As you can see, providing paid parental leave – as all of our country peers do – benefits everyone. Not just moms and babies, but dads and employers too. If everyone wins, why aren’t we doing it?

For more information on the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you can go here.

And please contact your legislator about this issue! As the graphic shows, family friendly societies benefit us all.

Thanks to What to Expect and the Partnership for Women and Families for the infographic.

This year women will be denied an average of $11,000 in wages. Not because of anything women will do, but simply because we are women. At a time when so many are struggling financially, denying a worker her full pay seems especially egregious.

For most of us, $11,000 is a lot of money. If I had that much extra money given (back) to me, I would pay off my credit card, put some in savings, and probably take a vacation or attend a conference. I might also take that photography class I keep talking about, finally learn Photoshop, and donate to some of my favorite charities (I’m looking at you DC Abortion Fund). Regardless, this is $11,000 that would largely go back into the economy.

This $11,000 a year comes out to roughly 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. It needs to be pointed out though, that 77 cents is an average, and that it is actually worse for women of color. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) reports that, ”Among full-time workers in 2012, Hispanic, Latina, and African American women had lower median weekly earnings compared with white and Asian American women. The gap was largest for Hispanic and Latina women, who were paid only 59 percent of what white men were paid in 2012.”

We can all agree that it’s not fair, for any women to earn less than their male counterparts, and that something should be done about it, but we can’t seem to agree on exactly what needs to be done. In the meantime, women will continue to earn less for the same work. Which also means that we will have less to retire with, which becomes even more of a problem when you consider that women live longer than men.

Here are two things I think we should do. First, get Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 377/ S. 84). It’s common sense legislation to combat wage discrimination and narrow the wage gap. Second, support and join a union. As the NWLC states, “Women workers who are union members earn higher wages and experience a 37 percent smaller gender wage gap than women workers who are not represented by unions.” Not to mention union workers get health insurance and retirement security. If you’re not in a position to join a union right now, you can still support them, which helps everyone since states with strong union representation have higher wages for everyone.

For more information on equal pay and the wage gap, check out this NWLC resource page.

(cross-posted at Daily Kos)

I don’t have a personal story to tell. I’ve never experienced an unintended pregnancy, and the women I know who have were all able to afford the procedure on their own. In some ways, this isn’t really my fight. While I am far from rich, I still have the means at my disposal to access my reproductive choices. I have a savings account, credit cards, and friends who would likely help if needed. In this respect, I am very fortunate.

By being to able to afford my own abortion, I will never have to call a helpline and ask for money. I will never to have to pawn items that I love, or delay payment on something else, like the power bill or birthday presents for loved ones. I have never been good at asking for help, and the thought of asking for money, just in the abstract as I write this, is daunting. My family struggled financially when I was growing up, especially when I was young. I will never forget the tension that permeated our home. Not being able to provide for your family is something I would not wish on anyone. It’s nearly impossible to to avoid feeling like a failure when you can’t give your children the things they need, and some extras simply because you love them. Unfortunately, this happens to a lot of families.

If you missed the chart that showed how many hours worked it takes someone making minimum wage to afford a 2 bedroom home, check it out here. In DC, someone would have to work 132 hours a week. A week. In Maryland, it’s 135 hours, and in Virginia it’s 114. Yes, rent is high in my part of the world, but if you look at the chart, there isn’t anywhere in the country where 40 hours at the minimum wage is enough. Just imagine how much harder things could become if you suddenly find out you’re pregnant, don’t want to be, and now need to find another $400 (roughly the cost of a first trimester abortion, when the vast majority occur). It’s also important to remember that, while this country doesn’t have the greatest safety net, there are services and assistance available for women who choose to continue their pregnancies and either parent or choose adoption. This is not the case for women who choose abortion.

For me, abortion funding is about fairness and bridging the gap to access. Generally speaking, if you can afford it, you can get it. You don’t have to explain your situation to anyone, ask friends for money, or go through any of the hoops that the women who call our helpline do. Now, to be sure, our volunteers are well-trained and incredibly compassionate. No one will ever judge you if you call. We don’t spend time on the “why” part of your situation. We trust you. We’re just here to help you pay for it. It’s one of the guiding tenets of – and one of my favorite things about – DCAF. It can be difficult to deal with an unintended pregnancy when you have the means to realize your choice. No one should have to go through additional trials just to make her own choice a reality. That’s why I support DCAF.

To my Facebook friends, Twitter followers and people on my email list, my apologies for the constant posts and messages. But this matters a lot to me. I hope you will consider helping out.

(Friend tip: once you donate, I take you off my email list. Just sayin.’)

It’s finally here! Tonight is the Young Women of Achievement Awards! In addition to the brilliant comedy of our emcee Liz Chadderdon, and a much anticipated keynote address from Cecile Richards, we will honor 48 of DC’s best and brightest young women. It’s a truly inspiring night. If you haven’t gotten your ticket yet, you can purchase them at the door. Details below.

Carnegie Institute of Washington
1530 P St NW Washington, DC

Doors Open: 6:00
Networking Reception 6:30
Awards Ceremony 7:30
Attire: Business Casual

For more on YWA and its general awesomeness, check out my post at Daily Kos and Spike the Watercooler.

Thanks to Upworthy and TPM for making the video available.

I was raised to be anti-choice, or as I called it at the time, pro-life. While we weren’t terribly observant, we were Catholic, and that surely fueled at least part of that identity. We never talked about it though. I just knew I was pro-life, and truly saw abortion as the murder of a life, or at least a potential one. It wasn’t until I got older that I began to really think about what it meant to be pro-choice.

It wasn’t a revolutionary moment. I just started thinking about how far away a person’s decision to have sex can be from their decision to parent, or become pregnant. I also thought about all of the other things that come into play if a woman decides to continue with her pregnancy. Her job and how compatible it may be with any complications, her income, her support system, her health, and frankly her desire to go through with it. We can get on board with allowing abortion in cases in which a woman’s life is in danger, and most support a woman’s right to an abortion if she is struggling and seemingly unable to parent. But what about the woman who just doesn’t want kids? And doesn’t want to be pregnant? What if she’s perfectly healthy, financially secure and capable enough to parent well, but she just doesn’t want to? What if she once thought she might, but doesn’t now? What if she never wanted to be a mom? To some, that’s not a good enough reason. To me, that’s the logical conclusion of allowing women to be fully autonomous human beings, and plenty reason. It may not be the strongest justification politically to allow the right to abortion, but to me it’s the best. It strips away all extenuating circumstances and focuses solely on a woman’s right to decide for herself how her future should look. This is the situation with no other reason to support abortion rights, and reproductive rights more generally, except that we trust women. In this situation, the only concern is the woman’s right to determine her reproductive destiny. And if we see women as fellow citizens, as full human beings with agency, then we must allow for a woman’s sole desire to control her own body and its consequences for her future to be reason enough to choose whichever path she wants, including abortion.

Once we can do this, once we can strip away the sad and tragic situations as the only acceptable reasons to keep abortion accessible (or what passes for accessibility these days), and accept simply a woman’s decision as cause enough, we will also strip away the stigma. One in three women will have an abortion at some point in her life. This is an experience that so many women share, yet they all-too-often feel ashamed about it. That’s the tragedy we never talk about. A woman should not feel shame for making what is often a very difficult decision, but one that she needs to be made. What we have instead, is women feeling ashamed about taking control of their lives. This should not be the case in a country that claims to value the individual and concepts like freedom from government interference. Why does all that stop at the body of a woman?

Once my younger self began to think about all the ways in which my life could irrevocably change simply because of a failure of birth control, I realized how important it was to have all my options available to me. How else can I truly claim individual responsibility?

The Guttmacher Institute states that, over the course of 2012, 42 states and the District of Columbia enacted 122 provisions related to reproductive health and rights. One-third of those, 43 in 19 states, sought to restrict access to abortion services. It’s the second highest number of new abortion restrictions passed in a year (2011 holds that record, with 92 provisions). We are nowhere near a shame-free outlook for women’s reproductive rights, but I’m hopeful that we’ll get there. Last year also saw 20 women elected to Senate, many of whom are pro-choice. Candidates who showed their true, extreme anti-choice views lost to their pro-choice competitors, including at the presidential level. It’s too soon to say if we’ve really turned a corner, but as someone who still believes that the arc of the universe does indeed bend toward justice, I believe that things are getting better.

Happy 40th anniversary, Roe v. Wade.

OK, one more thing: David Sedaris’ Santaland Diaries.

The video is courtesy of the Center for American Progress, featuring women from amazing organizations like WIN, EMILY’s List, NARAL, the National Partnership for Women and Families, and more. And yes, that’s me.

The Center for American Progress also has an analysis of the women’s vote here.

Thanks to Upworthy for sharing. And of course, everyone’s favorite astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson. (I’ve forgiven you for Pluto).

Unfortunately he had to be sworn in at his sons’ hospital bedside. Just weeks after winning his election, his wife, one-year old daughter and two sons were involved in a tragic car accident. His wife and daughter died, and his sons were critically injured. Proving his resilience, Biden soldiered on, commuting every day from Delaware to D.C. The things single dads do…

As we now know, Biden remarried. He married Jill Jacobs, an educator with a Ph.D, in 1977. There is a lot to say and love about our current vice president, but for me it’s his work on behalf of women. And his insatiable tendency to say exactly what he’s thinking. In a town known for talking points and spending an inordinate amount of time saying nothing at all, I find him refreshing.

Here are just a few things I love about Biden, in no particular order:

VAWA
In 1994, then-Senator Biden worked across party lines to write and pass The Violence Against Women Act, the first U.S. federal law that acknowledged domestic violence and sexual assault as crimes. It improved the criminal justice response to violence against women and ensured that victims and their families have access to the services they need to
achieve safety and rebuild their lives.

In related news, this bill needs to be reauthorized. Go here for more information.

VP Debate
If you didn’t watch this, do it now. After a lackluster performance by President Obama, the Happy Warrior delivered a serious smackdown to Rep. Paul Ryan. Some say it may have been a bit much. I say it was brilliant, and just what the campaign needed. Biden did what Biden does best, and he fired up the base. Here’s SNL’s take, but my favorite take on the debate came from Bill Maher via Twitter: “Hello 9 1 1? There’s an old man beating a child on my tv.”

Biden Meets Leslie Knope

Couldn’t agree with Leslie more. VP Biden is precious cargo. Thanks for all you do, Mr. Vice President.

*photo credit: me