Are You a Woman in Your Twenties? Do You Know Your Rights Are Being Eroded?
Young women of today do not feel they are as limited. They go to college, earn degrees and have the ability to work in almost any profession they choose and even though women are still only earning 77 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts, they are able to advance and even thrive. There’s no outrage and no feeling that protests are necessary.
My question to you is would you prefer to allow your rights to be taken away before you are moved to action, or would you prefer to be proactive in making sure the rights you still have are preserved and forge ahead with even more equality? Are you okay with the fact that rapists have more rights than their victims or that even though abortion is legal, it isn’t available for many women? Do you care that Republicans have blocked the Equal Pay bill or they are not ***reinstating the Violence Against Women Act? ***Update on 2/28/13: Congress sends Violence Against Women Act to Obama - this is great news but understand, it’s been a huge battle. The GOP didn’t want to pass the act because they didn’t want to include gays and Native Americans. This bill not only includes those two groups, but also transgenders and immigrants. Women all around the country put pressure on Congress. UniteWomen.org worked very hard to get the VAWA passed. Their efforts have paid off and set a beautiful example of why it’s important to be informed, involved and active in government. You pay their salaries and they work for YOU!
Unions and the lack of them is a perfect way to illustrate what non-action costs us. With the loss of many unions in America, jobs have been outsourced to other countries, thereby removing opportunities here in the states. As a college graduate, you’re probably noticing that jobs are hard to come by. Walmart is an example of how this hurts you. They import cheap goods from China to sell. They don’t offer their employees a living wage and they don’t offer all employees full time status so they don’t have to provide medical benefits. These employees are often uneducated and have limited skills and not a lot of choices when it comes to job opportunities. CEOs pocket the majority of the profits leaving the employees to depend on government assistance such as food stamps to make up the difference. This is a vicious cycle that affects and costs taxpayers. The fact that there is no union to protect workers against the poor working conditions allows corporations to bleed the economy, while they collect billions. As a country we have allowed this to happen, and now it’s become more difficult for everyone to find good paying jobs because corporations are hoarding profits and are receiving government funding to outsource labor to countries like China.
I leave you with this: The Equal Rights Amendment was never fully ratified in 1972. Thirty-eight states were needed and we only got thirty-five. In short, if the ERA is ratified into the Constitution it would provide blanket protection for women. If a state law that currently protects women’s rights is overturned or changed, the ERA would overrule and serve to protect women against all kinds of discrimination. You can read more about how it would protect you HERE.
If your choice is to be proactive, here is a list of organizations and Facebook pages that will keep you up to date on local and national legislation pertaining to your rights. I hope you will make the effort and that you will also share this blog post and/or the links provided below with five of your friends. Social media is the most powerful tool we have to spread awareness.
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