take note

Today is International Women's Day...

Vague, bland and sort of half-hearted statement from the Hon. Maria Minna:

On this International Women’s day, we must take time to remember that equality for all is on ongoing goal in this country and abroad. Today, as in the past, women continue to face particular risks and challenges that place economic security, social inclusion, and freedom from violence and poverty outside their reach.

In Canada, we have gained freedoms that we have fought hard for, but we must continue to be vigilant to ensure conservative views do not roll back these rights. Such freedoms as our right to vote, to choose and to occupy positions of influence in the world must not be taken for granted; we must continue to fight to advance the rights of women at home and abroad.

Canada has long been a leader in affirming women’s rights and Canadian women are role models for others across the world. Our women, our soldiers, teachers, doctors and lawyers are helping to establish better living conditions in the developing world on a daily basis. We must continue to commit ourselves to working as hard as we can to ensure that future generations of women have every possible opportunity to succeed in life.

By celebrating International Women’s Day, we acknowledge our past accomplishments, but we also acknowledge that there is still much work left to do in many areas. Lets all work together to help chart the course that will make true gender equality happen.

But fortunately, the Coalition for Pay Equity/Coalition pour l'équité salariale (an umbrella group of almost 60 organizations and close to 500 individuals in New Brunswick) decided to engage in some serious play for the day, using their focus - pay equity and the lack of it - as the focus (a recent study noted that women make, on average, 80-88% of what men do in that province):

10 VOLUNTARY MEASURES FOR PAY EQUITY

* For the exclusive use by employees *

1. Give a strong message to your employer next Christmas: offer him or her a good novel… but only after tearing out the last chapter’s pages.
2. Save 12% of your child care expenses: bring your children to your employer on Friday afternoons and pick them back up at the end of the day. Imagine the impact if all your colleagues do it!
3. Send a post card to your employer on November 20, announcing you will only come back to work on January 2nd. Or take all your Friday afternoons off.
4. Only do 88% of your work. For instance, “forget” 12% of the information you receive: “Oh! By the way, someone absolutely wanted to talk to you before 2pm to place a $10 000 order, but I forgot her name…” If you write a text, only do 88% of it and tell your employer to write the rest. If you make a bed, don’t put the pillows! If you make soup, leave the vegetables whole!
5. [I eliminated this one, it seemed vaguely transphobic to me...]
6. Place a sign on the front lawn of the building where you work with the following words: “This Company treats women like slaves from November 20 to December 31, every year.”
7. Place an ad in the newspaper announcing that the company where you are working is on sale for 88% of its worth.
8. You are studying in a traditionally women’s field? Only pay 88% of the tuition fees!
9. Only pay 88% of your income tax – if it’s OK for employers to pay women only 88% of their work’s value, it should be the same for women when it comes to income!
10. Organize a press conference and announce that the Premier will personally give $80,000 to every woman to compensate for lost income throughout their career and at their retirement due to discrimination … and to his inaction. Then, join the line up in front of his residence.

If nothing else works, send letters and emails to your MLA. Meet her or him. We want them to spend 88% of their time on pay equity until we get legislation.

And most importantly, since elections might be coming, why not vote for a party that promises pay equity legislation for both the public and private sectors?

Ha ha, chuckle chuckle. Sad part is that the news today (the only one I could find that even made more than passing reference to International Women's Day) interviewed a young feminist activist in Québec who reported that the stats are closer to 71%. Ugh.

And pay equity ain't all. What about other issues facing Canadian women today? So much talk about how far we've come and how much we need to do "out there" - yet pressing issues (poverty, domestic violence, racism, access to abortions, decent healthcare, childcare, etc...etc...etc...) seem to disappear (wait - were they ever there?) from the -casts. Even today.

If not today, then when?