At Last!

I have been watching the Democratic National Convention in Denver on television for the past three nights and have found myself completely renewed and excited about politics in America. The last time I was this excited was in 1992 when I was working for the Women's Campaign Fund in Washington D.C. helping more women to get elected into office and supporting Bill Clinton into Presidency. At that time - Washington, and in effect our country -- was a place of hope and possibility. Sixteen years later I feel we are at that doorstep once again.

Although I found myself getting teary in many parts of Michelle's, Hillary's, Bill's and Joe's speeches, in all honesty the most exciting part for me - the one where I felt most moved by an exhilarating feeling of "AT LAST!" -- is when each speaker talked about finally bringing our country to a point where women receive equal pay!

As a preschool teacher for many years, I was in a job that was heavily represented by women who were underpaid. As a full-time employee in a New York school renowned for its early childhood education, I was making just over $20,000 at the start in 1999 and topped out at just under $30,000. On this salary I was trying to live in New York City as a single woman and pay back graduate school loans to a private college that tallied toward $60,000. I chose that school because it ranks among the top in early childhood education. I wanted the best education to help me be the best teacher.

The school, Bank Street College of Education, gave me an outstanding education - but unfortunately I did not last in the preschool classroom. I wanted the best for the children, but also wanted the best for myself. I wanted a life where I did not have to worry about how I was going to pay my rent, pay my bills, pay for the continuing education that I know as a individual committed to personal growth would be wanting as time moved on.

I left my job as a preschool teacher just one year ago and started my own company, Lotus Blossom Style. Starting this company was my way to continue to give voice to the messages that I put out in the classroom -- peace, collaboration, creative expression, and a rightful respect for every individual - and at least have a fighting chance as an entrepreneur (in many ways the American Dream) to move beyond the underpaid status of an early childhood educator.

Just over a year ago, right before I started the company, it dawned on me that maybe we have been in a patriarchal paradigm for too long and that this paradigm was what was throwing ourselves, our environment, our country and our world out of balance. I wondered if war could be decreased if we started to identify and give more time, space, and money to issues that have traditionally been considered more the feminine domain - healthcare, education and family values. I thought about what would happen if more and more women were in power and leadership positions and we turned to a time where women and men were respected and rewarded equally in the workplace. What would this look like?

Michelle, Hillary, Joe, Bill and Obama have restarted my clock of hope. I believe in their ability to walk us forward as leaders into a time where women and men can renew their self-respect and respect for one other as we rebuild our country in partnership, collaboration and unity.

Although Hillary, who was and still is a sign of hope and inspiration for many women, is not our Presidential Candidate - can we walk forward believing that we are at the dawn of a new era where many good possibilities are waiting for us?

Comments

[mamacat]

Maybe I'm wrong, but this is a thought -

It seems to me that what is lacking in the struggle for equal pay is greater consciousness. Since August of 1920 women have had the vote in this country. In most elections, presidential or otherwise, only a minority of women goes to the polls and votes. If that statistic changed, dramatically, and women became an overwhelmingly large bloc of voters, no one in elected office would dare to act against their interests. If women cared enough in the electoral process to vote in greater numbers, their interests, including equal pay for identical work, increased child care in or near work places, greater access to sex education and birth control, greater access to education and health care, keeping the atmosphere and the Earth safe for posterity, would only be ignored by politicians at their own risk.

[docuguy]

Good article- I'm grateful for the feeling of hope in the air.

[MPeter]

Great article Tabby. Thank you for sharing. There is much we can do united than divided.