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Thanks
for your note to FEMINIST.COM.
What great questions, and here's
my attempt to answer them:
1. What do you mean by "Equality
in Workplace"?
This means that women and men
will be treated the same in
the workplace. This includes--same
salaries for the same positions.
This includes equal numbers
of men and women at every level.
Now you have men concentrated
in the higher positions and
women in the lower. This includes
valuing women's approach to
work, which tends to be different
then men's (i.e. non-hierarchical--though
this is a generalization). This
includes eliminating all forms
of discrimination--weight, race,
age, gender, etc...
2. How is that equality
possible?
By changing the value we place
on work. For instace, those
professions that are 90% female
(child care, waitressing, seamstress,
etc...) are under-valued professions.
Professions which are 90% male
(garbage collecting, door men,
etc..) are more valued and include
better financial rewards. Let's
change the value we place on
these. Why do nurses make so
much more than doctors? Aren't
each necessary?
Also,
we can't value work on salary
alone, we have to look at services
being provided and what would
the world look like if we didn't
have those services? If we think
of it that way, I bet we'd be
quick to value qualities such
as cleaning, caretaking, etc....
3. What changes can we make
in our businesses?
We can do much of the above.
We can also, enforce more flexible
hours (i.e. flex time); encourage
more vacations (look at our
European example) - we can value
quality not only quantity.
4. How would you want equality
in workplace?
See #1 above.
5. Are you talking about
pay, benefits, or etc.?
Yes, all of these.
6.
Why do you think there isn't
no equality in workplace?
I think there is little equality
in the workplace because it
is focused around salaries and
around hierarchy. (For the former,
how about salary caps, requirements
to give back, etc....) Yet,
if you look at studies that
profile working couples, both
men and women would prefer to
not have the pressure to "climb"
but rather plateau. I also think
that for too long, men's value
in the world has revolved around
being the breadwinner. Because
men fear loosing their value
and their identity, they resist
changing the current structure.
—Amy
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