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.

Interview: Webmomz and Work Life Balance

We interviewed Kristie Rimmele and Michelle Floyd, the entrepreneurs behind Webmomz and the creators of Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day on issues of women and work/life balance.

How did you meet, and what was your goal in starting webmomz.com?

Kristie: About a year after starting my own business I felt God calling me to write a book to help other women do the same.  So I took a year and wrote, "I Love My Life: A Mom's Guide to Working from Home."  Once that was published, I wanted to create an online community to really empower moms and guide them through the journey of starting and succeeding with their own home based business.  I had lunch with my childhood friend Michelle and after speaking to her realized she was the business partner I was looking for to help me with this.  In August of 2002 we launched Webmomz.  Today it's a resource that serves thousands of mom entrepreneurs worldwide. 

Our goal was to empower moms in work, family, and life.  We believe that you have to balance all three of those things as a work at home mom to truly be happy and have it all.

Even as it becomes obvious that more and more work can be done on a flexible schedule, and by telecommuting, employers are cutting back on workplace flexibility in many areas. Why do you think there’s this disconnect for many employers when it comes to creating flexible work environments?

I believe that some employers have the feeling that unless employees are directly supervised they won't be as productive.  But to the contrary, some at home telecommuters are MORE productive then their office based counterparts.  That is because there are less interruptions from business phone calls and friendly chats with co-workers.

However, working from home is not for everyone.  It does require discipline.  For the right worker, it's heaven.  They can be super focused.  Organize their day in the way they can be more happy and productive.  But for some, with a little freedom it becomes hard for them to work.  It's really about knowing yourself and how disciplined you can be. 

Another benefit to telecommuting for employers is that they can save money on office space and furniture. 

Talking About Women's Issues with the Menfolks

I read PZ Meyers' blog Pharyngula, largely because while I don't have a science degree, I am a science nerd who thinks biology is neat, even if I don't necessarily want to get it on my hands.  I usually don't bother with the comment threads, because as a skeptical, agnostic pagan, I find the absolutism of some of his regulars a little cranky making.  But it's their house, so I don't poke them about it.  However, after an incident of sexism at the American Atheists' Southeast Regional Atheist Meet (SERAM), PZ created a couple of threads for discussion.  In the first post, he specifically requested that men "shut up and listen" to women.

I think all of us who identify as women know how that went.

The threads turned into thousand comment monsters, full of men telling women that they're just hysterical, over-sensitive, petty, childish, irrational, man-hating, (blah, blah, dogwhistle, blah) and women fighting back, and getting increasingly cranky as they did so.

This is the thing that drives me nuts about having these discussions on the internet.  You  post about Feminism, rape, abortion, or any issue relevant to women.  The post generates HUGE comment threads, frequently populated by men telling you how you're wrong and have no idea what life is like for women (even though you are one), but they do because they have a friend/sister/girlfriend.  That you're over-reacting, if all you little gals would just calm down and talk sweet-like maybe they'd throw you a bone (some of them mean this in all it's innuendo-ish glory, some are blind to the pun).

The women nearly always start out patiently and calmly explaining why they're upset, but round about comment 400, they start to lose their tempers as guy after guy jumps in and can't be assed to read the rest of the thread, and so echoes the same nonsense almost every guy ahead of him has already said, all of which have already been answered by the women.  AND each time one of the new guys brings up the debunked bullshit arguments again, or asks just why we have to be bothered by X, the guys they've already "discussed" this with chime in anew, or demand to know why the women are being "so mean to this poor guy who's just asking a question."

It's maddening, really.

Interview: Felicia Day

Our Communications Director, Elena Perez, and our contributing author Mickey Schulz of Geek Girls Rule, interviewed Actor and Screenwriter Felicia Day on her web show The Guild, women in gaming and geek culture, and much more.

Listen here!

Geek Girls Rule will be doing a giveaway contest for two sets of The Guild DVDs, Seasons 1-4, thanks to New Video, who also were responsible for helping us to set up this fantastic interview!

Net Neutrality Matters in Social Justice

If we don't act quickly, Congressman Bobby Rush — a longtime opponent of a free and open Internet — could become a key leader on the House panel in charge of telecommunications. It could spell disaster for net neutrality.

Net neutrality matters because the internet is one of the few ways left for ordinary people to make their views heard in a national forum. Organizations, coalitions and individuals from underserved and underrepresented groups can use the web to get their issues and voices heard. If content from large corporations gets priority, what happens to these voices? Moreover, underprivileged populations won't be able to afford to pay more for access to full content, creating classes of information haves and have-nots.

Congressman Rush has repeatedly supported the interests of the telecommunications industry over the interests of regular people, and he has been a fierce opponent of network neutrality. In 2006, Rush worked with Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) to kill a key network neutrality amendment. And in the last year, he has supported multiple efforts by Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) to prevent the FCC from instituting network neutrality rules. In addition, Rush has been a major recipient of telecom contributions.

The new Republican majority is certain to continue to assault Internet freedom — and the House Communications, Technology and the Internet (CTI) Subcommittee is the first line of defense. Letting Rush assume leadership in the CTI Subcommittee would a send a message that Congressional Democrats just aren't serious about Internet freedom. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has the ability to influence leadership assignments, and she should know that Rep. Rush is not fit to lead the committee with power over network neutrality.

Can you call Speaker Pelosi today and urge her to oppose Bobby Rush's bid for this key position?  Call Speaker Pelosi at (202) 225-0100.

Here's a sample script you can use:
I'm calling to ask Speaker Pelosi to oppose Bobby Rush's bid to become ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. CTI needs a leader who will stand up for an open Internet, but Congressman Rush's record shows that he's the wrong person for the job.

After you've called, please click to let Color of Change know how it went.