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When Women Run, Women Win

6 Apr

 

President Obama spoke today at a forum about women shortly after a released report from the White House titled “Keeping America’s Women Moving Forward”.

During his speech President Obama reminded us all that only 3% of Fortune 500 company CEOs are women and less than 20% of seats in Congress are occupied by women.

“Is it possible that Congress would get more done if there were more women in congress?  I think it’s fair to say, that is almost guaranteed,” said President Obama.

Why aren’t there more women in Congress?  Great organization’s like The White House Project and EMILY’s List work every day to help women run and get elected to public office.  While at a summer training institute during my undergraduate career, (NEW Leadership) I learned that the problem isn’t that women aren’t getting elected over men, it’s that women aren’t even running in the first place.

I sat in a room full of 30 other females ages 18-50, and we were all asked point blank, “If you were given the opportunity to run for public office, would you take it?”  There were some “yes’s”,  a lot of “ehhh mayyyybes” and a couple flat out “no ways”.  The maybe’s and the no’s were asked to explain their reasoning.  The top 3 responses:

  1. Politics is dirty.

    2. I don’t want my family or past being put through that kind of attention.

  2. I have a family.  Being in politics would take precious time away from them.
  3. He’ll beat me.  People don’t think women are as good in politics, and if I run against a man, he’ll win.

The first reason is completely understandable, and with today’s 24/7 media/blogosphere, is a major reason that both males and females often opt out from public office.

The second reason is one of the most common reasons women choose not to do a lot of things, most importantly a certain career path such as politics.

However, the third reason I think we CAN change.  WOMEN DO win (I’m not saying all the time) but women win ALOT when they run against men.  If we can work to increase women’s confidence in running for public office, and help provide them with the tools and means to do so…I think we’d see a big difference in our Congressional makeup…and maybe a big difference in how effective our government is.

 

The Richer Sex.

15 Mar

I haven’t read the article yet, but a former colleague did send over a snippet for me:

“TIME cover, “The Richer $ex: Women are overtaking men as America’s breadwinners. Why that’s good for everyone,” by Liza Mundy (Adapted from the forthcoming book, “The Richer Sex: How the new majority of female breadwinners is transforming sex, love, and family,” by Liza Mundy, to be published Tuesday by Simon & Schuster; edited by Priscilla Painton): “[B]y the next generation, more families will be supported by women than by men. Not since women entered the workforce by the millions after World War II has America witnessed economic change on this scale. … In 2009, … nearly 4 in 10 working wives out-earned their husbands … The impact will be felt everywhere, from the classroom to the boardroom to the bedroom, in how men and women work, play, shop, vote, save and share and court …

“[S]ome academics and women’s-rights advocates talk about a stalled revolution and warn that a premature declaration of victory will reduce pressure on workplaces to improve pay and working conditions. … Married women … go to great lengths to praise their stay-at-home husbands … A wife talks about her husband’s blog as if it were a book project. Heavy meals and showy cooking are gratefully received and complimented, even as many women secretly long for a simple meal of steamed vegetables. Time with kids, the coaching, the homework help is exalted. The message: The ability to generate income is not the only measure of value.” 

First of all, can someone teach me to make an origami woman out of money?  Second of all, this is incredible.  I’m very excited to read the full article, and especially to read about the varying viewpoints.  With more women completing undergraduate, masters degrees and PhDs, I’m not too surprised that the “flip” in breadwinning is coming.  More and more in the city, I see men outside pushing strollers (ever so proudly might I add) during the day, and I sometimes wonder and ask myself whether they are stay-at-home dad’s, on paternity leave, taking a day off of work, or do they just work from home?  Who knows, but it makes me smile when I see that father pushing the stroller with his chest puffed out, smile on his face, and looking around to see how many people are watching him with his pride and joy.  I think the author is right, and if a couple can find a perfect balance between bread and baby, no matter the sex, then that’s better for everyone.

International Women’s Day T-Shirts are back!

3 Feb

Some of you may remember the a-maaaazing T-shirts from last year that we all wore in celebration of International Women’s Day while donating 100% of the proceeds to a great cause!  Well, my friend Molly has put together a new design and found a new great nonprofit to donate to for this year’s shirt!  Send me an email (rachel@whilewearingstilettos.com) if you’re interested in buying one ($18) and let me know if you want it fitted or unfitted.  As always, I will front the shipping cost for you.  :D Details below!

What: Matching tees (and “genes!”)
Where: ANYWHERE in the world
When: Now until Feb 11 (one week away!)
Why: International Women’s Day 2012!
The design: the double-X chromosome that plays on the word “MOXIE,” which is all about the invigorating resilience so many of us see—and celebrate—every day in the females around us.  We have 2 options, (option 1 is fitted; option 2 is not).
100% of The Proceeds: Women for Women International (A lovely young lady I know, who is actually responsible for secretly capturing Rob proposing to me on the top of the Kennedy Center on film!, works here!)

“I think it’s time to “define” our own MOXIE & show the world what we’re made of, from our chromosomes to our core beings. What better day to declare our strength & solidarity than IWD 2012?” – Molly Dull

50 Best Moments for Women in 2011

4 Jan

H/T to my friend Laura for sending HuffPo’s article about the 50 Best Moments in 2011 for Women.  It is definitely a great way to reflect on 2011 by looking at some of the positives that have happened for women throughout the year.  I thought I’d take a second to highlight some of my  personal favorites:

  1. “The release of the new documentary ‘MissRepresentation’ makes everyone who thinks they’ve heard it before refocus on how badly the media depicts women — and how we can change that.”
  2. “When the announcer called the name of the first nominee for Best Actress in a Comedy at the 2011 Emmy Awards, Amy Poehler, instead of smiling at the camera from her seat, charged onto the stage … and every other nominee did, too. Before the winner was even announced, Poehler, Melissa McCarthy (the ultimate winner), Tina Fey, Edie Falco, Laura Linney and Martha Plimpton held hands tightly in beauty pageant fashion, making even an award for best comedian into a spoof — and proving their extraordinary talent (yet again) in the process.”
  3. “After years of objections from women’s rights advocates, the FBI advisory board recommends a broader definition of rape. Currently defined by the agency as “carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will” — wording composed in 1929 — the board votes to change the terminology to “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim,” which notably doesn’t include the word “forcible.” It’s now up to FBI Director Robert Mueller to sign off on the decision.”
  4. “The comedy women and bridal attendants everywhere have been waiting for: “Bridesmaids” pulls no punches in portraying all of the regrettable situations a single woman can get herself into. Wiig’s script has her and the rest of the stellar cast (Maya Rudolph as the bride, Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey as fellow bridesmaids) vomiting and discussing other bodily functions in a way not usually seen in comedies starring women, and the result is brilliant and hilarious — the ultimate antidote to schlock like “27 Dresses.” As several critics pointed out, female comedians have been capable of making a movie like this all along – it’s only now that someone let them.”
  5. “After an Iowa town hall meeting in which Mitt Romney seemed not to understand a question about the Mississippi “personhood” amendment, which opponents feared could lead to a ban on oral contraceptives, Rachel Maddow spends a segment of her show explaining to Romney how the female reproductive system and birth control work — against a “man cave” background.”
  6. “Per the Affordable Care Act, all health insurance policies issued after January 1, 2013 must cover birth control — with no copays. The same provisions will cover breast pumps for nursing mothers, domestic violence counseling and a number of other women’s health services. What took them so long?”
  7. “In a Toys”R”Us store in Albany, N.Y., 4-year-old Riley Maida just can’t take it anymore and lets loose a frighteningly articulate rant about toy marketers targeting kids by gender. “Why do all the girls have to buy princesses? Some girls like superheroes, some girls like princesses,” she says, reasonably. “Some boys like superheroes, some boys like princesses. So why does all the girls have to buy pink stuff and all the boys have to buy different color stuff?”

I believe in pink…

12 Dec

I saw this quote by Audrey Hepburn floating around, and I wanted to do my own font collage with it in InDesign.  I think this quote fits in perfectly with the idea behind this blog for a few reasons:

1.) A woman should never have to compromise the fact that she is a woman in order to be treated equally.

2.) The stereotypical belief that true feminists should avoid pink, lipstick and manicures is BOGUS.

3.) Gender discrimination changing overnight is unimaginable…but tomorrow is indeed another day, and I do believe in miracles.

The Stiletto CHEF!

7 Dec

It was brought to my attention that I haven’t done a woman of the week in  awhile soooooo, I’m dubbing Candice Kumai!

I was watching an Iron Chef episode on the tube the other night and one of the judges was introduced as “THE STILETTO CHEF!”  My fiance and I both almost ripped our necks off turning to make immediate eye contact with each other, because he know I was about to go crazy with excitement.

HOW DID I NEVER HEAR ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL LADY?!  So what did I do immediately the next day?…GOOGLE HER…(which used to be a creepy thing, but I think it’s fairly normal now…hopefully?)

Anyways, her website is heeeeeeeeeere.  And her food looks yummaaaaaaaay!  Especially the pumpkin spiced DONUTS!  And she seems to love stilettos as much as I do!

On an end note, I’m digging the influx of rising female chefs!  (Anyone watching “Next Iron Chef” should be happy to see that the Final 4 is 50/50 women:men…boom.)

 

The Stiletto Society LAUNCHES

11 Nov

The Stiletto Society has officially launched!

What is “The Stiletto Society?” We are a network of young women (“Stilettes”) who aspire to learn, experience the world, and step outside of our comfort zones together in order to gain the courage, knowledge and companionship required to become successful and tackle head on the everyday woman issues in our lives.

What does “The Stiletto Society” do? Roughly once a month, the Stilettes get together to go do an activity together, attend an event together, etc.  in order to meet our mission goal (stated above).  The Stilettes had their first rendezvous on November 4th, and are looking to host our next event during the first week of December.

How do I become a “Stilette”?  We are always looking for new women to join us, so email us! stilettosoc@gmail.com

To Be Barbie…

9 Nov

Here’s a photo my friend Lindsey sent me of what MODEL  Katie Halchishick  would have to do through plastic surgery to make her already-gorgeous-body look like Barbie’s!!!! EEEEK!!!

Katie is a “Healthy Model” ambassador and spokeswoman for the organization/campaign “Healthy is the New Skin” (a campaign geared towards raising awareness about the fashion industry’s unrealistic pressures they place on women to be skinny.  They are hoping to encourage women and girls to be happy and healthy, and embrace a healthy image of what is “beautiful”….LOVE IT).

According to a video on the campaign website, there are some disturbing statistics out there when it comes to girls/women and their bodies.  Take a look:

  • 80% of women are not happy with how they look.
  • The #1 cause of unhappiness among young women, is dissatisfaction with their bodies.
  • The #1 desire of young American women is to lose weight.
  • Among children in grades 1st-3rd, 48% want to be thinner.
  • Among children ages 10 years old, 81% are afraid of becoming fat.
WOW.  But then again, I can believe these horrifying statistics.   I read stories about how women who are thin, pretty and wear glamour make-up usually make better salaries, get promoted quicker, are taken more seriously, among other things.   My fiance gets so mad at me if I ever complain about feeling fat, but I am CONSTANTLY worrying about my body, my hair, my make-up, my clothing, etc.   I consider myself a fairly secure woman in how I look, and I STILL go mad worrying and thinking about these things.  Just because you are comfortable with how you look, doesn’t stop the intense pressure from the outside world to look BEAUTIFUL.
How do we fix it?  I think this campaign is a great start.  The more we can pound into the minds of everyone, that model thin is NOT what you have to look like to be “beautiful” the better off we’ll all be.

Cyber Gender Harassment?

8 Nov

I consider myself lucky to be at the one-year anniversary of this blog, and by goodness, I have not received a threatening comment! (*snaps*)  Hopefully this blog post doesn’t INVITE harassing and threatening comments!

I keep my blog pretty docile in my opinion…I like to keep it light, fun, motivating, brief, educational, and somewhat opinionated obviously, haha.  Some of my “female blogger colleagues” (or “She-Knights” as I was once referred to by an angry commenter…haha I actually love that term now thanks to him/her!) who write some pretty moving pieces often receive HORRIBLE backlash (including threats of violence, horrifying language, etc.)  Apparently, this is a pretty serious issue in the world of feminist blogging, and especially the age of the ANONYMOUS COMMENTER.

I have to admit, I haven’t read her whole paper yet, but so far I’m really intrigued by Danielle Keats Citron’s paper on “Law’s Expressive Value in Combating Cyber Gender Harassment”.  I encourage other’s out there to take a read, especially any tech gurus out there…and of course fellow bloggers.

NEWS ALERT- Saudi Women Granted Right to Vote

26 Sep

Over the weekend, King Abdullah granted women the right to vote in Saudi Arabia, a country where women are not allowed to drive or stand in the same line as men in public.  This is a huge step and a huge sign of the potential direction our world could go in terms of gender equality.

However, while we celebrate these women now being able to participate in the political process, we can’t forget that this is just one element of gender equality.  These women are still not allowed to drive (how will they get to the polls?), they are still oppressed through the inability to work various jobs, go to certain schools, or even sit in the same restaurant that men do.

While we take a moment to celebrate, we must also continue to spread the word of gender inequalities and continue to work towards a world where all humans are equal.

See Al Jazeera coverage below:

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