This Month in Gender Equity: July 2019
We return this month with our series that recaps our favorite (or least favorite) moments in gender equity from news, media, and longreads all over the internet. You’ll see installments for This Month in Gender Equity the fourth week of each month. If you have ideas or contributions, leave a comment or tweet at us!
The Joy of Watching the U. S. Women’s Soccer Team Luxuriate in Victory
I (Lauren)have been obsessed with the team since the start of the World Cup several weeks ago. Watching the last few rounds of the tournament was astonishing and awe-inspiring. There has been so much I’ve been trying to articulate since then: the women of the US team are literally the best in the world at an intensely physical sport, they love and support each other so fiercely, they compete with other women so fiercely and yet so respectfully, they embrace winning, they advocate for themselves, they take up physical space with visible delight. Emma Gray’s article captures so much of what I’ve been mulling. The women’s team is diverse in terms of race, sexuality, and age while being united in their opposition to the current administration and to their own unequal treatment. I love this part: “watching these women―these fabulously talented, physically strong, underpaid, passionate, united women―luxuriate in their victories without qualifiers or projected meekness lit up something inside of me and so many others.” Here’s to more wins and celebrations wholly without qualifiers. And let’s all resolve to watch women’s soccer more than once every four years.
Riverside Church’s First Female Pastor, Until She Was Dismissed
The Rev. Dr. Amy Butler, pastor of the famous Riverside Church in New York City, will be leaving the church after her contract was not renewed. This article details what is colloquially termed the “stained glass ceiling” for women in ministry and specifically in leadership in churches. (NB: The article refers to the pastor as either Dr. Butler or Ms. Butler. We will refer to her by the titles she earned: Rev. Dr.). While the public face of Rev. Dr.’s departure from Riverside has been amicable, the Times reveals that her tenure there was not friendly. She experienced outright harassment from congregants and members of the church’s council. After she reported that incident and requested pay comparable to her predecessor, she was functionally excused from her post. This is particularly surprising and painful because Riverside, while affiliated with a mainline Protestant denomination, is regarded as one of the more progressive churches in the nation. It advocates for refugees and immigrants, embraces and affirms members of the LGBTQ+ community, and carries out environmental protection efforts. The ugly reality, however, is that despite the church’s reputation for progressivism, Rev. Dr. Butler was still the victim of regressive, patriarchal systems and individuals. The article does not report where she will next serve in ministry.
Women Fighting the Pink Tax on the State Level
You have by now heard lots about the Pink Tax, whether from our previous blogs or from news outlets and advertising campaigns such as the one European Wax Centers have been doing. Menstrual supplies are one of the goods that we often see this tax applied to. Tampons and pads, an absolute necessity for half the population for the better part of 40 years of their lives, are taxed in 35 states, unlike groceries or medical supplies. But why? Aren’t they just as much a need for women? 22 states introduced legislation to stop the tax on menstrual supplies this year. And in 22 states, the legislation failed. The article above gives a wonderful breakdown of why the repeals failed in some states, what steps pro-repeal organizations are taking now, and gives you some great resources for how you can find out more and get involved.
While We Are Talking About the Pink Tax…
The examples in this article made me irate! If you are looking for some concrete examples of the Pink Tax, look no further than this HuffPo piece, which gives real life documentation (with photos!) of times when prices are higher for pink products designed for women. The most galling example, I thought, was the Gap t-shirts with the message “the future is equal”... yet the price tag? Not so much. Why are women paying more for the same products? Is the color pink more expensive to produce? If so, I’d gladly take my vitamins from a blue bottle to avoid paying more for them. This practice is shameful and the time for it is up.
-Lauren and Amy