Tag: equal pay

Has Trump Done Women a Favor?

@drogorman
www.patriciaogorman.com
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Even though we are 53 percent of the voting public, women do not always see things the same way. But no matter how different our views might be, one thing we do share is being a woman. This means we share similar health worries, have faced similar challenges in our personal lives, and have dealt with similar unfairness in our professional lives.

This is why Donald Trump might be doing us a favor.

By threatening one of us for not being nice at work, by dismissing our opinions because of our hormones, and by mocking us for our looks, Trump is helping us see what we all have in common. And these are things we have all experienced at work and even at home.

Why? Because as women, you and I deal with sexism on a daily basis. That sexism is usually subtler, but sometimes not. For example, yesterday I posted an article about Megyn Kelly on Facebook and received the comment “Fuck that bitch” in return. This is not a usual response to my posts on Facebook.

I wondered if the commenter was referring to the article or to me, or both?

Not Listening to Our Girly Thoughts 

We have all been on the receiving end of this type of anger when we’ve stepped out of our assigned roles. What was interesting to me is that this man felt comfortable posting something like this. He felt this was his right as a man to threaten her and me. But why?

I wasn’t listening to my well-conditioned, toxic girly thought that said I had to be nice, even on Facebook. I posted an article that said Megyn Kelly did a good job, and women were angry at being criticized—again—for voicing their opinions, for doing their jobs as well as men.

What Can YOU Do?

  • Take heart that you are not alone
  • Get involved politically
  • Express how you feel
  • Make your needs as a woman known to those running for office.

This may just be a moment when we are all facing the same way, but let’s use it to express what we need: equal pay, child care, freedom from government interference in our health decisions …

Yes, you can make a difference if you don’t listen to those pesky girly thoughts.

Remember, you’ll find more ideas for getting rid of your negative self-talk in my latest book, The Girly Thoughts 10-Day Detox Plan: The Resilient Woman’s Guide to Saying NO to Negative Self-Talk and YES to Personal Power.

Warrior Women Give Themselves a Voice – A Lesson We Can All Learn

As women we know that within us is a warrior.  We may joke about being tiger moms but that’s not far from the truth.  And part of our power comes from our being attuned to our own inner opinions, inner voices, if you will.  This has allowed us to know when we feel something is right, or should be right, and when it is not. Translating that into action isn’t always as easy, but with using our strengths individually, and as a group we have accomplished many things such as when our great-grandmothers fought for the vote, and obtained this right.  We have achieved this again in the military by being recognized for what we are already doing, serving in combat.

Here women have been advocating to be recognized for what they have already been doing – serving in combat.   As of 1-24-13 women are able to “officially” serve in the front line, something we’ve been doing, without this being recognized, officially.  And guess what, being able to “officially” be in combat puts women in line for promotions that were previously not open to them. Interestingly this action opens up an additional 7.3 percent of positions in the military for women to advance, as combat experience is a big plus for promotion. Read: the possibility of more equal pay.  Now women will have the same opportunities for advancement as their male peers. As they will be able to list “combat” experience just as their male counterparts are able to do, a key requisite for advancement (2).

But there is more to this “official acknowledgment” than just the career and financial implications, doing this, changes the culture of the military, for the better.  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dempsey, saw the similarities between women and men in the military: we all take the same oath, we all where the same uniform.  And in this one action he also sees the possibility of a reduction in sexual assaults in the military. How does he connect the two?  He understands the implicit message sent to our military personnel “when you have one part of the population that is designated as ‘warriors’ and one part that is designated as something else, that disparity begins to establish a psychology that — in some cases — led to that environment. I have to believe the more we treat people equally, the more likely they are to treat each other equally.” (1)

In this he is utilizing what research has found, that people tend to form impressions of others based upon how respected they are within their group.  So it stands to reason that if you are in a “warrior” group where others (women) are seen as “non-warriors,” then you have set up a situation where there are two classes.  And this was the case in the military where women were seen as “less than” than their male counterparts.

Circumstances in which one group has more importance than other, sets the stage for the group in “higher position” to potentially take advantage of the group in the “lesser” position by asserting their power.  One disgusting way that this played out in the military is through sexual assaults on women, which we know have nothing to do with sex, and are all about power and dominance. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has acknowledged sexual assault is vastly under-counted in official records (2).  But the numbers we do have are mind-boggling; approximately one in three military women have been sexually assaulted, about 33.3%, double the rate of those in civilian life (1), an outrageous number!

What to do?

Women have fought for equal status and we will continue to do so. Yes, when we give ourselves the gift of own power, when we listen and take to heart what our inner voice, the voice of our own personal hard-fought battles, our resilience, tells us, we too can achieve incredible things.   In giving themselves a voice, in pushing for their rights, women in the military are creating a safer environment for themselves to not only do their job, but also to thrive. Now that’s a lesson we can all learn from.   For more inspiration, listen to Alicia Keys’ ode to giving ourselves a voice and relishing in our personal power –

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