Today, I will appear on a radio show hosted by former County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia to discuss this topic. Click here to tune in at 10:00 to listen to the discussion.
This question is very popular at the moment. Many states are making changes to abortion laws, rape definitions and punishments and more. More subtle changes are occurring in the health care system where support for women’s health issues has become weaker and weaker.
I have been pondering the question. As I am blessed to teach Women in Politics, I have the opportunity to teach younger women about our history and treatment of women throughout the years. I also have the privilege of spending time with the next generation of power woman and celebrate the people they have become.
One of the current challenges is that women are essentially victims of our own success. We so fought and battled to change institutions and systems that younger women today have no institutional memory of discrimination. They dominate colleges, medical and law schools. They feel empowered to do whatever they want to pursue and see no obstacles to achieving their goals.
However, they will ultimately experience the salary discrepancy that still penetrates the workplace as they grow in their careers. Men still make about 25 – 30 cents more for every dollar women earn. They will also learn that networking is as equally important as hard work. When their male counterpart makes partner at the firm and he does half as much, they will be shocked. They will learn that lunches, schmoozing and playing golf all help to bring in business.
At some point, they are likely to pause in their careers and have children. They will then learn that this may have a significant impact on their career while their partner continues with smooth sailing.
Along the way, they will begin to recognize that we are not yet equal. We have come a long way baby, but we have a long way still to go.
Tune in today to hear more of the discussion………..
Just based on my experience in Illinois the past couple of years, I’ve realized that the attitude towards women is very different. I am spending this summer in Chicago, and the other day I met a woman who grew up in Houston and went to college at U of H. She eventually left Houston to work in New York before settling in Chicago. Her main complain about Houston was that it was “too much of a good ‘ol boys club.” I think an argument can be made that Houston still has some maturing to do in terms of breaking away from its historical good ol boys culture especially if is driving talent out of the city. But I am not writing here to rag on my hometown. I am writing to say that there’s really no excuse that we cannot be better, and we need to continue to push forward.
There is a famous interview of then chief counsel of the NAACP, Thurgood Marshall in which he is asked if integration should be more gradual. He replies something along the lines of “I think 100 years is gradual enough.” Whatever gradual attempts we have instituted are not working and we need to do something to breakdown cultural barriers and make it happen.
Although I do have to admit, I still want my future wife to carry my last name and if not that, at the very least, have our children carry mine.