexual object, anything but a viable contender for the job. An Alex Beam column in The Boston Globe during the Massachusetts Senate race last year qualified because it shifted the focus, even if only briefly, from Attorney General Martha Coakley’s front-runner status to her looks. And, of course, the web ad depicting Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn as a pole dancer was one of the most offensive displays of sexism in politics we’ve seen.

Subtle sexism: This is the kind of sexism that doesn’t necessarily jump off the page but still reveals and perpetuates entrenched attitudes that women don’t belong in Washington. Examples: Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen writing, “I can think of no reason why anyone who, for some unaccountable reason, supports Michele Bachmann will not move over to Perry… Perry, who actually looks like a president … will raise far more money and breeze by her.” Because presidents, ladies, don’t look like us. They look like white guys. And to be clear,  political leaders don’t care about frivolous things like makeup and jewelry either. That was the message in an attack ad against North Carolina Senate candidate Margaret Dickson. Because after all, women who wear lipstick might gasp or cough when a terrorist is killed. Yes, the analysis of Secretary of State Clinton in the situation room during the Osama Bin Laden raid was sexist. And the other things legislators are not: mothers, or, women with no children. Sarah Palin had too many kids and  Tampa mayoral candidate Rosa Ferlita didn’t have enough. An attack ad against her implied she was unfit for office unlike her opponent, “a family man.”

Blink-and-you-might-miss-it sexism: From a very young age, we’ve been conditioned by the media to view women a certain way. Think Barbie with her physically impossible figure, models airbrushed into Everyman’s fantasy, Wilma Flinstone – tough but obedient, and Daphne and Velma – pretty or smart but never both. So we don’t always immediately see sexism for what it is because the images served up of female politicians follow the same formula we’ve always seen when it comes to the portrayal of women in the media. Examples: Fox News correspondent Greta Van Susteren asking then Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin if she had breast implants – not relevant to U.S. policy but a topic we’re used to having about women in the news. Another example was Rep. Allen West telling Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz she’s “not a lady.” Because a well-behaved lady doesn’t challenge a man (but we do, don’t we ladies?). And then there’s the use of our least-favorite phrase “Man Up.”  Because it’s men who win wars, fix economies and create jobs. Clearly.

Why it Matters: Sexism hurts. A 2010 poll by Lake Research Partners revealed that “even mild sexist language has an impact on voters’ likelihood to vote for a female candidate and on how favorable they feel toward a woman seeking office.” The Inter-Parliamentary Union, an organization whose mission is to establish representative democracy across the globe, sees gender parity as the path to democracy stating, “The concept of democracy will only assume true and dynamic significance when political policies and national legislation are decided upon jointly by men and women with equitable regard for the interests and aptitudes of both halves of the population.” But here in the U.S. women hold barely 17 percent of the seats in Congress, despite making up half the population.

What We Can Do About It: We can start by calling out sexism when we see it. Organizations like Name It Change It allow people to report sexist coverage and then call on the media outlets to change behavior. We can tell advertisers and sponsors we don’t like it, that we notice where they spend advertising dollars and that we too must think about how we spend our money.

And we can work to shift the political landscape. We can contribute to and volunteer on women’s campaigns. It takes a lot of money and people to get someone elected. We can vote for women. I often quote Gloria Feldt who says, “… when there are two candidates–one male and one female–who are both well-qualified and represent my positions on major issues I care about, I will support the woman until such time as women have our fair 50 percent share of the elected official slots. Then and only then will gender not matter.” And we can run for office.  Organizations like She Should Run, The White House Project, The 2012 Project and Ready to Run offer support and coaching for women seeking office.

And eventually, we too will look like a president.

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2010 Political Review (Slideshow)

December 31, 2010
By

Here is a look back at just a few of the political stories we were talking about in 2010. What do you think 2011 will bring?

Language Matters

November 15, 2010
By

Tonight our town meeting voted on whether or not to increase the “supplemental annual allowance …  to widows of disabled public employees, pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 32, Section 10.”

When I read the article in the reports and recommendations sent to all town meeting members prior to the meeting, I immediately sent a message to the Chair of our Finance Committee. It read, “Article 15 discusses benefits for widows. Is there any reason these benefits aren’t for the “surviving spouse?” I’d like to see the language reflect the current realities of the workforce (there are currently more women than men on the national payroll and two-thirds of all U.S. households have a female breadwinner – partial or full). I look forward to hearing your thoughts.”

The Chair’s response was fast and respectful. But the bottom line was, “There’s nothing we can do about it.”  Because we were voting to adopt a state law, we needed to use the state’s language. And, I was told, in practice, gender specific terms are interpreted to mean surviving spouse.

I don’t know when the Massachusetts law was originally written. But it was amended in 2010 –the year women surpassed men on the payroll, the year of the so-called he-cession and she-economy.  Surely, I wasn’t the only one to notice the language was outdated and non-inclusive? But then again, maybe I was.

Language matters. And if you don’t believe me, try passing legislation that reads, “In the event of the death of any former employee who had been retired under the provisions of this chapter after having been found to be incapacitated for further duty by reason of injuries sustained while in the performance of her duties, or who had been retired for ordinary disability under the provisions of this chapter, under which retirement she was unable to provide” … and tell the men that by “her” and “she” we mean men too, and I bet you’ll see just how much language matters.

Aaah, Massachusetts. That crazy blue state. The one the political pundits tell the rest of the country is so liberal. But the great Commonwealth has never elected a woman governor nor a woman senator.  Only four women have represented the Commonwealth in Congress.

This is why we need a critical mass of women in politics. Because perhaps all men are created equal, but women still have some work ahead of them.

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