Colour me cynical...

[ciroccoj]

Conservative Closure of Status of Women Canada Offices A Step Backward
November 29, 2006
OTTAWA - The minority Conservative government's decision to close twelve regional offices of Status of Women Canada, leaving only four to serve Canadian women, is reprehensible, Liberal Status of Women Critic Maria Minna said today.

"Canadian women are still only earning 71 cents to every dollar earned by their male counterparts; more and more women are living in poverty; and we are still waiting for the government to create childcare spaces. With the closure of these regional offices, the government is taking away one of the very few remaining resources for women," said Ms. Minna.

Rest of the article: Conservative Closure of Status of Women Canada Offices A Step Backward

So, y'all will excuse me if I give a cynical little snort at this:

Status of Women Canada - Media Advisory
OTTAWA, Dec. 5 /CNW Telbec/
On December 6, 2006, the Honourable Bev Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, will mark Canada's National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.

On this national day of remembrance, a day-long exhibit on violence against women will be presented.

December 6 marks the anniversary of the murders in 1989 of 14 young women at l'Ecole Polytechnique de Montréal.

Details of News Release

Hey, it's OK that we cut 40% of the operating budget for Status of Women, 'cause, you know, we'll hold a day-long exhibit December 6, and maybe have some speeches or even a couple muffins or something, and that'll show we care. Really.

Comments

[tudorlady.livejournal.com]

About the .71 to $1 thing...

As you well know, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. I propose that in this case, it is the last one on that list that is skewing that figure.

The samples in earnings surveys assume that all workers, regardless of gender, work 40 hours a week. That's the flaw. Many, many women do not work 40 hours a week in paid work. Therefore, it appears that they are earning less for the same amount of work.

Right now I'm in a unique position to see just this, up close and personal. I'm logging hours worked and wages on construction sites. By law in the States, both genders get the same pay for the same job grade. This is what I keep seeing:

Assume that everyone on this crew gets $35 per hour.
Mary works 40 hours per week
Dan works 40 hours per week
Susan works 23 hours per week
Ted works 40 hours per week, plus a half-hour overtime
Jenny works 32 hours per week
Mike works 40 hours per week
Claire works 32 hours per week
Jack works 40 hours per week
Anita works 40 hours per week
Rey works 40 hours per week

See a pattern? 70-80% of the female workers I'm tracking seem to be working less than full time, even though full-time work is available to them. (In situations where full time work isn't available, both genders have part-time hours.) I notice that in summer, the busy season in construction, fewer women, not more, are working.

So, in the wage-differential thing, I honestly don't think it's a case of The Patriarchy refusing to schedule them for work, or paying them less than they pay men. It's more of an issue of the kinds of work women ultimately do, and how many hours they put in, rather than wage inequity. In this case, I think the raw numbers tell us more than the tweaked ones, and anecdotal evidence is valid.

While it's true (although less so than 20 years ago) that women are to some extent in lower-paying fields, so are a majority of the men just starting out. Salesclerks of either gender get paid the same rate. The difference comes in how much time they actually spend at work, and consequently, as a result, how they advance in their work. I guarantee that some guy who only works three or four days a week because he goes to Trekkie cons every weekend isn't going to advance very quickly either.

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

The difference comes in how much time they actually spend at work, and consequently, as a result, how they advance in their work. I guarantee that some guy who only works three or four days a week because he goes to Trekkie cons every weekend isn't going to advance very quickly either.
Well... yeah, but there's a few other things going into those stats and work habits as well. I don't think it's The Patriarchy refusing to pay them for the same amount of work either (well... not always, anyway) but there's a few gender-based factors that keep them not working the same hours as men, and some of them are Patriarchy-based. Or rather, Matriarchy-based, since a lot of them have to do with motherhood and family ;)

It's still assumed that if one member of a couple is going to take a hit in their career for the kiddies, it'll be the female one. It's still assumed that if one member of a household is going to clean up the house, it'll be the female one. If one member of a set of siblings is going to take a hit to their career to take care of aging parents, it'll be the female one (Chris read somewhere that something like 85% of Eldercare is done by daughters).

And all of that really adds up. And yeah, it may be their choice to make those decisions, but there's a reason they're making those choices and some of those issues need to be addressed.

Not to mention the fact that for many women, it's not really a free choice. I mean, you're sitting there looking at your kids and thinking either I work fewer hours so I can take them to the doctor & help with their homework & make sure they eat more than Doritos for dinner every night, or... well, they'll be neglected, because Dad can't or won't take responsibility...

Or, to take a childfree version of the same choice, either I stay home to take care of Mom, or my brother will cheerfully send her off to a Senior's home that's a converted grain silo... that's not really much of a choice, is it?

And that's all stuff that Status of Women is supposed to help with. Never mind the instances of actual work/pay discrimination, and violence against women, and all that fun stuff.