Those of you who are tired of diaries ranting about how it’s taking humankind entirely too long to collectively realize that “human” includes “women” on equal terms with “men,” please move along–nothing to see here.
A pair of stories today on msnbc.com have me seething. First there’s this report about a study by Britain’s Institute for Social and Economic Research:
But that wage premium disappears if wives go out to work themselves or don’t do most of the housework.
So why didn’t they also examine whether married women earned more if their husbands stayed home and did the chores? Why does the front-page link to this story read “Men, want to earn more? Keep wife at home”? Why doesn’t it read instead “People who have someone else do their housework earn more money–Well, duh!”
One reason for the discrepancy may be that it’s easier for men who have stay-at-home wives to convince their bosses to pony up a raise. If the little woman is working (tsk tsk), the boss has an excuse to turn down the raise because the family doesn’t “need” the money. It’s the same excuse women in the workplace have always encountered–Joe gets the promotion because he has a family to support.
Plus, it’s a lousy three percent difference (Compared to the ongoing gender gap in pay). But hey, it’s another way for the media to pander to sexism–and they don’t miss many of those opportunities.
The other “just shoot me now” story is this one:
Last week when asked about Patrick, Ecclestone caused a media stir by saying women “should be all dressed in white like all of the other domestic appliances.”
But he apparently outdid himself when he called Patrick and repeated the same line.
Yeah, yeah, auto racing is as good-ol’-boy sexist as it gets. But do you think for a minute that this man would still have his job if he referred to a Mexican driver as a wetback? Anyone remember the late Al Campanis, who was fired after blurting on “Nightline” that African-Americans lacked the “necessaries” to be baseball managers and executives?
I am so everlastingly tired of this shit. I’m tired of hearing it from men and I’m tired of hearing it from women–the most sexist boss I’ve ever encountered was female.
I was tired of it when I watched the ERA die at the Illinois State Capitol almost 30 years ago.
I was tired of it during college when a journalism professor suggested it might be easier for me to get a job if I put my picture on my resume. Yes, I was a little cutie then.
I was tired of it in high school when my mother expected me to take courses in typing and office machines so I could always “fall back on” being a secretary if (i.e., when) I couldn’t find work as a reporter.
Yep, I’m tired. But no, I won’t go take a nap. I think I’d rather open up a can of whoop-ass and start taking names.
