Women's Issues: Part 2

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Whilst accepting what you say about your experiences of child birth must have been horrendous, I do not see that as discrimination, because there is no equivalent operation for a man.
The issue of parental leave is an interesting one. I do not see that there is a need for differential leave periods, it should be up to the parents to decide best how to parent their child. Both aprents are equally important. A message of 12 months for women and 2 weeks for men sends out the wrong signal that only women matter. The reality si that if there are medical complications requiring longer recovery period (in a tiny minority of case, i suspect) then there are sick leave provisions to cover these. The issue of raising a child is one that both aprents should be allowed to fully particiapate in. if anything, men should be allowed more time a they need to bond with the child - the mother has already had a 9 month advantage in doing so. If a father does not or is not allowed to bond early then it is more likely eh will not stay involved for the long term - this is disastrous for the children.

On the equal pay issue - again I have never seen a genuine case. The main reasons for women earning less on average than men are summarised on a pro-female givernment website under the incorrectly title women and equality unity -in summary:
1) Women are more likely to work part-time
2) Women are more likely to choose low paid jobs like child care and nursing - although this is changing - most trainee doctors and solicitors are female.
3) Women are more likely to take time off to look after the children and hence are several years behind in experince at a particular age
4) Women are less interested in taking promotions and hence in their career - they are less competitive - they are more likely to put their family ahead fo the career and the employer knows that so lower promotion= less pay. Plus they are more likely to drop out as a result.

None of the above is discrimination by the employer, but choices by the people.

i say vive la difference! men and women are different and equally important to children and society. we should be celebrating the differences not looking for discrimination when the numbers in a profession are not equal. I am involved in a campaign for equal opportunity not equality as equality means sameness and men and women are not the same. Join me for a fairer world for everyone and not just for women.
5) Women are more like

I'm saying that everyone has drawbacks and setbacks, so why are those of one group somehow more important than others?

No one is saying that any one group's issues are more important than the other's...they're all important. I don't think being confined to a wheelchair is a drawback or a setback, it's a reality with real obstacles. Before the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with physical disabilities were routinely discriminated against in the workplace. There were places they could not access, too. These issues might not be important to you and me but they're important to those who are disabled.

Just as an aside, I wanted to work at a particular gas station back in the early 70's (because I liked a guy who worked there) and the owner told me he wouldn't hire me because I was a girl and girls couldn't pump gas or check oil and tire pressure. I think about that man sometimes when I'm pumping my own gas, checking my oil or the air in my tires. He was legally within his rights to refuse to hire me because of my gender back then. He's not today.

Actually, I am disabled.. but that is beside the points here.

Yes, many are saying that women's issues are more important than anyone else's. It is so important for many that women get a "chance" at traditionally male roles that safety and standards are often put aside for those "chances". Women's issues are often given so much "importance" that they can be used to shut the opposition up completely. What if someone told you that you had no right to an opinion because you are a woman? Yet is it completely acceptable to say that to a man about "women's issues".

Yes, there have been important changes made that help people in wheelchairs gain equal access, but even the Americans with Disabilities Act has been used as a weapon of harrassment and de facto taxation.

I used to work for an ambulance company that bought an old building to use as an ambulance station. It didn't have a shower, so the company decided to have one installed. Because it was a business, they had to install a shower that was wheelchair accessible. It cost the company thousands of dollars more than what was needed. The irony here is, EMS is exempt from the ADA where hiring people in wheelchairs is concerned. It's simple, a person in a wheelchair physically can't be an EMT. So the thousands of dollars building a wheelchair accessible shower were completely wasted. To add insult to injury, since the company bought that bulding, and made all the improvements the city required, the property value was increased and the taxes to the company went up significantly.

Kind of ironic about your experience with the gas station. I remember gas stations in the 70s that specifically hired girls to pump gas, check oil and clean windshields. They were eventually forced to change their hiring practices because it violated laws prohibiting discrination against women.

True! Doesn't the NOW gang care about minorities?

You kind of contradict yourself here. First you say that discrimination is wrong no matter who it is against, then you say that it wasn't considered "unfair" until men became the victims of it.

If it's unfair, it shouldn't matter who the victim is.