California NOW

Huffington Post isn't exactly cutting edge when it comes to women

California NOW Action VP, Linda Long

Ok Huff Post…you really need to “lean in” on women’s issues!

Why does nearly every article on the Women’s Voices page have to do with relationships, beauty, weight or “Girls”? Really? I get that women will only eat Haagen-Das if that is all that is offered, but it doesn’t mean that is all we want or need!

The Black Voices page offers articles on the politics of being black, the problems of being black in America, and solutions to the problems. The Latino Voices page more of the same. But, holy cow, if you believe the voices on the Women’s page, we are a shallow bunch of white 1%ers.

There’s nothing on the UN Commission on the Status of Women and the problems with passing the Violence Against Women resolution because of the Vatican’s opposition citing tradition and religion? Considering how the issue of rape has been on every woman’s Facebook page every day this week, seems like someone would have mentioned that the Vatican is more worried about controlling women than protecting them.

There’s nothing on the ongoing problems with health care implementation in states which are doing everything to exclude women because we are “expensive.” I mean, really - those darn women who want to have the children to guarantee our future. The gall of them!

There’s nothing on raising the minimum wage (that was on the Latino Voices page) even though the majority of minimum wage earners are women and a huge bunch of them are home health care workers, none of whom is protected under National Labor Relations Act! No, just the stupid “Lean In” crap which probably makes the majority of women who struggle every day to afford child care and food on their tables want to “LEAN ON” a few of the 1%er women who don’t pay their fair share of taxes, or offer their child care workers a decent salary, overtime or even health care.

Frankly, I can’t imagine how much more leaning without falling over a woman for whom one sick day can make the difference between eating at the end of the week or not can do!

There are lots of articles on makeup…most of which is toxic and can’t even be sold in Europe where the standards are much higher than in America (darn those socialists…always thinking of women’s health)!

There are articles on stay-at-home moms which fail to talk about advocating for social security to be paid into the system by the society which supposedly “values” them so much. We forget to tell those stay-at-home moms that they will get nothing for their retirement. Their work has so much “value” it’s free! Bet that is going to help them eat in 50 years.

Let’s face it, women are complex. We do care about relationships and the way we look but all of that is the Haagen Das and we only eat that after getting out of a really bad relationship. What we need is a real meal (steak, vegetables, salad and maybe some wine) and we want the media to stop trying to make us only eat the ice cream and, instead, offer us up some nutrition because that is something we can “lean in” to.

International Women's Day!

Today is International Women's Day.  In commemoration, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet spoke today at the United Nations.

Here is a portion of what she said....

"We cannot move backwards, we must keep moving forward. It is what we owe to millions of women fighting for their rights around the world.

We find ourselves at a tipping point in history. Never before have we witnessed such global momentum and mobilization by men and women, girls and boys, demanding an end to violence against women and girls.

Never before have we witnessed such open, widespread public outrage and calls for change and action.

Never before have we had the instant and global outreach that new technologies afford—to record in mere seconds, and communicate in real time, the atrocities and horrors of violence committed against women and girls.

Violence against women is pervasive and knows no borders. It does not discriminate according to nationality, ethnicity, social class, culture or religion.

This is why women, men and young people have raised their voices in every region to say one thing: enough is enough.

People demand an immediate end to impunity. They insist on the protection of the rights of women and girls to live in dignity, free of violence and discrimination.

And let me say this: There can be no peace, no progress, no equality without women’s full and equal rights and participation. And there can be no gender equality without women’s realization. Women’s realization of their full reproductive rights, their right to sexual and reproductive health, are essential to the empowerment of women and to gender equality.

As social transformations in attitudes, beliefs, and values are happening, we must keep pace with the aspirations of people everywhere in the world. Their hope, our hope is to see gender equality become reality in this, our 21st century."

Click here to read Michelle Bachelet's full remarks.

 

 

It's 2013! Isn't it time to focus on gender equity?

In a few days, we'll begin celebrating Women's History Month. Throughout the month, we'll hear a lot of speeches from government officials about how they believe in gender equality and women's empowerment.

That's a good thing! But an even better way to celebrate Women's History Month would be for legislators to ask one basic question before they pass another bill or implement another policy - What is the gender impact?

Gender equality is the law!  We've found no constitutional or statutory exception to gender equality mandates.  There's no language stating anti-discrimination statutes and equal protection of laws apply to women and girls only if they don’t cost too much.

Therefore, California NOW will begin persistently demanding that state and local governments follow the law by ensuring that analysis of budget decisions, legislation, policies and programs include a gender impact statement.

The failure to find out the actual impact of budget decisions, laws and policies year-in and year-out is simply unacceptable, especially in 2013. It is time for California government to ensure compliance with equal protection standards and anti-discrimination laws.  Such a task cannot be done if state and local governments fail to collect data on gender equality and anti-discrimination compliance and make that data available to the public.  The failure to enact outcome and/or performance-based decision making to the budget, as well as policies and programs, has produced an unaccountable state and local government that fails to ensure gender equality and that further fails to promote women and girls empowerment. It’s time to put an end to such failures.

Click here to read our letter.

We have a super majority in both Houses and a Democratic Governor. The time for excuses is over. If we really want to move towards full equity, join me in asking for more than words this year.

Together, let's insist that legislation and policies coming out of Sacramento have a gender impact statement attached to them. The nearly 19 million women and girls in California deserve - and should settle for - nothing less.

Equality at the Polls

We talk a lot about gender inequality.  How women represent over 50 percent of our state's population yet only comprise 28 percent of the state legislature. And how we earn just 84 cents for every dollar our male counterparts make here in California.

But at the ballot box, our vote counts every bit as much as any man's vote. Actually, our votes count more because there's more women registered to vote in California than men.

So let's not miss out on an important election that will set the direction of our country. And in many ways, the direction for women's equality. Do we want a president who isn't sure the Lilly Ledbetter Act was a good piece of legislation and who's gone back-and-forth on the question of pay equity? A president who chose as his running mate a man who is so stridently anti-choice that he thinks women and girls who are raped should be forced to carry the rapists' child? Do we want California Congressional members who share those same radical anti-women beliefs, who voted to cut HeadStart, rationalizing that vote by saying there is no need for the program because women should be home taking care of their children? Do we want state legislators who say that pay equity would bankrupt California?

If you think you're too busy to vote this year or that you can't decide who to vote for, think about what has taken place in just the past two years. Calling it "a war on women" is not an overstatement. It's the truth.

Here's the bottom-line. If we want gender equality and women's empowerment, then we are going to need to demand it. And that means taking responsibility for who we elect to represent us in our local communities, in Sacramento and in Washington. We ARE the majority so if anti-women candidates win again this year, that's on us.

We need to make sure that at every level, we are voting for candidates who respect and value women and we need to educate every other woman - and man - we know to do the same. I know it sounds overly dramatic but the truth is, this year our lives depend on it!

2012 California NOW Activist

The state Legislature is in recess and everyone has returned to their home districts to campaign for the November 2012 election, which is now just 29 days away.  For those of you who are absentee voters, your ballot is on the way, so we wanted you - the California voter - to have the facts about what's at stake for women before casting your vote.

This year's propositions are enormously important for California's women and girls, especially for their equality and empowerment.  Read the Activist to find out why voting NO on Prop 31 and 32 matters - why voting YES on Prop 38 and 39 is a better path forward and why voting YES on Prop 34, 36 and 37 is the better choice for women and their families.  Click here to read the 2012 Activist.

Read the Activist because it shows what happens when women stay home - only 24 percent of unmarried women voted in the 2010 election.  As a result, the anti-women extremists who took control of the House voted 12 times to restrict women's reproductive health care, redefine rape, cut ALL Title X funding, and voted against the Fair Pay Act and the Violence Against Women Act.

EVERY SINGLE CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN CONGRESS MEMBER VOTED FOR THOSE EXTREME BILLS.

We hope you'll be joining us in doing our part to demand Congress be Pro Woman.  Click here to access the California NOW PAC 2012 Voter Guide.

There is no doubt that this year and the previous years have been a struggle for all of us both economically and politically.  As Hillary Clinton stated, "The big challenge we face in these early years of the 21st century is how to grow our economies and ensure shared prosperity for all nations and all people. We want to give every one of our citizens, men and women, young and old, greater opportunity to find work, save and spend money, pursue happiness – and ultimately live up to their God-given potential. That is a clear and simple vision. But to make it real – to achieve the economic expansion we all seek – we need to unlock a vital source of growth that can power our economies in the decades to come. That source of vital growth is women."

California's women should expect and accept nothing less.

For Equality & In Solidarity,

 

Patty Bellasalma
President, California NOW