A Woman's Nation
Like most American women, I wear many different hats - mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend. I am constantly inspired by the stories, ideas and courage of the women I meet and I am reminded every single day how women are architects of change.
For the first time in our nation's history, women now represent half of all workers and are becoming the primary breadwinners in more families than ever before. These two facts have far reaching consequences to government, business, faith communities, women and even men. Clearly, this country is now what I like to call "A Woman's Nation."
This seismic shift is changing the economic and cultural landscape of our country, and in order to learn more about this development, I am partnering with The Center for American Progress (CAP) and the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, a project that will report on the economic tipping pointing for women in America and the consequences of that shift across the institutions that matter most in American life. Together with them, I am thrilled to launch "A Woman's Nation," a national project to paint the modern portrait of the American woman. Additionally, TIME magazine will also be involved in research and reporting, as well as co-presenting discussions and roundtables around the country.
The last time a government project like this was organized was in 1961, when my uncle, President John F. Kennedy, appointed Eleanor Roosevelt to chair a commission to report on the status of women. The world has changed dramatically since my uncle launched his commission, and "A Woman's Nation" serves to update these findings to promote the new definition of who the American woman is today and what she expects and needs from our nation's economic, cultural and social institutions in order to thrive now and in the future.
"A Woman's Nation" will be a multi-year, action-oriented project, focused on capturing an accurate and up-to-date portrait of the American woman and developing next steps to remove barriers to her success. A journalist by trade, I look forward to taking "A Woman's Nation" on the road - We will host a series of roundtables with men and women on the front lines of this economic and cultural shift, and conduct frank and factual interviews with cultural icons and women leaders about their experiences and recommendations. In an effort to give people all over the country an opportunity to participate in this remarkable discussion, we will hold online town-halls to field and answer any questions about the project.
This on-the-ground reporting, combined with research data from a national poll, will result in a fresh and thorough initial report to be published in the fall of 2009. The report will be followed by a book, and we will then examine regulatory, legislative, business and cultural change that needs to take place to keep pace with the current needs of American women and families.
I am incredibly excited to begin working to understand how American women can best be supported in their ever-evolving roles, particularly as it relates to our growing economic influence in society. I look forward to sharing with you my stories and findings from this remarkable journey to uncover the modern American woman.
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dear first lady shriver:
i so hope you and others will or have read the very informative and interesting new book, "frances perkins, the woman behind fdr's new deal."
we women have come a long way, faced the worst in work place safety and long hours, low pay and lack of respect while still taking care of family and home.
While to some extent this does smell like a way to make women out to be better than men, we have been demeaned for so long that we deserve some build up. Yes, many of us still work to service men, as noted in another post. But we are making strides too.
I think it is important to note that some of us still see ourselves as homemakers and mothers, and that that job continues to be unpaid, and it is, LADIES?, the longest hours, the hardest work, and the least appreciation available at any price.
the Onion had an article years back, woman arrested for trading sex for security. She cooked, cleaned and laid herself out for her husband for 20 years, and was arrested for using him. The formal charge was prostitution. Now this was the Onion, so it was a joke.
But ladies? do we indeed do what we need to do to get what we need? And does that not, all too often, result in a balanced family life?
We are the underpinnings of the country. It does not matter if we are a CEO, I know many women who are, or if, like me, we choose to be supported and supportive, we are the only reason there still is a United States. Without our presence both in history and now, there would be no country, and no president with a wife like Michele.
"A Woman's Nation?" When any group is placed above another, it results in an unhealthy unbalance. The Founding Fathers (perhaps with Abigail Adams' interjecting along the way) envisioned a nation "by the people, for the people, and of the people." Let's hope that remains the goal.
Maria, would you please consider focusing on the Catholic Church? Will its male hierarchy ever accept women as equal partners? The true story of the nuns (the backbone of the Church) has never been fully told. It is no wonder most have fled.
WIth its lack of balance and tolerance for so many, the Catholic Church is dying before our very eyes.
We all fall into the trap of making a list of things to do & then go ahead and do several easy things first and procrastinate on the MOST important item.
One of the most important changes affecting women and dramatically decreasing infant mortality was practicing antisceptic procedures during the birthing process.
Women have come a long way since "suttee" ( was a funeral practice among some Hindu communities in which a recently-widowed woman would either voluntarily or by use of force and coercion immolate herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. This practice is now very rare and outlawed in modern India."-Wikipedia )
And yet, here we are in the 21st century, with right wing extremists playing the religion card trying to deny women the morning after pill or the right to have an abortion.
Unless and until women are no longer treated as beasts of burden, servants, slaves, or property, real progress ..." to remove barriers to ...success" will be hampered.
Given the plutocratic and fascist society we are in, your task is even more difficult. Today profit is the mantra and outsourcing and privatizing the vehicles. Normal, natural, safe
practices such as breast-feeding & vaginal deliveries at home are being shunned in favor of C-sections and hospital deliveries. Just the other day women were marching
with signs demanding the right to choose a vaginal delivery even if the previous birth was by C-section. Women's rights to control their fertility must be primary.
One of the ways you could 'celebrate' women in the workforce is to first recognize and support the unpaid work that women do every day. Right now under Welfare Reform, this work is called "doing nothing" and if you think this means *only* poor women, you are wrong as the laws in this country are made for ALL. Until traditional woman's work is considered work instead of "recreation" women are doomed to work two full time jobs, one paid and one that is in essence slave labor. This means that women who work for a wage be supported for the family obligations they do with family leave and government support. This means that the stay-at-home mom is also working as she is raising the next generation for our future. The next time anyone asks why they should support "other people's kids" ask them if the following generation should then support them when they receive Social Security, fight in our wars, or run our country when they are too old to do it?
My 2 cents
Cat In Seattle
Its a tough world but to blame men on all the wrongs is incorrect. It seems to me that the vast majority of women (not all) on the blog will have little to nothing to do with accountability.
4/19/09
10:38am
Alexandria, VA
Accountability is key. There is no justice without accountability.
The thing that really irritates me about work like this is that the authors have lost track of the moral underpinnings that justify the movement they champion. The fact that there are more women working today does not make this "A Woman's Nation" any more than it was (or should have been) a "man's nation" until this point. The entire purpose of the feminist movement, at least the one I support, is to fight for equality and justice. Why can we not celebrate advances in gender equality, acknowledge the remaining disparity and injustice (of which there is plenty) while retaining the moral high ground? Laying claim to the nation puts feminists on the same level as the chauvinists they so vigorously (and rightly) oppose.
What this really means is that by and large we have become a nation of Strippers and Waitresses and Administrative Assistants. We mostly have a service based economy. All of the jobs where men used to do real work for fair pay have pretty much been lost. Whenever you go into a place like Wal Mart or Target, almost all of the cashiers are women. Big corporations hire women because women work cheap, they are docile, and they do well at customer service type jobs. The womanification of work means poverty for most people. Wages are declining. I hate the service economy.
I can think of one thing that will help women's overall success.
Other women could support them.
nail meet head.
Ah Maria, you talk a good talk but where were you when the first viable female candidate for POTUS was needing your support? You and your friend "women's advocate" Oprah ran in the other direction.
Its good to have equality in the work force. Women have as much to offer as men. Now, can the same equality be applied to the divorce court systems?
No one want to hear from the Dead beat Dad Society on this thread, thanks.
I have never been married and I have no children. How did I know that there would be an issue for some when it comes to 100% equality all around the board...lmao
8 Governors/50
26 women/3084 Sherifs
Whooââh !
The question I ask, is why did a double income become a necessity instead of a choice? I am a feminist but I feel a sense of betrayal at this capitalist system that found it could double the work force and profits while the choice is gone and parents are spending less time with the kids and people are doomed to work at jobs they hate.
And do you think women are profiting from this as much as men. Look the list of known billionaires. We have been had.
A comment to Maria and other women of leadership and stature:
How would you react if a promonent and famous male leader, congressman or senator said "I like to call this a man's nation or world." Or, "Men are the architects of change." You wouldn't like it, would you?
I applaud women for the gains that they have made in our society. So many women have had to work to support their families while being a full-time mother...no easy job. I couldn't do it.
But, be careful ladies. You can be just as unfair as men. And, the more competitive you are with men, the less feminine you become (just one man's opinion).
"And, the more competitive you are with men, the less feminine you become (just one man's opinion)."
We're not actually here for decorative purposes, you realize?
"And, the more competitive you are with men, the less feminine you become (just one man's opinion)."
Not very impressive.
not necessarily dnaromney, I am a tough physical woman, I work as a dog trainer and manage 5 German Shepherd's at home, have 2 boys, 18 and 16 and have been married for 20 years.
I am the kind of woman many men are put off by, only strong, self contained men can stand to be around me, and only the toughest can be my friends, and my husband is more alpha than I am. But I am way hot in a dress, even you, young enough to be my son would stop and look.
Women are far more variable than you are thinking. It is very possible to be "hot" and still be smart. It is possible to be lovable, and still be tough. Ask my friends, ask my husband.
Frankly, I like women in politics and there should be more. Women are different from men and deserve solid representation. Women are also more capable physically than they are given the credit of. Even the most muscular labor tends to be matters of timing and leverage that quickly develops the relevant muscles.
Never the less, women make better mothers than men do. When they are obliged to enter into the workforce, there are childcare problems and the prospect of more child neglect or abuse.
Generally speaking, a substantial female workforce is a sign of bad times. Employers tend to prefer women as more docile and less threatening than men. Women who become the bread winners will notice how suddenly they have two children where the working man would have had one because the man becomes like another child. This undermines marriages. There are more divorces, abandonment and living outside of a formal dedicated marriage among the poor.
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