April 2010
48 posts
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March 2010
49 posts
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“Sexism continues to thrive, unfortunately, and in every realm you look in you...”
– Harvard’s Dr. Paula Caplan, in a speech at Missouri State University titled, appropriately, “Sexism Thrives…Here, There, and Everywhere.”
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In the Words of Our Editor: "What a Sad, Sad...
We were going to make this the daily dose of douchebaggery, but there’s something just so sad about this guy who commented on Andrew Sullivan’s item (the full comment is crazy long and sort of nonsensical, so go to the Daily Dish to read it all). Here’s the gist:
Call me a misogynist asshole … but while women have a lot of avenues to address potential earnings gaps, men...
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Notes from the Frontlines: "Big Thick Stupid Glass...
This comment, submitted to Andrew Sullivan, who had questioned whether “dashed” was really the right word for our experience, reminds us that we want this site to be a place for you to share your stories. This one is specific to journalism—but ladies (and gentlemen) please feel free to let em rip! You can comment or send us an email: equalitymyth@gmail.com. Until then,...
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Kristof: The Boys Have Fallen Behind. But What...
In this week’s New York Times, columnist Nick Kristof reports on the latest trouble with young boys—who, according to the Center on Education Policy, have fallen behind girls in reading in every single state. “The most pressing issue related to gender gaps,” the report claims, “is the lagging performance of boys in reading.”
Before everyone starts freaking...
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'But Shit, Could We Get a Sidebar?'
The bloggers over at Racialicious take on the Newsweek 3.
Thea: You did half the work, now do the other half. And no, I am not going to say you did a good job, until you finish the job, because otherwise I am not a good ally to your cause.
Latoya: Maybe they are honestly afraid their thunder will be stolen if they acknowledge the existence of others.
Thea: Well that’s what it’s about, I...
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Lynn Povich: Our Daughters, Ourselves
In today’s Huffington Post, Lynn Povich, Newsweek’s first female Senior Edtior, reflects on her time at the magazine—and ours. Excerpts:
On equality:
Were we naïve to think that our case, and the many lawsuits that women journalists brought after ours, would solve the problem? In some ways, yes. We thought it was a “pipeline” issue: that with equal access, equal...
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On Language: Phallic v. Yonic, and So On...
Our friend Emily once embarked on a mission: to make “yonic” as much a part of the lexicon as its male counterpart, “phallic.” Her point was a good one—we all know what phallic means, and we use the word all the time. Yonic, however, not so much. Needless to say, her mission failed.
We were reminded of this after the Male Studies press release that referenced...
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WNYC's Brian Lehrer: 'Not Your Mother's Sexism'
LISTEN: Not Your Mother’s Sexism
Forty years ago, a group of women sued Newsweek magazine for sex discrimination. On this edition of WNYC’s Brian Lehrer show, Jessica Bennett, senior Newsweek writer, and Lynn Povich, the magazine’s first female senior editor, reflect on the suit.
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“This was the first big case of its kind…These were women who you would...”
– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, on why, as a young ACLU attorney, she chose to represent the Newsweek women who sued their company in 1970
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Just for Fun: A Quick Little Clarification on...
(Photo: Duke University archives)
It never happened! Just in case anyone was confused. The myth began after a group of protesters, who’d planned to light a ceremonial bonfire outside the 1968 Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, were denied a permit. Instead, they symbolically threw what they called “instruments of torture”—high heels, makeup, and yes, bras—into...
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Should Universities Have Men's Studies Programs?
This morning we discovered that in April, a college in Staten Island will be hosting a symposium on “Male Studies,” leading up to a larger conference next fall. The announcement includes this line:
“…the growing problem of misandry—the hatred of males, an unacknowledged but underlying socio-cultural, economic, political and legal phenomenon endangering the well-being of...
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Women Steadily "Vaporize" from Company Hierarchy
News from the Harvard Business Review: just one in four businesspeople worldwide say gender parity is a priority at their companies, and only one in five say their companies commit resources to parity initiatives.
It’s this lack of commitment that researchers say causes this:
Something disturbing happens to women as they climb rungs up the corporate ladder-they disappear. Women have yet...
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Newsweek & Sexism: Our Favorite Reviews So Far
Ms. Blog We Love: The Newsweek 3 (And we love being called the Newsweek 3!)
Salon But part of pushing through the “the fog of subtle gender discrimination,” as they call it, means telling these stories publicly, to women and men. So, to this trio, I say: You go, women.
Daily Intel (NY Mag) The young women who wrote this week’s piece are evidence that there are still women...
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The S Word: Navigating Sexuality in the Workplace
A lot of readers of our piece (especially male) have become mildly obsessed with the quote we include wherein one of us was told to “use their sexuality” to get ahead. The question of sex, and sexuality, in the workplace is a tricky one. As one Newsweek commenter put it, “Women have internalized that the only way we can get ahead is to give head.” We don’t agree, but let’s...
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WatchOur Jessica Bennett, and Newsweek’s first ever female senior editor, Lynn Povich, on the CBS Early Show. (And check the hilarious stock footage!)
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Today in Douchey (But Kind of Amazing) Comments
From our Newsweek story on women and the workplace:
“The truth is no matter how much I respect my female co-workers I eventually think about putting my hands on their chest whenever I talk to them. I don’t think I’m alone here on this point. And female bosses, I constantly think about having sex with them.”
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Raina Kelley on Race and Feminism
Our colleague, Raina Kelley, who was a great champion and supporter of the Newsweek piece from the very beginning, wanted to respond to the race issue:
I wish there was a fascinating history of black women at Newsweek but there isn’t. And that’s because in 1970, black women were seen as mammies, not dollies, consigned to the kind of work where collars are washed, not given cute hued...
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On the Subject of Race and Feminism
A crazy day in the blogosphere—many great comments, and criticisms that have us thinking. One point in particular, related to the Jezebel back and forth, we feel we should address: feminism and race. As the bloggers over at Girl Drive put it, “In the 3500 words total that Newsweek devoted to the future of feminism this week, amid the 10 people who are quoted in these pieces, not one...
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Today in Breaking our Hearts a Little
Well hot damn, Jezebel. We thought we knew you! We thought that you, like Salon, and New York Magazine, and even the Women’s Media Center, would see our piece as a brave weapon in a struggle that’s not over. And, like all those places and others, we thought you’d take at least some pleasure in Newsweek’s willingness to look critically at itself, and see something positive...
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Why Young Women Need Feminism
First off, check out our essays about our own experiences with feminism—Jesse’s is about her parents failed attempt at gender neutrality; mine is about discovering why I actually needed feminism. As you’ll notice, the photo at the top of the page links to our gallery of Newsweek covers portraying women over the years, as well as to the larger package we wrote this week,...
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Have Women's Rights Paid Off? A Photo History
On the 30th anniversary of Women’s History Month, we take a look back at the most significant moments (and fluctuating wage gap) on the decades-long road to equality. Photo from left: Newsweek staffers Pat Lynden, Mary Pleshette, ACLU attorney Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Lucy Howard at a 1970 press conference announcing a gender discrimination suit against the magazine.
Photo Credit:...
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Nora Ephron Recalls First Job at Newsweek
Being told that “women don’t write here,” via NYMag.
Nora Ephron, with notebook, covering Robert F. Kennedy’s 1964 senate campaign for the New York Post. (Photo: Arty Pomerantz)
Read more: Excerpted From ‘My First New York,’ Nora Ephron, Ashley Dupré, and Others Share Their Early Days — New York Magazine
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"Pushy" women less likely to be hired
In Neither Men Nor Mice, Peggy Klaus lays out some good prescriptive advice for women at work, but alas, offers no solution to this particular problem:
“One study from Carnegie Mellon and Harvard gave participants descriptions of men and women with equivalent qualifications who had applied for a fictitious job. When told that some candidates had tried to negotiate for a higher salary, the...
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The CEO Gender Gap: A Graphic
The good news is that in Europe, the executive European Commission has laid out plans to address the pay gap as part of its Europe 2020 strategy, a 10-year plan to boost economic growth and create jobs. Women in EU earn, on average, 82 percent what men do.
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On the notion that these issues have been...
We’re loving how awesomely redundant this deck is:
The Workplace: They are deprived of a voice in the workplace
But boy did Reuters nail it:
“But gender diversity’s move into the mainstream gives an impression that gender issues at work have been “solved”, making more subtle discrimination harder to spot and can even disadvantage young women starting their...
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“There’s a very special place in hell for women who don’t support...”
– Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, at Tina Brown’s Women in the World Summit (add: quoting Madeline Albright)
“In recent times there has been a backlash on women’s rights and I am not...”
– Yasmeen Hassan, on the 15th anniversary of the UN’s Beijing conference on the rights of women.
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Why We'd All Benefit From More Women in Politics →
Studies show that women, who hold only 90 out of 535 seats in Congress, legislate differently—often being more collaborative and ensuring more win-win outcomes. Said Rep. Carol Shea-Porter of the stalemate over healthcare: “[The other women and I] go to the ladies room and we just roll our eyes at what’s being said out there. The Republican women said when we were fighting over the health care...
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Daily Dose of Douchebaggery
Pathetic articles like this, says a Newsweek commenter, only reinforce the perception amongst the public that Feminists are a bunch of nut jobs and morons, incapable of any logical analysis or absorbing facts.
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“Our country is proof that investing in equality is profitable.”
– Audun Lysbakken, Norway’s (male) Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion.
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Watch
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Men Twice As Likely to Think All Is Fine
More good stuff from the UK. (And the remarkable similarities between us and the Brits is certainly worth noting too):
A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed that 44 per cent of men believe that women and men have an equal share of the top jobs, while only 23 per cent of women think this to be true. Nearly four in ten women said that they had to work harder to develop their career to...
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More Women Means More Productivity
A recent London Business School study shows that when work teams are split 50-50 between men and women, productivity goes up. Gender balance, the research posits, counters groupthink — the tendency of homogenous groups to staunchly defend wrong-headed ideas because everyone in the group thinks the same way.
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WatchGood Job Women! Will Forte on Women’s Herstory Month.
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“Because it’s been demonized by the right wing. Every time I can bear to...”
– Gloria Steinem, on women shying from the word “feminist.”
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