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The Gender Gap Is Shrinking - Except at the Top

SavvySugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:23 -0800

It turns out, the difference between men and women's salaries is smaller than we thought - as long as those salaries aren’t very big to begin with. A new study from PayScale.com compared salaries across 90 different jobs, adjusting for any outside factors that might affect the salary (the location of the job, the worker’s education, etc.) except for the worker’s gender. What they found was surprising - to see the results, read on.

Can Women Have It All?

TresSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:30:17 -0800

A successful career. A loving marriage. Well-loved and well-behaved children. The promise of women's liberation holds that women can have all of this if that's what they want. But one teacher wrote in the Daily Mail yesterday that telling a young girl that she can reach the top of the career ladder and raise a family is passing on nothing more than a fairy tale. This not-so-modern woman thinks:

"The young women we are sending out into the world believe they can have it all - and, if they don't, they will have failed. And what a tragedy that is, because the truth is that modern women can't have it all. They may succeed in their careers and they may succeed as mothers, but to do both at the same time? No, that is not possible without making huge sacrifices which many will find simply too much."

Obviously life is full of compromises and trade-offs, but I don't think that means women have to choose between success outside the home and success inside the home. With a little balance, I think women, just like men, can manage both. What do you think?
Photos courtesy of AMC

Say What? Megan Fox Talks Girl-on-Girl Hatred

TresSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:00:59 -0800

"The problem is, if they think you’re attractive, you’re either stupid or a whore or a dumb whore. The instinct among girls is to attack the jugular.”

- Megan Fox tries to explain why she's not too popular with the ladies. The actress, who is on the cover of this weekend's New York Times Magazine, is having a hard time gaining traction with a female audience.

Women Worry That Obama Is Throwing Them Under the Bus

TresSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:42:32 -0800

Back in January, feminist magazine Ms. hailed Barack Obama as a super feminist. But the president's recent tepid response to protecting abortion rights might mean that the love affair with Obama is about to end for many women. Over at the Daily Beast, women's rights activist Amy Siskind argues that the Stupak amendment, which treats women's rights as a political bargaining chip that can be traded for healthcare reform, is just one more example of how Obama couldn't care less about women . . . except when he's trying to win their votes of course. She writes:

He appointed fewer women into his cabinet than President Bill Clinton. He surrounded himself with czars, more than 90 percent of whom are male. He appointed Larry Summers, of "girls are inferior in math and science" fame, to a key economic post. He played basketball, golfed and fished with men and men only. He had beers with Skip Gates, but ignored it when Rihanna was almost strangled to death. And so on.

Of course it's not all bad. Ms. released a report chronicling the giant strides Obama made for women during his first 100 days in office. These actions included: signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, instituting a new ambassador-at-large for global women's issues, establishing the White House Council on Women and Girls, and overturning the "global gag rule" in order to re-fund global family planning organizations.

Has the Obama administration let you down when it comes to women's rights?

Do Tell: Who's Your Favorite Pop Culture Witch?

TresSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:00 -0700

The witches of popular culture come in all different varieties. There are the truly scary witches, like the queen in Snow White and the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, the harmless witches, like Samantha from Bewitched and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and the mischievous witches, like Endora from Bewitched. To get in the spooky spirit just in time for Halloween, tell me which famous witch has you under a spell!

Top Official: Burqa Not Part of France's "National Identity"

TresSugar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Cheese. Wine. Baguettes. These are all seemingly welcomed signifiers of French identity. Burqas? Not so welcome.

France has been debating a ban on the head-to-toe garment for some time now. Most recently, the country's immigration minister Eric Besson said yesterday that burqas should not be worn on French streets because they are not part of the country's "national identity."

Besson wants the government to reaffirm national pride by having a "great debate" about what it means to be French. With more than five million Muslims living in France (the largest Muslim population in Western Europe), doesn't French identity include Muslim traditions? It sounds like Besson, who was born in Morocco, disagrees. Based on his previous statements, being French means speaking better French if you're an immigrant and having more opportunities to sing the national anthem if you're a kid in school.

Do you think the French government has a right to dictate dress codes under the guise of "maintaining tradition," or should it be more accepting of minority and immigrant group influences? Would you worry if US officials organized a meeting to decide what it means to be American?

Say What? Karl Lagerfeld on Moms and Models

TresSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:00:00 -0700

"No one wants to see curvy women. You've got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly."

- Karl Lagerfeld weighs in on the never-ending debate about thin models. The once-overweight designer was responding to German magazine Brigitte's decision to use only "real women" as models. He disapproves. Based on his comments, it seems Karl doesn't think fashion is meant for a mom who might be carrying a little weight.

This isn't the first time a fashion icon has come to the defense of thin models by shifting the attention to overweight people. Anna Wintour said America should focus on obesity, and not anorexia, following a visit to Minnesota where she said people resemble "little houses."

Are you surprised Karl is so quick to discount the opinions of average women?

Anger Is All the Rage With Women These Days

TresSugar — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0700

A story printed in the Daily Mail yesterday almost had me in a fit of rage, which is ironic, because it was all about a rage epidemic taking over the "fairer sex" (their term, not mine). New statistics reveal that aggression and physical violence perpetrated by women is at all-time high in the UK. It seems that this trend is particularly newsworthy because rage is considered a masculine emotion, unfit for the ladies.

Unlike men, women traditionally have been expected to control emotions like anger. The new numbers suggest that they are no longer following such conventions. The Daily Mail guesses that both sexes now have "unspoken 'social permission' to lash out." Fistfights are no longer reserved for the boys!

While uncontrolled anger or physical violence is nothing for either sex to be proud of, does it bother you that women are expected to be ashamed of their anger since society often tolerates male rage?

Women Around the World Persecuted For Being "Witches"

TresSugar — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:00:00 -0700

It's hard to believe that in this day and age, countless women around the world are being accused of something that sounds pretty medieval. According to the UN, women accused of being witches are persecuted and sometimes murdered around the world. Even children thought to be witches are being targeted, too. The UN estimates that this violence is impacting the lives of millions of people.

So where is this unbelievable violence taking place? It's happening in places from South Africa, to India, Nepal, and Papua New Guinea. In Nigeria, homeless children are driven out of towns because they are suspected of witchcraft. While different cultures hold diverse beliefs about witchcraft, UN experts believe that those suspected of having "supernatural" powers are typically targeted when a society faces rapid cultural or social change. In these cases, the vulnerable get the blame for the community's misfortunes.

Violence associated with witchcraft caught the attention of the UN because it's causing an international refugee problem. In addition to being victims of violence, the accused are often forcibly displaced or trafficked. Let's hope now that the widespread witch-hunting has gained international attention, something will be done to help these people.

Your Two Cents: Are You Paid a Fair Salary?

SavvySugar — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:57:00 -0700

A friend of mine admits that she's overpaid. I appreciate her honesty, but there's a little feeling in my gut whenever the subject comes up - a nip of envy, if you will. My pal with the inflated paycheck is in the minority of women who admit they make more than they deserve, according to a recent survey of 4,000 women conducted by Woman's Day and AOL Living. The poll found that 6 percent of women agree they are overpaid, while 69 percent say they deserve to earn more money. What's your opinion on your paycheck?

Source: Flickr User Unhindered by Talent