These new emojis could finally reflect that women are professionals, too
Cyndi Lauper's 'Girls Just Want Equal Funds' Is the Feminist Anthem You Need
Yaaas! 💕💰
“I come home, in the morning light my mother says ‘why don’t you make the same as a guy.
Oh mama, dear, we’re not the fortunate ones, ’cause girls, they want equal funds.”
What gives? It’s called the “motherhood penalty,” and it’s a persistent problem for all women, not just mothers, working in America.
Mothers typically are paid only 73 cents for every dollar fathers are paid. Wait, it gets worse. After becoming fathers, men see a 6 percent *increase* in earnings — even after controlling for factors such as hours worked and marital status — while new mothers see a 4 percent *decrease* per child.
Sound fair? We didn’t think so.
At Work, Dads Get a Bonus, but Moms Get a Penalty. What Gives?
Sunday is Mother’s Day. But moms aren’t getting everything they deserve. Mothers typically are paid only 73 cents for every dollar fathers are paid.
Wait, it gets worse. After becoming fathers, men see a 6 percent *increase* in earnings — even after controlling for factors such as hours worked and marital status — while new mothers see a 4 percent *decrease* per child.
Sound fair? We didn’t think so.
Embrace feminism to improve decision-making, says Justin Trudeau
🙌 “Let’s start rewarding politicians and companies who aren’t driven by a macho approach.”
Youngest woman elected to House gets sworn in as Petersburg lawmaker
Congratulations, Delegate Aird, on breaking the glass ceiling!
Women across the word, like Lashrecse, are breaking barriers. We’ll continue to advocate for women in political leadership, including through
Elect Her, our national program to train young women to run for office.
Chris Rock: If Jennifer Lawrence Were Black, 'She'd Really Have Something To Complain About'
Chris Rocks hits on an important fact: The gender pay gap affects all women, but it doesn’t affect all women equally.
Black women were paid 63 percent of what non-Hispanic white men were paid in 2014. That means it takes the typical black woman nearly seven extra months to be paid what the average white man took home back on December 31. That’s even worse than the national pay gap for women of all races, 79 percent, as reported by AAUW’s research.
Think about how that adds up in the course of a career, and we’re talking about losing a daunting chunk of change over a lifetime.
These Four Supreme Court Cases Were Major Victories in 2015
2015 brought in a wave of wins for gender equity. Let’s keep it up in 2016!
1. A Win for the Pregnancy Discrimination Act
Young v. UPS went to the heart of one of the most important workplace protection laws: the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). Passed in 1978, the PDA states unequivocally that pregnancy discrimination is a form of sex discrimination, and it requires employers to treat pregnant employees the same as non-pregnant employees who have similar abilities or inabilities to work. This spring, the court ruled 6-3 in favor of Peggy Young, which means that she will be able to present her case to the lower court for a ruling on the merits. Had the court sided with UPS, it could have weakened the PDA’s protection for pregnant workers.
2. Women’s Health Care Protected
King v. Burwell was yet another challenge to the Affordable Care Act. In King, opponents of the health care law argued that tax credits that help low-income people afford health care coverage should only be available to people in states with state-run health care exchanges. If the court had sided with the challengers, millions of women would have lost health care coverage.
3. Voting Rights: Victories and Questions
With a major election cycle gearing up, voting rights are on our minds.The court saw several significant cases this term that addressed gerrymandering and redistricting. Two of the most significant were the linked cases Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama and Alabama Democratic Conference v. Alabama. The court of appeals sided with the state. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court reversed, sending the plan back to the lower court for a district-by-district review. Although the court did not rule on the constitutionality of the plan, it indicated that a majority of justices believed that at least some of the districts were drawn unconstitutionally. The court’s decision doesn’t ensure that the plan will be declared unconstitutional by the lower court, but it offers a chance for the challengers to make a case.
As we approach the 2016 election next year, these challenges will be front and center.
4. And Last But Not Least, Marriage Equality Prevailed!
Though all of the court’s decisions are significant, this term will be remembered for one particular case: Obergefell v. Hodges. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled that states must allow same-sex couples to marry and must recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other states. Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, relied on earlier cases that had established the right to marry as a fundamental right. Of the same-sex couples seeking to marry, he wrote, “They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”
👍A handy guide for your holiday shopping 👍
Your Guide to Awkward Family Conversations about Sexism
You’ve survived Thanksgiving, but you might not be past all the awkward family discussions yet to come. But don’t worry — we’ve got your back! Here’s your handy guide to responding to common misperceptions about gender and advocacy that might come up this season.
Your dad says, “We don’t even need Title IX anymore. Women get to play sports already. Plus, no one watches women’s sports anyway!”
First things first, let’s remind dear old dad that this summer’s Women’s World Cup final was the most-watched soccer game in U.S. history!
Title IX, which has been credited with helping develop the Women’s National Team itself, plays a critical role in ensuring equity in school athletics. But it’s about so much more than that! The crucial law prevents discrimination in all areas of education, including admissions; recruitment; access to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields; campus sexual harassment and assault; tenure; and more.
Your cousin says, “The gender pay gap doesn’t exist. Women are paid less because they take lower-paying jobs and take time off. Duh!”
We wish the gender pay gap didn’t exist! But the reality is that the pay gap is all math, not myth. Altogether, women working full time, year round in the United States in 2014 were paid only 79 percent of what men were paid. But that’s not the whole story: Mothers and women of color make even less.
According to AAUW’s research, the pay gap occurs in nearly every occupation, including both low– and high-paying jobs. And it can’t be explained away by women’s choices. Our 2012 report found that women face a pay gap even after accounting for (are you ready for this?) college major, occupation, economic sector, hours worked, months unemployed since graduation, GPA, type of undergraduate institution, institution selectivity, age, geographical region, and marital status. Phew!
Your sister says, “I wouldn’t vote for a woman president. They’re too sensitive!”
Whether it’s commenting on women leaders’ looks or likability or questioning their abilities, sexism is common when discussing women political candidates. Language matters. Calling assertive girls “bossy” or confident women “bitchy” reinforces negative stereotypes and biases about women’s leadership. Women are qualified to run for office. And when they do run, they win at the same rates as men. It’s critical to challenge gender bias and empower young women to run for office!
Your aunt says, “Millennials are so lazy. All they do is play on their phones.”
Sorry, auntie, but research suggests otherwise! According to one study, young adults throughout the United States are volunteering at higher levels than ever before. Student activists, including AAUW student leaders, are consistently taking action to challenge the status quo and lead the fight for social justice. From serving as U.N. youth representatives to (successfully) fighting to establish campus sexual assault crisis centers, young people across the country are making a difference.
If some feminist wisdom doesn’t help, we have your back if you literally can’t even.
Sometimes, people just can’t be persuaded by the facts. In those moments, we recommend a strong dose of Adele.
Read the full blog.
Happy Birthday, Grace Hopper! Thanks for inspiring generations of women and girls to explore STEM.
It’s hard to summarize her life succinctly, but here goes. Hopper was born December 9, 1906, in New York City. Fascinated by mathematics at an early age, she graduated from Vassar College in 1928, and by 1934 had received master’s and doctoral degrees in the subject from Yale University.
Hopper began teaching mathematics at her alma mater Vassar, but that course was soon forever altered. She’s best known for inventing the first compiler, a technical component that translated human language into a language understood by the computer.
Princess or Geek: What Attracts Women to Science?
Most people seem to agree that there’s a gender diversity crisis in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields — and the situation is especially alarming in engineering and computing. What people don’t agree on is how to fix the problem.
Marketing aimed at recruiting girls into STEM tends to fall into one of two distinct categories: Let’s call them geek pride and sparkle science. The former usually has “geek” in the title and encourages people to reclaim a word that used to be synonymous with social failure, and the latter often applies STEM to stereotypically “girly” topics like princesses, makeup, and the color pink.
Appealing to women on either end of the geek-sparkle spectrum — if they’re even on opposite ends — has generated fierce debate, fueled by research, stereotypes, market demands, and frustration from women in the field.
The Geek Girl Movement
What is a geek? Sarah Grant, a volunteer who helps put together the annual Geek Girl Con, says it’s “someone who is passionate about something, anything from books to role-playing games to writing to baseball to stock-car racing.” The Geek Girl Con women would know; the event celebrates women and girl geeks and empowers them to pursue their passions, whether that’s science and technology or comics and video games. Programs as varied as the grassroots Girl Geek Dinners, the nonprofit Geekbus, and the White House’s We the Geeks are banking on the appeal of the word to help bring more women and minorities to STEM.
Do the Pros Think Geek or Pink?
Debbie Sterling, the Stanford University-educated inventor of GoldieBlox toys, doesn’t consider herself a geek. “If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that there’s no black-and-white definition of what engineers and tech workers should look like or be into,” Sterling says. “Many people would say I don’t necessarily fit the typical description, and I kind of love breaking that mold.”
Sterling’s toys have faced some backlash because they’re pink and involve princesses; yet they also are very popular with girls and teach concepts like torque, prototyping, and propulsion.