Bisera Rozic is a DePaul University student majoring in Economics and a PCG intern.
It is painful to see that every single GOP senator voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act. For about half a year, the media has been speaking about a so called "war on women" by the GOP. But that is all that women hoped it to be, a story hyped up by the media that ends as a busted myth. However, actions by the GOP make it difficult to bust this "myth".
Because it is not enough that it took over 70 years of hard-fought battles for women to win the right to vote, women still continue to have to fight to be equal in this world. Women's Suffrage is very much alive and has always been. It did not stop in 1919 when the Senate passed the 19th Amendment which granted women the right to vote nor did it end when it was ratified the following year. It did not end with the Equal Pay Act of 1963 or the Civil Rights Act of 1964, though, it is reported that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that this is why she voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act. It hurts that there are women that voted against this bill.
The words of Abigail Adams still echo today, as she said to her "dearest friend", her husband John Adams, "remember the ladies". Often, my mind wanders and poses the question, "have any of the women of current GOP members read John Adams' biographies, heard those words, know about the struggle?" My conclusion is no, because if they had, the wives of the current GOP would follow in Lysistrata's footsteps. It bothers me that women do not seem to be united on issues that concern them. There was the attack on Planned Parenthood by anit-abortion groups and the GOP. The insult to injury was served by Susan G. Komen who decided to pull funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screening. Whether you're pro-abortion, pro-choice, or pro-life, Planned Parenthood provides hundreds of thousands of low-income women with breast screenings. So now, the question lies, if the GOP wants to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, and they also do not want women to earn as much as men for the same work, how are women supposed to afford taking care of their health?
Here are some cold hard facts, credit to White House Fact Sheet
So, how about that Equal Pay Act of 1963? Or the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Where is the equality that was fought for then?
It is painful to see that every single GOP senator voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act. For about half a year, the media has been speaking about a so called "war on women" by the GOP. But that is all that women hoped it to be, a story hyped up by the media that ends as a busted myth. However, actions by the GOP make it difficult to bust this "myth".
Because it is not enough that it took over 70 years of hard-fought battles for women to win the right to vote, women still continue to have to fight to be equal in this world. Women's Suffrage is very much alive and has always been. It did not stop in 1919 when the Senate passed the 19th Amendment which granted women the right to vote nor did it end when it was ratified the following year. It did not end with the Equal Pay Act of 1963 or the Civil Rights Act of 1964, though, it is reported that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that this is why she voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act. It hurts that there are women that voted against this bill.
The words of Abigail Adams still echo today, as she said to her "dearest friend", her husband John Adams, "remember the ladies". Often, my mind wanders and poses the question, "have any of the women of current GOP members read John Adams' biographies, heard those words, know about the struggle?" My conclusion is no, because if they had, the wives of the current GOP would follow in Lysistrata's footsteps. It bothers me that women do not seem to be united on issues that concern them. There was the attack on Planned Parenthood by anit-abortion groups and the GOP. The insult to injury was served by Susan G. Komen who decided to pull funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screening. Whether you're pro-abortion, pro-choice, or pro-life, Planned Parenthood provides hundreds of thousands of low-income women with breast screenings. So now, the question lies, if the GOP wants to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, and they also do not want women to earn as much as men for the same work, how are women supposed to afford taking care of their health?
Here are some cold hard facts, credit to White House Fact Sheet
- For the same work performed by both men and women, women earn 77 cents to every dollar a man earns.
- It's even worse if you happen to be an African American woman, 64 cents/dollar, or a Latina 56 cents/dollar.
- While there are 30% of women in management, only 3% are in top management/ senior management.
Chart credit: The Political Carnival & The Rachel Maddow Show
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