HomeHomeNovember 2003
November is a month of reflection and celebration. Each November 11th, we honor the dead from wars past, and we celebrate Thanksgiving near the month’s end. This particular November also marks the anniversary of an event so shocking, that most of the people alive at that time can remember exactly where they were when they heard the news. Forty years ago, on Friday, November 22nd, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
President Kennedy’s death marked a demarcation point of sorts--when America lost its innocence, and the nation began to witness escalating violence both at home and abroad. It was a tumultuous time, filled with societal change.
During that era, many groups fought to change the country for the better. The Civil Rights movement struggled to put an end to segregation and hold the government and society accountable to the fundamental American belief that "all men were created equal."
And what about women’s rights during the Kennedy years? Did you know that President Kennedy took part in shaping policies relating to the status of women? Back in 1961, Kennedy established the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the committee, along with Esther Peterson, Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau as vice-chair. The Commission found widespread discrimination against women, and by 1963 issued a report recommending ways to help advance women’s rights.
The Commission also recommended that each state form its own commission, and they endorsed the Equal Pay Act, which made it illegal for employers to pay unequal salaries to men and women who hold the same jobs and do the same work. The EPA was passed by Congress the same year.
At this time, "want ads" in newspapers were segregated by gender, and listed jobs suitable for men and those deemed appropriate (i.e. lower paying) for women. On average, a woman earned about 58 cents for every dollar earned by a man.
Coincidentally, in 1963, author Betty Friedan raised the consciousness of women all over the world with the publication of her book, The Feminist Mystique. Her ground-breaking work challenged the "conventional wisdom" of the day that women could achieve fulfillment solely through marriage and child rearing. Ms. Friedan would go on to help found the National Organization for Women, and continue to fight for women’s rights.
Have we made progress in the last forty years? Yes. However, we still have a long way to go. Consider some of the points made by Women’s Village Contributing Editor Deborah Prussell, in her online article about Commissions on the Status of Women:
Women are still concentrated in lower-paying jobs, earning 76.5 cents for every dollar a man earns.
70% of the women are in the workforce but 60% are in low-paying, minimal-benefit jobs.
11,486 people have served in Congress since the founding of the country. Of those people, only 216 have been female. There are presently nine female senators of 100 and 56 congresswomen out of 435.
We must continue to the fight to close the wage gap between men and women. As we remember the anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination, and the sadness associated with that historic event, let’s also remember how far we’ve come as a nation. We’ve made great strides, and we have much more work to do.
Teresa
tcallies@hotmail.comNews, Resources, and Other Interesting, Inspirational Tidbits
The National Committee on Pay Equity is a "national membership coalition of over 80 organizations, including labor unions, women’s and civil rights organizations, religious, professional, education and legal association, commissions on women, state and local pay equity coalitions and individual women and men working to eliminate sex-and race-based wage discrimination and to achieve pay equity."
The Montgomery County (MD) Work-Life Alliance offers information on "Fair Employment Policies - What is Pay Equity or Fair Pay?" on their web site.
The web site "Fact Monster" has a wealth of information on "The Wage Gap: A History of Pay Inequity and the Equal Pay Act," written by Borgna Brunner.
You can find information on the Women’s Bureau at the Houghton Mifflin web site. Helene Silverberg has written an excellent history of the Bureau.
The Susan B. Anthony Center for Women’s Leadership at the University of Rochester, NY offers a wonderful timeline of U.S. women’s history.
The Independent Women’s Forum offers annual "report cards" on the Status of Women.
In July, the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission issued a press release regarding their new study "Women of Color: Their Employment in the Private Sector".
Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy is one of the leaders working for the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Are you interested in finding out more about the history of Civil Rights? AARP and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights are launching the Voices of Civil Rights web site in 2004. Their goal is "to collect and preserve thousands of firsthand accounts of the Civil Rights Movement as a living memorial to those who lived through that era and as an educational resource for future generations."
Thanks to the John F. Kennedy Library, you can learn about the President’s role in responding to the Civil Rights movement.
On Making a Difference in this World
Think one person can’t make a difference? Think again. Students in Kansas rediscovered a W.W.II heroine and are making sure that her story won’t be forgotten. Check out the Irena Sendler project. Thanks to Michele Pierce for sending along the link.
We’ve mentioned the Means for Dreams web site before, and are happy to hear that this new "e-philanthropy" site is going strong. Means for Dreams links donors with teachers and students. Teachers request materials and individual philanthropists can donate to a specific project. You can read more about how it works at http://www.meansfordreams.org/about.php?page=how_works.
Do you need to know more about women’s history? Check out Editor Tonya Bolden’s 33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women’s History: From Suffragettes to Skirt Lengths to the ERA (2002, Crown Publishers, New York). It’s an absolutely delightful resource when you want to know more about how far we’ve come!
More on Women in Aviation
After our earlier WITNE column, we’re still learning more about the early heroines of aviation, including inspirational pilot Hazel Ying Lee, the first Chinese-American pilot in the U.S. Military. You can read more about her on Alan Rosenberg’s web site at http://www.hazelyinglee.com/. Thanks to Kenneth Lum for pointing out this great aviator!
We heard from Pauline Cockrill, Curator of the National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame in Australia. She reports that they have a reference library of around 600 books on Australian women's history and issues and also a number of bibliographies and information sheets on various topics which will meet the needs of researchers.
Information Sources on Women in Other Countries
The Commonwealth Office on the Status of Women offers a timeline of Australian women’s accomplishments. In addition, the Australian Women’s Archive Project offers a wealth of info on women.
The government of Canada offers a history of pay equity in that country on their web site. Also, the government’s fact sheet on women’s history is most interesting. The University of Calgary Library’s web site is a wonderful resource for information on Canadian women. The University of Saskatchewan offers information on Aboriginal women and the law.
Are you looking for information on women in Ireland? Try the Irish National Archives web site.
The Library of Congress offers Country Studies/Handbook information. For example, if you want to know more about women in Iran or the Ivory Coast, for example, you could start here.
Interesting Dates
November 16th was the International Day for Tolerance, according to the United Nations.
November 16th marked the beginning of National Geography Awareness Week.
One hundred and forty years ago, President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19th. You can find out more on the Library of Congress web site.
The Great American Smokeout is observed each year in November.
World Hello Day is celebrated on November 21st.
National Family Week begins on November 23rd.
November 25th marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
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