"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Tuesday 8 September 2015

EVERYBODY HAS PROBLEMS

I watched Steve Paikin with four women lawyers last night. The question was....are women lawyers paid less than men ? It seems not. 

At the same time,women lawyers earn less than men. It's about the exigencies. 

A panelist with twenty-eight years practice ,without children, joked she was "too bossy" to have children. Didn't say  she had a husband...of either sex...the question wasn't asked. 

A young woman of one year's  experience, hoped to have children, had no complaints about her circumstance and is paid the same as a male counterpart. 

A woman of Asian background noted  white male senior associates, brought the most lucrative clients to the firm and  earned more. The word "lucrative" was  implied within the context.

I couldn't help thinking about a young white woman lawyer's chances in an Indian law firm ? Had being  a" visible minority " perchance give the Asian an edge? 

The gist of opinion was, women being child-bearers,nurturers and care-givers were at a disadvantage in the competition and their contribution is unfairly evaluated by both men and women supervisors as a consequence ? 

The word "invisible" was used once in the discussion. 

I went to sleep thinking of my recent reference to being "invisible" on occasion. I associated it with being elderly but I had known it before.

As often happens, I wakened this morning as if my mind has carried on thinking while asleep. 

I recalled a piece about women in academia. An idea projected in a collegial setting, ignored and later the same floated by a male being hailed as sheer genius. 

The word "invisible"  and the term "glass ceiling" were  both used in the piece.

The hasty retirement of the head wallah of the Canadian Armed Forces also popped into my head this morning. In the context of sexual harassment rampant in the armed services, he used the word "biology ".His career crashed to an immediate and ignominious end. He probably has a chest full of medals but no matter, he paid the ultimate penalty and was promptly replaced.

Short of a court-martial. it could not have been  much worse. 

The decision must have come  from the Prime Minister's office. Like appointment of Julian Fantino 
to Cabinet and  Office of Veteran's Affairs . Appointment  of media stars like Mike Duffy and 
Pamela Wallin to toil in relative obscurity of the  Canadian Senate. 

But I digress. 

I can't empathize with the women lawyers on Steve Paikin's panel.

People everywhere and forever have to deal with problems far more serious than the sex they were born and how it impacts their lives. How can it not? 

I once watched a full-term pregnant policewoman carefully negotiating space between a desk and chair. Not only was it difficult but the active role of police officer was obviously impossible.

Male sergeants equally physically incapacitated doing office jobs no doubt created for them were 
also  prominent. 

But that's another story. 




8 comments:

Anonymous said...

With the quota problems and fear of being politically correct, hiring will largely depend upon the individual. So many positions
offered today receive multiple applicants, An employer can be extremely selective.

Anonymous said...

I’m a 55 yr old female, working in what some may call a male dominant industry. My Dad told me at a very very young age that I would be at a disadvantage in my working life because I’m female, and I was going to have to “deal with it! Life is unfair.” I would have to work with men in my life, and I was to show them humbly that I was just as good if not better at my job. If they disrespected me, I was to leave.
I left many jobs, and was always able to find another one within a few weeks, usually getting paid more than the last. Thanks to my Dad, I’m one of the top people in my field. I’ve had a few of those “Women groups” ask me to speak at some of their events. I give them my Dad’s phone #.

Anonymous said...



More Dads like that needed.

Anonymous said...

15:58
Giggle, giggle.
Gotta love those women " power " groups. Half the time they fail to invite those who really do hold the
upper hand.

Anonymous said...

If you mention Wallin and Duffy you got to mention Harb too
His trial will make duffys seem small potatoes

Anonymous said...

Great Dad.

Anonymous said...

Auroran is mostly up

Anonymous said...

18:26
Most of it got shelved when he resigned with pension intact. And no one has forgotten about him.