Have Women Achieved Equality?

PAGE 2 OF 3

    In answer to AnaLouise Keating's question about answering the one
student or more who insists that sexism is no longer an issue (she's
lucky--it's usually most of mine), may I remind folks that the university
is a relative "free space" in which female students are encouraged to
excell and often live independently.  Historically, the first feminists
were not students, but rather those women primed to do things in life and
who then encounter the "real world" of work, marriage, etc..
     Also, I agree with Melisa Summy that we need to resist the temptation
to rely exclusively on statistics--i.e. work and politics.  It IS so much
easier to use hard data that I'm sure we often do this.  But for many
(most?) feminists, the consciousness-raising process is linked to our
personal lives.
     I find, for those first discussions, at least here in France, the
issues of sexist advertising or television, and the streets as inhospitable
to women seem to work the best, along with issues of reproductive freedom.
Housework is a good one too.  Sexist texts (try the Right-to-Life position
on rape and pregnancy, for example) or a "field trip" of looking at the
world through feminist glasses tend to be more effective than a good
feminist article.  If a student can observe even a "little thing" it
produces a proverbial "click," like the shoes in style making it impossible
to run, or the skinnyness of models, or the angle of those moving sidewalks
(tapis roulants?) that are enough to make a woman in heels loose her
balance or the campaigns for condoms only because of AIDS, not unwanted
pregnancy, etc..  Then it's easier to move on to bigger things.
     As far as feminist texts, I've found that selections from the early
anthologies from the 69-70 period work wonderfully (Notes from the First
Year as reproduced in _Radical Feminism_, _Sisterhood is Powerful_, _Voices
from Women's Liberation_, etc.).  For instance, I always use "I Want a
Wife".
Best
Judith Ezekiel
 
 
                                             ************
                                       ezekiel  @  univ-paris12.fr

It's interesting that you wrote: "Most of
my students are business or science majors, so they want statistics
in front of them before they will acknowledge a problem."
I have a friend who teaches epidemiology at McGill and begins graduate
seminars with a deconstruction of statistics-based facts...
I think the critical part of critical thinking is skepticism of givens.
 
Liora Moriel
Comparative Literature Program
University of Maryland
2107 Susquehanna Hall
College Park, MD 20742-8825
lioram  @  wam.umd.edu
"We have cooperated for a very long time in the maintenance of our own
invisibility.  And now the party is over."                - Vito Russo

Judith's teaching approach is the one I use -- teaching the stories from
the early days of this "second wave" movement.
 
However, in addition,
I wonder if it's time to start telling war stories again, time to write
new essays, refresh the movement, not just with 3rd wavers but with
stories from all of us living and working at the front lines.
[Sorry to draw on a military metaphor, but life feels like a battle these
days.]
 
I've got some doozies, one as recent as last week! If it's not a story of
sexism, I'd like someone to give it a different definition.
 
I became a feminist in the eighties when I read the anthologies being
published then or in the late seventies -- filled with stories by women
who had created a place for themselves in the public forum: teaching in
universities, becoming scientists, showing in museums, editing anthologies
to include women's writing.  Those stories inspired me as I struggled to
define my own professional life.
 
Now, how do we inspire those who don't believe there are sexists and
racists oppressing us now, so that when they leave the universities they
won't be caught off guard, they will be able to read the signals and react
in their own best interest.
 
Where do we begin?
 
-----------------------
Miriam K. Harris, Ph.D.
mharris  @  utdallas.edu
University of Texas at Dallas
Lecturer, Arts and Humanities
PO Box 830688; JO 31
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688

    Liora,
           You make a great point!  Do you have any suggestions?
    I think we are all talking about several different types of
    students in our responses to the list.  When I have tried to
    get students to question the trusty old
    "statistics don't lie" model of the world they immediately shut
    down because they feel that I am discrediting their future chosen
    careers in science and business.  My students are also fairly
    unresponsive to my personal anecdotes or examples from their own
    lives.  Maybe this is because I have very few Humanities
    students.  My students value a different type of knowledge. They
    don't respond to "proving" things through experience, but
    through traditional "empirical" means.  So, if I try to get them
    to see how racism or sexism affects my life or their lives (the
    vast majority of my students are white men whose parents make over
    $200,000. a year) by sharing experiences they shut down.  But
    when I show them something like how much women make on the dollar
    compared to men in the same jobs and similar levels of experience,
    and it comes from a source they respect, well, then I have their
    total support.
 
Melisa Summy
Department of English
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
summyma  @  miavx1.muohio.edu

 
This is an interesting discussion. I just want to mention one idea that
really resonated for my students. They found it in an essay called
"Imagine My Surprise," written by a 20-something feminist and included in
the anthology *Listen Up*: "And while I was blissfully unaware, the
perpetrators [of sexism] were getting smarter. What my mother taught me
to look for--pats on the butt, honey, sweetie, cupcake, make me some
coffee--are not the methods of choice for today's sexists...Sadly, enough
of them have learned to mouth the words of equality while still behaving
like pigs. They're harder to spot." The author then proceeds to give some
telling examples of "hip," subtle or otherwise disguised sexism.
 
I find it's good to acknowledge that the terrain faced by my students is
not identical to the terrain I faced at their age. In some ways, it's
smoother; in some ways, it's more treacherous. My students seemed to
get some historical and political perspective from discussing how and why
the methods of choice of today's sexists are sometimes (though
not always!) different from the tried and true methods of yesteryear. It
seems to make a good first-day discussion topic.
 
Leah Ulansey
leou  @  jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu
 

I recommend a 17-minute video called "The Fairer Sex," originally produced
by ABC news in 1993 (recent enough to convince most students). It shows a
young man and a young woman applying for jobs and trying to buy a car,
among other life events. In every case, the discrimination against the
woman was breathtaking. Without seeing the difference between the way the
two were treated, a young woman can't know (e.g., when the personnel
director says that the only openings are for a receptionist) what's really
going on. (To give credit where due, I should say that this was
recommended to me initially by Cindy Aron who teaches history at UVa.)
It's produced by CorVision Media, 1359 Barclay Blvd. Buffalo Grove, IL
tel: 1-800-537-3130
 
Cynthia Harrison
Associate Professor
History/Women's Studies
Funger 506G
The George Washington University
2201 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20052
telephone: 202-363-4356
e-mail: harrison  @  gwu.edu
fax: 202-994-7249

You don't need an article for the following exercise -- send them out to
find out the following:
 
How many women are CEO's of Fortune 500 companies?
What percentage of lawyers are female?
What percentage of judges are female?
What percentage of state legislators are female?  (you can limit that
   to your own state if you want)
What percentages of mayors are female?
What percentage of governors are female?
What percentage of Congressmen are female?
What percentage of Senators are female?
What percentage of U.S. Secretaries (members of the president's cabinet)
    have been female since women got the vote in 1920?  What percentage
    of U.S. Secretaries today are female?
How many Supreme Court Justices have been female?  (1)
How many presidents have been female?
 
They can pick any other positions of power they want.  How many
presidents of national networks are female?  How many heads of network
programming are female?  How many heads of network news are female?  Of
the news shows in your area, how many PRODUCERS are female?  (How many
ASSISTANT producers are female?)
 
Name the major newspapers in the United States.  What percentage of
publishers of those newspapers are female?  What percentage of
editors-in-chief? What percentage of managing editors?
 
How many presidents of banks are female?  How may partners in major
stock brokerages are female?
 
CEOs (or whatever they call the heads) of hospitals?
Presidents of universities?
PROVOSTS of universities? (we all know that the provost really runs the
university)
 
If we want to get fancy, we can go for CFO's as well as CEO's (Chief
Financial Officer as well as Chief Executive Officer)
 
Let your students define a powerful position any way they want.  You
like music?  Who runs record companies?
 
Get your students to tell you what formal positions have the power to
make final decisions in all walks of life, then find out what percentage
today are female.  Maybe start with having them TELL you what the
powerful positions are, and you start writing them on the blackboard (if
they don't bring one up, write it down -- if they bring up a
questionable one, ask the others if they would agree).
 
Make it a scavanger hunt.  They will learn much better if THEY find the
answers -- and it's all right there in your local university library.
 
They will never forget it.  And I don't think they will ever say again
that women have equality in politics and government (politics in the
broader sense:  people in positions of power)
 
Mary Schweitzer <schweit2  @  ix.netcom.com>
Assoc. Prof., Dept. of History, Villanova University
(on medical leave since Jan. 1995 with chronic fatigue syndrome)

For the economic disparities between men and women, send them to the
Department of Labor's reports and the Census Bureau -- much of this
stuff is on Websites now.  (For example, lots of interesting information
can be mined from the site http://www.bls.gov/ -- the website for the
bureau of labor statistics)
 
What is the median annual income for a white male?
What is the median annual income for a white female?
What is the median annual income for a black, or nonwhite, male?
What is the median annual income for a black, or nonwhite, female?
 
What PERCENTAGE of white males earn the median income for the other
three groups?  So what percentage of white males earn more than white
females, nonwhite males, and nonwhite females?  (takes a little
manipulation to do that one -- be sure you get MEDIAN figures instead of
AVERAGE)
 
What are the top ten occupations for women?
What are the top ten occupations for men?
 
How much has that changed since 1920?  (not that much, I'll tell you in
advance)
 
Now, on the impact of things:
 
What is the median annual income of a female-headed household with
     children?
What is the median annual income of a male-headed household with
     children and one income earner?
What is the median annual income of all households today?
What is the median annual income of a female-headed nonwhite household
     with children?  male-headed, single earner?  male-headed, double-
     income?
(Haven't looked at this for a bit, but generally the median income for a
DOUBLE-income nonwhite family is roughly the same as the median income
for a SINGLE-income male-headed white family)
 
Here's a good one:  one of the excuses years ago for men getting higher
incomes than women was that men "had to support a family".  What
percentage of single-income families with children today are headed by
men, and what percentage are headed by women?
 
What is the median income of a single white male living alone?
What is the median income of a female, white or black, who is the sole
support of her children?  (female-headed household with children in the
statistics -- you know, even if the woman is the only one with the job,
they don't call it a female-headed household unless she's alone.  Hmmm.)
 
Not sure whether you get this statistic, though I have seen it, but what
is the average income of a divorced woman with responsibility for the
children?  What is the average income of a divorced man without
responsibility for the children?
 
Again, it is scavanger hunt time -- just make sure they include
citations and don't get this stuff from the Rush Limbaugh show or
something, but from reputable sources.  Let THEM find the answers.  Then
they will have to answer the question WHY?
 
I always say you have four possible answers, and only four:
 
1.  Much of our society is run via the old buddy system and therefore
the relatives and friends of those already in power and with high
incomes continue to have power and high incomes.
 
2.  There is equal opportunity with equal credentials, but there is not
equal opportunity to GET equal credentials.  That is, the problem has
its source in the availability of education and training by gender and
race.
 
3.  For women, the social expectation that they are responsible for
children results in an implicit "tax" for ALL women because they are
routed to training and jobs that would be compatible with taking time
off for child-raising, whether or not they will ever take time off from
work to raise a child.  The gender gap in incomes is really a social
tax.  So why not make the tax equitable and tax EVERYONE and use that
income to subsidize good day care, quality education and after-school
care, all those things that women are SUPPOSED to be doing and receive a
lower income because they are in essence working a second job?
 
4.  There is someting inherently wrong with women and nonwhites that
results in their not being sufficiently productive to earn as much as
white men do.  This view, of course, is inherently racist/sexist.  But
if you believe the market has perfectly sorted all this out, well then
that's the only answer left ...
 
Mary Schweitzer, mailto:schweit2  @  ix.netcom.com
Associate Professor, Dept. of History, Villanova University
on medical leave since January 1998 with chronic fatigue syndrome

Melisa, those same students you describe might be impressed by a cost/benefit
analysis about domestic violence, business, and society.  Susan Koppelman
<<huddis  @  aol.com>>

I find story-telling useful in WS classes, too.  But I also find small, real-
life expressions of sexism in everyday events that happen around us, and not
necessarily to us, to be very helpful.  My favorite right now is the fact that
the new video game SMALL SOLDIERS--based on the movie of the same name-- has
the game losers turn into girls.  That's the penalty for losing the game.
Another example is the series of public service announcements that run
locally, urging women to leave abusive husbands or boyfriends.  There must be
6 or 7 different versions of this announcement.....not one urges the abusers
to stop.  Students seem to really enjoy bringing in examples of their own.
Best,
Adrienne
 
Adrienne Regnier
Philosophy
Jefferson Community College
Louisville, KY
aregnier  @  aol.com

While statistics are useful (I use them, too), they're limited by the
categories and aggregates reported in terms of employment and income, often
masking realities. For example, indications that the median income of women
working year round and full time has been approaching that of men similarly
situated doesn't let you see the large number whose income is at the bottom
- and the costs of living at that level, e.g., poverty level: health,
housing, education and so on.
        beatrice    bkachuck  @  cuny.campus.mci.net

Dear Women's Studies List:
 
Now that we've convinced them that sexism is alive and kicking, how do
we get them to do something about it?  When I say, "Do something about
it", I'm not just talking about taking assertiveness training, being a
"sensitive male", and the like.  I'm talking about taking political and
social responsibility for patriarchy.
 
On another note, what are some good tips for dealing with male and white
defensiveness about sexism and racism?
 
Best,
Joanne Callahan
jmcalla1  @  airmail.net

    While it's certainly understandable that college students are concerned
with their own lives and futures in relation to sexism, it trouble me that
most of the discussion about this stays at that level. BA grads comprise
only about 16% of the adult population in the US. Women with BAs generally
have higher incomes than without them (tho perhaps still lower than average
incomes of males who end schooling with high school diplomas).
    I'm concerned about the absence of social responsibility in the discussion.
    And in locating the numbers of women and men in various decision-making
positions - those positions of power - where is the concern for the
substance? what they decide about, what they decide, e.g., products, work
proceses, effects on people's lives. If more women had such positions, how
many women would benefit?
    I don't mean to hold women up to a "higher standard" on this. Neither am
I suggesting a sex/gender difference. But surely we should be concerned
about what people (women and men) DO with their power.
        beatrice     bkachuck  @  cuny.campus.mci.net

--- You wrote:
Dear Women's Studies List:
 
Now that we've convinced them that sexism is alive and kicking, how do
we get them to do something about it?
--- end of quote ---
 
I think the most important thing is for those of us who have been activists
(and who hasn't, on some level?) to plan education and training for students
who want to be activists. It's not enough to say "get out there and do it", I
think we need to provide them with tools for strategizing, identifying needs on
their campus, and planning successful activist efforts.
 
I recently conducted a workshop-- one that anyone could do-- on student
activism at the National Collegiate Conference for Women Student Leaders in DC
and it was well-received. I am repeating the workshop this summer at Dartmouth
and would be happy to share my outline and materials with anyone interested.
Email me!
 
susan
susan. marine  @  dartmouth.edu

Re: the cost/benefit analysis suggested, consider this.  The work women do
to reproduce and maintain the labor force,i.e. having children, raising
them, caring for their partner and the home, does not count in any way
toward the GNP.  On the other hand all the cost of social workers,
therapists, directors, etc who run institutions that deal with the
violence done to women and children--safe houses, hot lines, welfare
offices, CAP agencies, etc do count toward the GNP.  Similarly, the cost
of cleaning up toxic waste and other pollutants count as part of the GNP.
So, fixing things after society has created the problem gets defined as
economic growth while maintaining the basis of society--the workers and
the next generation does not count as growth.  In fact, all women's
nonwage labor in this area is defined as not existing.  In international
structural adjustment policy replacing paid health care workers with a
daughter or daughter-in-law as the care giver to save money assumes that
there is no cost to anyone since the labor the woman does has no economic
value.  So women's non wage labor is not only devalued and invisible, it
is assumed that their time and labor is infinitely expandable.
 
The fact that women's "domestic" labor has no economic value is not new
news. But, when juxtaposing it in this way to students, they begin to get
the idea that some of this doesn't really make a lot of sense. I've
created scenarios around these issues as "stories" for students to help
them see these contradicitions and inconsistencies in their own lives.
Even privileged young white males "catch" the idea that cleaing up after
the Exxon Valdeez is not really economic growth. They also catch the idea
that having another generation of consumers and workers is pretty
necessary for any economic growth.  I love statistics but they "bite" on
the stories, especially if I can really personalize them to their own lives.
 
Nelda K. Pearson
Professor, Dept of Soc/Anth
Chair, Race, Class, and Gender Studies
Radford University
Radford, Va. 24142
npearson  @  runet.edu

Hi Everyone,
I have, in the past, made an "activism" assignment part of \my syllabus in
WS courses.  The way this works is that students must choose their own
"action" (preferably something they are interested in!) and find some way
to ge involved.  They may work in groups or individually on this
assignment.  They may choose to become a part of an on-going action
project in the community (or, sometimes, on campus) or they may start an
action project.  For their grade they must keep an "action log" that
chronicles the time they spent on their action project and what they did
with that time.  The final log entry is a short essay in which they
evaluate the experience, explain how the experience connects with the
theories and ideas that we have learned in class, and provide their own
definition (based on their experiences) of "activism."  In general, the
response to this assignment has been very positive.  Even students who
work full time and go to school find that they enjoy the time and energies
used in action projects.
 
What they tell me they learn: activism is sometimes dull, repetitious
work, so it helps if you really believe in your cause; there really is a
connection between theory & activism; and working for a cause is
ultimately as rewarding (if not more so) as working for money.  (Although
it is possible to do so, none of my students thus far has had a paid
position that met the assignment.)
 
What I have learned: many of my students already are activists in some
sense (often, they come to me with volunteer work or political causes they
are already involved in and ask how they could incorporate that work into
their project); it does not work to require them to do "feminist" activism
(at least, not at my univ., where many of my students are pretty
conservative), but most of them end up doing work that they, certainly,
and I, usually, consider feminist anyway; their discoveries of the
connections between theory and action are much more dramatic and lasting
for them than all the things we read in class.
 
I do ask them to "name" their action project in a proposal pretty early in
the term (5th week or so), so they can get started.  I also give them an
"action day" or two of class time during which they can share their
projects with others, or work out of class on the projects.
 
I also share with my students my activism experiences, and I try to invite
to class a few local activists to speak.  This gives them contacts, if
they are especially shy or have a tough time deciding on an interest.
 
Hope this is helpful!
Enjoy your sunshine, when you get it.
Jeannie
 
__________________________________________________________________________
"When I'm inspired,     Jeannie Ludlow          "The learning process
I get excited        jludlow  @  bgnet.bgsu.edu      is something you can
because I can't wait     Popular Culture           incite, literally
to see what I'll    Women's Studies          incite, like a riot."
come up with next."    Bowling Green State U.        --Audre Lorde
     --Dolly Parton    Bowling Green Ohio

Great points from Jeannie Ludlow (as usual). I like her activist pedagogy.
 
Listen, I'd be really interested to hear people's thoughts on this new
"explosion" in "service learning." To be very frank (at least about what's
going on on the Tulane campus -- one of the mandates of the new uni
president and the semi-new provost), I observe that a lot of the projects
(though by no means all) are half-baked and inappropriate to the classes
with which they're connected.
 
How far can we go/be expected to go AS PART OF OUR "JOBS" and/or PART OF
"COURSEWORK" with all of this? How far can we "require" that students go?
 
I mean, theoretically, "service learning" is all fine and good, but so
much of what I've seen many places is worse than half-baked.
Community-university partnerships are generally structurally problematic
in many ways. "Professors" (however well-meaning) generally don't have the
competencies they need to get into the real "high-need" areas in any
meaningful way, i.e., they're not qualified as counselors or social
workers, and, face it, there's only so much that a bunch of
traditionally-aged college students can DO beyond what I call "activist
tourism."
 
And, finally, has anybody noticed that it's the faculty and staff WOMEN
who are pretty much expected to shoulder the whole burden of
university/community "activism" so that the suits will have pretty PC
stuff to put in their alumni mags and other public relations organs??
 
Meanwhile, what counts for tenure and for getting jobs is research and
teaching/teaching and research.
 
I really think that in order to be meaningful and worthwhile, activism
on/from campuses HAS to be student initiated, and that such projects have
to be designed and/or institutionalized in such a way as to withstand the
phenomenon of the rapid overturn of student generations.
 
Grumpaliciously, but with love to all...
 
"Monkeygirl for The Man"
 
 
   "take, take the noise in my head... take, take the noise in my head..."
 
      Crystal Kile                      ckile  @  mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu
      www.tulane.edu/~wc                ernie.bgsu.edu/~ckile/ckile.html

On Thu, 16 Jul 1998, Nelda K Pearson wrote:
 
> Re: the cost/benefit analysis suggested, consider this.  The work women do
> to reproduce and maintain the labor force,i.e. having children, raising
> them, caring for their partner and the home, does not count in any way
> toward the GNP.  On the other hand all the cost of social workers,
 
A great resource for looking at some of these issues is Who's Counting?
Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies & Global Economics, put out by the National
Film Board of Canada, director Terre Nash, 1995, 94 min., available in
Canada (1-800-267-7710) and the US (1-800-542-2164). The film focuses on
Waring's journey as youngest elected member of the New Zealand parliament
at age 22, to her questions about economics and her journey for answers.
As the blurb on the back of the video jacket says, "Waring challenges the
myths of economics, its elitist stance, and our tacit compliance with
political agendas that masquerade as objective economic policy." It's a
great film.
 
Sandra D. Shattuck
shattuck  @  u.arizona.edu

 
Joanne and everyone:
 
    I'm a little concerned about the framework of this discussion:  how do we
-- the inference is in our superior thinking and practice -- get them --
naive, clueless, apathetic perhaps? to act.
 
    My experience of young women is that they are often hungry to make change
and they have a sense that women in my generation and older are gatekeepers
of various movements and organizations, deigning to allow them to 'collate'
for the revolution at ridiculous wages when they graduate from college.
 
    In terms of providing opportunities for students to put their desires to
create change into action, as a mid-term assignment, I  had my students
identify an issue (around sexism, racism, etc.) that was bothering them on
their campus, and come to class with a one page proposal on how to address
it.  Twelve students made proposals, and they came to consensus about which
proposal they wanted to take up collectively.  Then, they spent the next
several weeks creating a group action.
 
Their work was phenomenal -- they decided to create a 'zine which countered
a heavily right-wing funded anti-feminist handbook that had been published
by a conservative women's group the semester before.  Their work was in
some places intensely personal -- addressing such issues as rape and
recovery, eating disorders and domestic and dating violence.  In other
places it was informational -- providing resources on pregnancy counseling,
alternative spiritualities, etc.  Some folks did poetry/photo collages
telling their stories.  They found ways to run off about 400 copies (for
free) and distributed them from a central spot on campus.
 
All I did was say -- your mid-term is an action to be devised by you.  You
can do something collectively or in small groups.  You must decide what
your decision making process will be (vote or consensus) and what the
content is.  I facilitated two discussions and then left them to hours and
hours of feminist processing (outside of class) in which they challenged
each other to rise to their best work.  This mid-term was for a course on
women and activism and it allowed them to draw upon the activist practices
we read about and also to carve out their own practice.
 
My philosoph is:  Let the people lead.  They know what their hungers are
and they are dying to engage.
 
Best,
 
Jaime

For those interested in a shorter version of the Marilyn Waring "Who's
Counting" film, the same company offers a 60 minute version which is
also excellent, and fits into class time better.
 
Barbara Ryan
Barbara.E.Ryan  @  Widener.edu

>Re: the cost/benefit analysis suggested, consider this.  The work women do
>to reproduce and maintain the labor force,i.e. having children, raising
>them, caring for their partner and the home, does not count in any way
>toward the GNP.
>The fact that women's "domestic" labor has no economic value is not new
>news. But, when juxtaposing it in this way to students, they begin to get
>the idea that some of this doesn't really make a lot of sense.
 
Of course the premiere source on all this which makes excellent reading for
number-crunching-oriented students is Marilyn Waring's _If Women Counted_,
or for even greater impact, the movie on her, which aired on PBS earlier
this year (different title).
 
Max Dashu
 
Suppressed Histories Archives           email: maxdashu  @  lanminds.com
                                PO Box 3511 Oakland CA 94609 USA
                >>>International Women's Studies, founded 1970<<<

It seems ironic to me that
there are two topics running separately on this listserve that are
fundamentally connected: student activism and teaching politics. Perhaps
it comes down to defining what being political means. At one time I was a
political campaign office coordinator, community liaison for a state
senator, and women's political caucus leader. People who I haven't seen in
several years come up to me and ask if I am still politically
active.Others voice disappointment that I am not focusing on and
writing about sex discrimination issues. Still others want to know why I
am not still serving the women in my community through the  political
fundraisers and organizations I used to belong to. I don't have time. I am
a recent Ph.D. and family therapist who works with, and developed a
program for,low-income single mothers. I spend my time teaching
the underserved how to ask for what they want and need, how to become a
parent in charge of their children, how to make space in their lives
for themselves. I teach them that they are valuable. And I support my
daughters and their choices--all different--, and I write articles and
read articles written about women and mental health.I have discovered that
the political is personal--strange, huh? That working with poor families
where women are most likely to be parenting alone, is a very political
thing to do. So for those out there that want to know if I am still
involved in politics--the answer is yes, most certainly.There are many
ways to be politically involved.That is what our students need to hear
and witness.
Carolyn Wright
ciwright  @  mailbox.syr.edu

In trying to get students to pay attention to the fact that racism and
sexism exist in the United States today...  It is hard... I have found
that I often begin a women's studies course or a section that will deal
with these issues with US data that shows how much full time workers make
in terms of race, sex, and years of education.  Because they are in an
educational setting when they relate to it and this helps to alert them to
the problem...get their attention.. and makes a hard job sometimes easier.
Even my students from the humanities find the data more convincing in that
it opens up the discussion at a new level.  Eloise Buker

Nelda Pearson is quite right about a cost/benefit analysis in relation to
what does and doesn't count toward the GNP. In my comment I had in mind the
personal cost of poverty.
    A book I've found very helpful along the lines of Nelda's analysis is If
Women Counted: A New Feminist Economics by Marilyn Waring. San Francisco:
HarperSanFrisco, 1988. (The date doesn't make the book obsolete at all) She
extends Nelda's comment to show other things that don't count toward the
GNP, shows how that figures into government budgets, how it was arrived at:
to pay for war and what that leaves us stuck with. It's a very 'accessible'
read.
    beatrice    bkachuck  @  cuny.campus.mci.net