Feminism 101
After the meeting
Therefore, what?
Step 1:
Talk to your children
All Ages
1. What would society/families be like if there were only women? What contributions do women make to society?
2. What would society/families be like if there were only men? What contributions do men make to society?
3. Regularly discuss the importance of motherhood and motherhood should not be an afterthought.
Step 2:
Talk to family members and friends
Ask Questions
Use some of the questions from the discussion group to guide your conversation. Or, choose some additional questions from this list:
1. Are you a feminist? (Do you accept that as a label for yourself?)
2. Does equality between men and women mean they have to be the same?
3. Do women earn less or make different choices?
4. If an employer could pay 20 percent less to a woman for doing exactly the same job, in the same way, why would any employer ever hire a man? (Lead in for “wage gap” discussion).
Step 3:
Engage the Broader Community
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
1. The push to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is making the rounds in some state legislatures. Yes, this is the same Equal Rights Amdendment that was defeated in the early 1980s. Watch for the ERA push in your state and actively work to defeat it.
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
1. “CEDAW Cities” is a product of radical feminism. The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is a dangerous UN treaty. “CEDAW Cities” is an effort (at the municipal level) to assist the treaty’s ratification in the United States.
Be Aware of Social Trends
1. Gender and women studies programs, in most universities, are a seedbed for radical feminism. Encourage your children to avoid them.
2. Be aware the “Women’s March” movement is based on the tenets of radical feminsim and is the product of political activism on the political left.
Talking Points –
Feminism 101
Empowering women includes seeing motherhood as a valid, worthwhile choice; not a burden to be managed.
Eighty five percent of all women in the U.S., by the age of 44, will be mothers- and that percentage is much higher in other parts of the world.
Of women who have always worked, 54 percent say they would prefer to stay at home and take care of family rather than work outside the home.
“Fully 94% of those who have reduced their hours or taken a significant amount of time off from work say they are glad they did this. And nearly as many who have turned down a promotion (88%) or quit their jobs (87%) in order to care for a family member say the same.”
Comparing single childless women to single childless men, ages 35-43, the wage gap not only disappears, but instead becomes a wage premium.
June E. O’Neill, “The Disappearing Wage Gap,” National Center for Policy Analysis, June 2012.
Men who work full time on average work 8.5 percent more hours per day than their female counterparts. When work included weekends or holidays, men work 17.3 percent more hours.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Time spent working by full-and part-time status, gender, and location in 2014,” TED: The Economics Daily, July 2015.
“All things considered, homemakers are slightly happier, than wives who work full time, but have no advantage over part time workers.”
Judith Treas & Tanja van der Lippe, “The Happy Homemaker? Married Women’s Satisfaction in Cross-national Perspective,” Social Forces, 2012.
After controlling for male/female differences in hours, occupation, college major, industry, and other factors, the 21 cent gender pay gap sinks to about 6 cents.
Women account for 51 percent of all workers in the high-paying management, professional, and related occupations.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 banned employers from discriminating on the basis of sex by prohibiting equal pay for equal work
Social Media Resources
Help Spread the Word
Public Speaking – Count Your Words
You’re going to be speaking at the school board meeting, legislative hearing or any public event, where do you begin? Usually a hearing or meeting of any kind will have a time limit per person.
Here’s a tip that will help you with public speaking of any kind. Seriously, you’ll want to remember this! On average, a person speaks about 135 words a minute.
If you’re given three minutes, then you have 405 words (135 x 3).
It is usually better to write your remarks out completely when given such a short time limit; but if you go with an outline of your thoughts, know that if your outline adds up to 200+ words, then you’ll probably be over the time limit. You don’t want to have the microphone shut off when you’re part way through your remarks, nor do you want to bore people. Do everyone a favor and count your words. You’ll be glad you did!