CAKE Byte - CAKE Girls for Choice

An estimated 1,150,000 descended on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Sunday April 25th for the March for Women's Lives. Many were there for the first time and many were back for the first time in 31 years - to defend what they once thought was secure. "Let me just say that going to the march was one of the best decisions I've ever made, not just because I helped make history, but also because I finally felt as though I wasn't alone in my deep outrage and passion about this and other women's issues." (Jessica, 19)

Despite this overwhelming show of support, the national media chose to ignore it and instead prominently featured the death of Estee Lauder - the queen of makeup! Why is the story not being told?

In her new book "The War on Choice," Gloria Feldt of Planned Parenthood, one of the March's organizers, says the fight for reproductive choice poses a threat to the status of the entrenched hierarchy.

She notes that the right to choose is not just about abortion. The current administration's policy on reproductive health compromises women's right to have full access to family planning information, health care, and products, the right to have children or not, sex education for young people that goes beyond the abstinence-only education being promoted by the right wing and the right to medically accurate information about sexuality for the general public, too. Having the right to choose determines whether women will find an equal place at life's table, whether children will be truly valued, and whether everyone's personal liberties, privacy, and bodily integrity will be safeguarded.

It's all related - Pro child, Pro woman, Pro reproductive health care, Pro access to contraception, Pro sexuality education, Pro mothers, Pro equal pay, Pro choice, Pro life!

Attacks on women's reproductive rights are a part of a growing backlash against women's equality and freedom. Over the past fifty years, women have gained an astonishing amount of power, and Roe v. Wade, which gave women control over their fertility, was another major step toward empowerment. Not only did it legalize abortion but it became a symbol of our independence, because reproductive freedom is fundamental to a woman's aspirations - to education, financial stability, and self-determination.

For example when it comes to equal pay women are still in the red. According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics, women today, on average, are paid only 76 cents in wages for every dollar that men are paid. That represents a snail-like increase of less than a cent per year since the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1963, when women were paid 59 cents compared to a man's dollar in wages. If the same pace continues, we may not achieve parity until 2042!

Why do men make so much more than women? Congress wanted to know the answer to that question. The General Accounting Office figured it out. Sort of.

The Associated Press reports that women's income is lower for three reasons - Women tend to work fewer hours than men due to the fact that men hold more full time jobs and women more often part-time jobs. Women tend to leave the labor force for longer periods of time than men - to have children. Women tend to hold jobs that pay less.

So, the GAO experts accounted for these differences and even when they did that, women's pay was still 20 percent less than men's pay! "These decisions may have specific consequences for their career advancement or earnings," the study said. "However, debate exists about whether these decisions are freely made or influenced by discrimination in society or in the workplace."

The eye-popping conclusion of the study? There have been no significant changes in the workplace to support equal pay since women left their kitchens for the office. "Research suggests that many workplaces still maintain the same policies, practices, and structures that existed when most workers were men who worked full time, 40-hours per week," the report said. "As a result, there may be a mismatch between the needs of workers with family responsibilities and the structure of the workplace."

In other words, the workplace in America does not support a woman's right to choose - to be a equal worker, a mother or both. As with reproductive rights, equal pay comes down to access and choice - without access there is no choice and inequality remains the status quo.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the March for Women's Lives and those of us who rode on the CAKE Bus. A million plus women and men marching on the Mall cannot be ignored.

To find the best coverage of the March and what is really going on in politics check out Randi Rhodes on Air America Radio - www.airamericaradio.com.

Love,
CAKE
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