Happy 100th!!!

Two days ago was the 100th International Women's Day. It's celebrated each year on 8 March, the day women finally financially catch up on he previous year's earnings made by men. Yep that's right, women have to work a little over 2 extra months to achieve pay parity with men who work in the same role. This takes into account part-time work, which women regularly do due to trying to balance parenthood and working, just so that anyone who would like to argue that "of course women earn less because they go pat time when they have kids" know that it's been taken care of in the analysis. As have female-dominated work areas such as caring services and administration. Education, qualifications and skills are also accounted for. And still women earn less.

The big question is why. Why on earth in this day and age does this happen? When all the usual answers are accounted for (part-time, lower valued work areas, lower qualifications etc) the disturbing answer you're left with is because women are valued less in our society. We aren't worth as much. And I think a big part of this has to do with reproduction.

Women are of reduced value because of two sides of the same discriminatory coin. We are all potential drains because of the likelihood that we will one day fall pregnant, take maternity leave, come back possibly part time, and generally be seen to be a hassle. Expensive not only in leave entitlements but also in replacement costs to cover the leave and job sharing arrangements to cover any part-time return to work. We are also socially expected to take on the bulk of the child rearing. Motherhood is seen as incompatible with full-time work because women are expected to be the ones to care for their children, breastfeed for as long as possible, take time off and nurse them when they're sick, ferry them to and from school and sports, make their outfits for the school play, prepare nutritious meals for them 3 times a day every day, sit down and help with homework... Phew, I'm tired just writing it, and I've only scratched the surface.

With this dual constraint of perceived financial drain due to possible motherhood, and social expectations regarding actual motherhood, it's no wonder women are devalued in the workplace. And it's one of the great scandals of this day and age that it continues to be so, that this status quo is perpetuated ad infinitum.

I'd like to bring your attention to a wonderful blog post by Annabel Crabb, who says what I want to say so much more eloquently and brilliantly that I'll just post the link to her post so you can read it for yourselves (go on, do it right now...)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/08/3158400.htm?site=thedrum

Perhaps we should start a new show, move over farmers, the wives want a wife!!!