Archive for April, 2016
Money
Former slave Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson on the $20.00 dollar bill, (Jackson will be moved to the back of the bill) and six leaders of the Suffragette movement will be featured on the back of the $10.00 bill. It is the goal of the U.S. Treasury to place these new currencies into circulation by 2020, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment
For the past decade the gender pay gap has remained static. (‘The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap’, ‘Graduating to a Pay Gap’, Forbes magazine’s Lisa Maatz, Michelle Singletary, Washington Post columnist).
The U.S. Census Bureau cites that women working full time, year round, earn 77% of what men earn. Add to this the ‘pink’ tax or ‘gender’ tax, where women pay $1,351.00 more a year than men for equivalent personal care products and services like dry-cleaning. (According to 1995 CA study.)
The Paycheck Fairness Act, which was preceded by the Equal Pay Act of 1963, was first approved in 2009 and has been on the floor of the Senate four times since 2011. All four times it has been blocked by Senate Republicans. It does not appear women are going to get any help there.
According to the National Women’s Law Center long term financial effects of the gender gap are staggering. Over the course of a forty year career the loss for Caucasian women is $430,480. For African-American women it is $877,480. and over $1 million for Latinas. These figures are not adjusted for inflation. www.nwlc.org.
I have some ideas. To balance this economic inequality, women will only pay 77% on the dollar for ALL purchases. Women will only pay 77% to rent living spaces. Additionally, women will pay prices for shampoo, deodorant and razor blades that are equal to those of our male counterparts. For example, women will now pay only $2.00 to dry-clean a shirt (the price men pay) rather than $6.50.
With Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Alice Paul on the back of the $10.00 bill, and MLK Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson appearing on the back of the new $5.00 bill, perhaps it is time for women to renew the fight against gender inequality and economic injustice.
Placing Harriet Tubman on the face of the new currency is an honor to the resourcefulness, power and dignity of the feminine.
Harriet Tubman
Unplugging
We are a wired world. The amount of time each day that we are connected is growing as fast as the technology that it feeds upon.
A growing body of research is pointing to the darker side of this phenomena. Swedish studies show that folks, especially young people, who profusely use technology are at pronounced risk for depression, stress and sleep disorders. Indications are that the light from our myriad devices reduces the production of the sleep hormone, serotonin.
Kansas State University Researcher YoungAh Park says that not setting good tech/communication boundaries between work and home life creates a serious stress load, and that media multitasking reduces efficiency.
Although still up for debate, Internet Addiction is now a serious candidate for being classified as a mental health disorder. I am sure this extends to cell phone and texting also.
March 3-4, 2017 is National Day of Unplugging. You can take the pledge to unplug at the National Day of Unplugging website.
This week I invite you to look at how much time each day you spend plugged in. Schedule some planned breaks, create good boundaries, unplug and focus on the moment…BE PRESENT.
Unknown
As I was preparing for today’s post, I found a quote I liked. The author was listed as Unknown. In hot pursuit of this creative wit, I found a wealth of material. Below is a sampling, beginning with the quote that inspired my search.
“My life is all about math. I am trying to add to my income, subtract from my weight, divide my time, and avoid multiplying.” Unknown
“Our days are happier when we give people a piece of our heart rather than a piece of our mind.” Unknown
“You cannot find knowledge by rearranging your ignorance.” Unknown
“If you don’t take care of your body, where will you live?” Unknown
“People who cannot find time for recreation are obliged sooner or later to find time for illness.” Unknown
“Knowledge is realizing that the street is one-way, wisdom is looking both directions anyway.” Unknown
I invite you to carry these little pearls of wisdom into the week with you.
Work
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
~Steve Jobs
