Believe what people tell you, because people show you who they are everyday. No need for in-depth analysis, what people do shows you who they are. The actions of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett clearly tell us who he is.  When he and his cronies were saying that Pennsylvania would be like Saudi Arabia, he was not joking. Yes, he was talking about hydraulic fracturing and unconventional natural gas development that has overrun the state, with little to no oversight from the Commonwealth but damn if Corbett isn’t doing his best to codify women’s second class citizen status into the law of the land after callously disrespecting women.

On June 17th, Corbett signed a ban on abortion coverage in health care policies that would be available to purchase in the insurance exchange mandated by Obama’s Affordable Care Act. The funniest part of this is that the controlling GOP majority in Harrisburg doesn’t even want to run the exchange and the governor is in discussions with U.S Health and Human Services to have the feds run it.

Right.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania legislative director Andy Hoover said the law is different from past abortion regulations.

“This is a new frontier in restricting women’s health care in Pennsylvania, the state has never before prohibited a private insurance company from covering abortion for a private customer when the customer pays with their own money.”

Hoover said the federal health care law already requires separate abortion coverage payments.

Corbett has been mucking things up in Harrisburg since 2010, when he rode in on the coattails of the tea party hysteria. He’s well known to Pennsylvanian’s as being a stooge, but he became infamous nationally last year when he came under fire for supporting the Orwellian “Women’s Right to Know Act” which would mandate transvaginal ultrasounds for women before termination of her pregnancy. One of the most restrictive anti-abortion bills in the country, Corbett opined that a women could “just close her eyes” during her state sanctioned rape. The vote on the bill was postponed.

Corbett’s action further eroding women’s reproductive choices comes on the heels of a monumental shame for Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth’s draconian record on choice is well documented (You know that case Planned Parenthood v. Casey that’s always referenced? Bob Casey was our awful conservative Democratic governor back in the day and father to current Senator Bob Casey jr., who is also awful on reproductive justice!)

But the trial of Philadelphia back ally butcher Kermit Gosnell clearly showed that choice in Pennsylvania is on paper only. Gosnell is an expert opportunist who preyed on women with limited economic choices who were seeking second trimester and later term abortions. He was convicted of multiple murders, including the death of Karnamaya Mongar, a 41-year-old grandmother.

“Mongar’s daughter testified that her mother had been turned away from two abortion clinics in Virginia, where she lived, as well as one in Washington, D.C., because none of them did second trimester abortions. She was 15 weeks pregnant when she started seeking an abortion, and 19 weeks by the time she died”

Late term abortions and the Gosnell’s of the world are what happens when women are unable to access health care early in pregnancy, when most abortions are safely performed with few, if any, complications. When abortion is restricted this is what happens. We know this is what happens, because this is what happened pre Roe v. Wade. This is what happens now in the developing world. Why the hell is it happening in Pennsylvania? Corbett has blood on his hands. The take away from the Gosnell shit show should have been “Make sure all women, especially the most vulnerable, can safely access the full range of reproductive services as early as possible.”

Make no mistake abortion in Pennsylvania is an actual choice only for those who are affluent enough to jump through all the hoops to access it.

There is hope on the horizon. Corbett faces an uphill battle for re-election next year.  Surprise suprise, his predilection to blame everyone but himself for Pennsylvania’s lackluster job creation has gotten him into hot water. Apparently “a lot” of businesses are still having trouble filling their ranks because too many Pennsylvanians use illegal drugs. And asked if he had any Latinos as staffers, he remarked “If you could find us one, let me know.”  Iwon’t even get into is role as AG and the Sandusky investigation. Or lack thereof.

His favorable numbers are in the tank and according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll two Democratic challengers would beat him by a wide margin. One of those challengers is U.S. Representative Allyson Schwartz and if elected, she would be PA’s first woman to hold the office. She also would bring her experience running the Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center, a Planned Parenthood clinic, to Harrisburg.  Wouldn’t it be exciting to actually have an expert in public health putting forward health policy that is informed and accurate? I’m stoked.

The campaign season will not be kind to Corbett but you know what? I’m sure if he just closes his eyes, it’ll all be over soon.

Photo Credit: Paul Weaver via Creative Common

“Our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.”*  During his State of the Union Address, President Obama again reiterated his economic equality message that he eloquently spoke about in his inaugural address and on the campaign trail. His intent is clear. Congress should vote to pass and implement the Paycheck Fairness Act.

The Paycheck Fairness Act builds upon the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and closes loopholes in the 1963 Equal Pay Act.  And while not a panacea, it is another tool at a worker’s disposal to challenge income disparity in the workplace itself while putting employers on notice that it’s no longer socially and culturally acceptable to pay women less for the same exact work.

The act would make it easier for those who are the targets of wage discrimination to address the issue, while allowing employees to disclose salary information with co-workers without fear of retaliation. The key bit is that employers would be required to show that any wage discrepancies are based on genuine business requirements and are related to specific characteristics of the position that are not based on the employee’s sex.

The empirical evidence is clear.  Women earned 77 cents for each dollar earned by a man, while the corresponding ratios were 61 cents for African-American women and 52 cents for Hispanic women as compared to wages of white males. There is ample empirical evidence that shows that women, despite degrees, experience, and qualifications are underpaid compared to men at every point in our lives and that the wage gap has us loosing $400,000 over a lifetime of work!

Passing this bill will not be easy. It’s been introduced and defeated a number of times in the past but we need to keep advocating and talking about how this impacts us.  Paycheck fairness is not just a ‘women’s issue’ but an economic issue that effects the bottom line of every household in our country. More and more, women head households and are the main breadwinners.

The social and cultural shift the Paycheck Fairness Act would provide cannot be underestimated. It would send a clear signal that women’s work is valuable and necessary. And that we expect to be compensated equally for our equal  time and effort.  Work that women perform is not a click above volunteering and a few clicks below the ‘real’ work that men do. The amount a woman loses to the pay gap could feed a family of four for 37 years.

Conservatives like to repeat the myths that women ‘chose’ lower paying careers and jobs and also ‘opt out’ of the workforce to perform caretaking roles. The evidence clearly shows though that at every step along her career, she will earn less. The pay gap starts early. One year out of college, women make 82 cents for every dollar earned by their male peers for doing similar work. A woman’s pay, on average, stops growing when she turns 39. For men, wage growth doesn’t stop until age 48.

National Women’s Law Center has a great myth and facts guide on the act along with other resources. Pass this stuff on.

Pen this in. April 9, 2013  pay equity day. This day symbolizes how long a woman must work in 2013 to earn equal what a man was given in 2012.  Keep talking about the Paycheck Fairness Act.  Call and write to your Congresscritters and tell them how this bill affects you personally.  Let’s keep the pressure on for another win for workers!

* Yes, I hope President Obama reframes this important message, but I think his intent is meant well and made in good faith.

For a country that built its reputation on the storied rugged individualist, its laws sure as hell don’t match the rhetoric.

Are single people discriminated against? According to evidence out there, American singles take a financial hit on income taxes, health care costs, social security, and IRA choices to name a few. And it goes without saying that unmarried women take a bigger financial hit due to the wage gap than their single male counterparts.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against marriage. It’s come a long way from being a mere contractual obligation to one of spending your life with, presumably, a love match. But it’s not for everyone. In 2011, the Census Bureau announced that married couples in the United States are in the minority for the first time.

At what point do we view these laws and company policies as archaic? Currently, the laws do not help the majority of Americans succeed financially, so why are they still around? Are we anticipating that the single trend will reverse? Perhaps there is no clear answers, but I think a part is that we all on some level, without question, accept that it’s better to be married than not. Tradition, culture, family, and nostalgia push us to seek coupledom, though more and more, people are cohabiting or living alone.

Arnold and Campbell in their wonderful and jaw dropping article “The High Price of Being Single” crunch the numbers on a hypothetical single women making $40,000 a year for 40 years. She will pay $245,000 in taxes compared to her married sister in the same scenario who will pay $209,000 in taxes! The joint return penalizes singles.

They then take the same hypothetical women making 40K and compare health care costs. The singleton spent $189,600 over 60 years and the married spent $165,600 over the same time. A single woman would fall further behind if she becomes disabled.

Additionally, single people have no death benefit that would go to someone. Singles should have a choice to who their social security benefits go to when they die. It shouldn’t be put back into the general pool.  Why can’t a sibling, niece or nephew, or friend be the beneficiary? Just because someone isn’t married doesn’t mean they don’t have family or caretaker obligations.

And single people have less choice when it comes to  IRA’s, including but not limited to, being unable to list another person on the IRA and being hit with required minimum distributions that married folks can dodge. If a single person has a health issue that requires her to withdraw money early, she will also loose 10% of the withdrawal amount while marrieds do not incur that cost.

The shape of our households has changed and continues to change. We’ve known this for years. Our laws need to keep up with the times. Marriage is no longer the bedrock of American society, and it’s a shame that some will get angry or sad or nostalgic about that statement of fact because we need to get past that emotional response to tackle this structural inequality. Unfortunately, little organizing has occurred around this issue. Part of the reason is that there are many types of singletons: single parents, cohabitators, and unmarried and childfree.

Everyone should agree to end the privileging of marriage. It’s kind of shocking that there isn’t more outrage given that Americans who do marry, do so later in life. That means more time as a single person loosing money, which ultimately mean bringing less economic resources to the marriage.  And even if you are married now, you lost out on money when you were single and who knows, you may be single again someday.

If we can agree that the ‘solution’ is not to get married, that’s a really good start.  There are enough awful unions out there already. Let’s not bribe people into bad relationships thinking that it will solve money problems. It’s not smart and we can do better.

Photo Credit: donbuciak via Compfight cc.

Another year is winding down and in 2012 we successfully staved off the reactionary right wing’s war on women and common sense. Women re-elected President Obama in staggering numbers and instead of playing defense, it’s time to move the ball down the court.  Here, in no particular order, are 13 policy priorities I’d like to see addressed in 2013.

1. Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. This would be a fantastic accomplishment for Congress to end the year on. The fact that VAWA is now seen as partisan issue truly shows that the Republicans are a fringe regional party.
2. Effective gun control legislation: I’m happy to see the President’s task force, but am a wee bit skeptical. Concrete regulations and policy recommendations need to be drafted, stat, before our collective attention gets taken over by the next fire that needs putting out.
3. Over-the-counter birth control: Hey, France allows 15-18 year old girls to buy birth control over-the-counter without parental notification. It’s almost like France recognizes that girls are individuals who don’t always have adults in their lives that are working for her best interests.  Even GOP Governor Bobby Jindal made a case for this. Looks like this issue may be low-hanging fruit.
4. Repeal the Hyde Amendment: A draconian amendment made by an obtuse man decades ago that keeps getting renewed by other obtuse and out-of-touch individuals.   The ladies won the election for Obama and the Senate Democrats. Time to push forward and end this bit of stupidity.
5. Subsidized child care: The cognitive dissonance of the forced pregnancy crowd never ceases to amaze me. Got to have those kids but who takes care of them and pays the exorbitant costs while mom works a not- so -spectacularly paying job?
6. Entitlements for stay- at -home moms: Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Every quarter a woman takes off to raise her kids is one where she is not paying into Social Security. Time to put our money where our mouth is. If being a mom is the most important job in the world we need to our society to officially recognize that and give SAHM’s a basic safety net when their time in need inevitably comes.
7. Equal pay: I’m very happy that the Lilly Ledbetter Act is law, but it isn’t enough. Let’s get serious about this issue which negatively affects the bottom line of almost every household in the country.
8. Push again for a public option in health care: The Affordable Care Act state exchanges are going live soon. Awesome. It’s working pretty well in Massachusetts. But there are still gaps. A public option and actual universal, government run health care is the answer. It’s less expensive and less cumbersome for American consumers/citizens.
9. Make anti-stalking laws stronger: This is an issue where state legislatures can really make tangible, meaningful change quickly.
10. Rewrite rape laws: Because if we don’t, the Paul Ryan’s of the world will continue to try. And why be on defense when we can get out in front? Again, there’s a lot we can do on the state level to make some positive change.
11. Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) moratoriums: This is quite possibly the biggest energy, public health, and economic issue that faces our country and unless one of the big energy companies has set up shop in your town most people are blissfully unaware of the natural gas industry’s impact.   Big congratulations to New York State activists for advocating and getting a moratorium on drilling against an industry that is hell-bent on continuing to operate in secrecy and without normal federal oversight. Again, this issue is being decided at the municipal and state level. The chemicals that are being pumped into our soil, water, and air affect our health and well-being.  This is a public health and environmental crisis in the making that can no longer be ignored.
12. More federal funding for alternative energy sources development: Oh hey, did you know that for a decade, federal money—our tax dollars—were given for research and development for fracking? Yeah, let’s keep doing R&D but for photovoltaics and wind turbines and all that. Wouldn’t it be nice to actually be energy independent and not rely on fossil fuels?
13. Foreign policy focused on women’s security worldwide. Put the book “Sex and World Peace” on your reading list. It is chalk full of empirical evidence that shows micro-level gender violence and macro-level state peacefulness are connected. Or more plainly stated, the personal is the political. P.S. I’m going to miss Hillary as Secretary of State and I might just send a copy of the book to John Kerry’s office.

There it is. I’m sure I’ve missed many more important issues that need to be worked on in 2013 and please leave them in the comments. And one more thing for you to think about and act on in 2013, a New Year’s resolution, perhaps? Start working on running for office. It’s easier than you think. School boards, township commissions, city councils, and your state legislatures need you. These policy initiatives are bread and butter issues that get minimized or ignored because they are seen as “women’s issues.” Electing forward-thinking feminist women to all levels of government helps make sure that common sense legislation sees the light of day and is enacted.

Photo credit: SimonWhitaker via photopin cc

As an unabashed Pittsburgh Steelers fan living deep in enemy territory going on a decade now, I’m used to getting insufferable emails, Facebook posts, and tweets from friends who are unfortunately, New England Patriots fans. I still love my misguided friends despite this complete lapse in judgement.

When I opened my email last week from one of these misguided souls, I was expecting some article slamming the Steelers for their recent embarrassing loss to the Cleveland Browns or some listicle about the wonders of Troy Polamalu’s hair. But it was a link to Public Policy Polling’s annual NFL poll on America’s favorite N.F.L. teams and quarterbacks.

To my delight, 8% of respondents polled said the Steelers were their favorite team while only 6% went for the Pats. (Cowboys and Packers at 12%? Whatever.) I was ready to write a snarky reply to my friend about this gem of empirical information till I got to the last paragraph.

“Michael Vick continues to easily be the least popular NFL QB. 27% pick him to 15% for Ben Roethelisberger. No one else hits double digits on that front”  This gave me a bigger aneurysm than watching the Steelers loose to the Raiders in week three!

Here we go again. Michael Vick, convicted dog abuser, is the least liked quarterback in the N.F.L. while Ben Roethlisberger, accused serial rapist, comes in trailing at second place.   Nothing ticks me off more than people who minimize or apologize for Ben Roethlisberger’s violent behavior against women.

Here’s a quick refresher. Vick was convicted in 2007 of running a dog fighting ring and served 23 months in Federal prison and served three years of probation. He also had to apply to the N.F.L. Commissioner for reinstatement to play. Vick was suspended indefinitely by the league when he was convicted.

Roethlisberger was accused by a hostess at a Lake Tahoe hotel-casino of rape that occurred in 2008. In 2009 she filed a civil suit against him, rather than a criminal suit because she claimed she was afraid of being fired. The suit was settled out of court.

Not long after, a 20 year- old college student in Georgia accused him of rape. According to the investigation file, the young woman was drunk and claimed that Roethlisberger  followed her to a bar bathroom where the rape occurred. The victim’s friend’s statement  to police, said the victim was dragged to the VIP section of the bar by Roethlisberger’s ‘bodyguards.’  The women tried to go check on their friend but were blocked from the bathroom by members of Roethlisberger’s entourage, which included two off duty police officers.

The local district attorney did not file charges against Rothlisberger ‘because of the inability to prove that a crime was committed.”  There was too little DNA evidence and the young woman dropped the charges because “a criminal trial would be a very intrusive personal experience” and “a public trial would not at all be in her best interest as she goes forward in her life.” according to her statement through her attorney.

Roethlisberger was suspended for six games (reduced to four) under the NFL’s personal conduct policy for the start of the 2010 season. Pittsburgh company PLB Sports terminated a five-year contract with Roethlisberger as well.

In the two years since Ben got his slap on the wrist  and chastised to “grow up” he’s gone on a holy-roller repentance tour, married his ex-girlfriend, and become a father. Swell.

I am repulsed by Vick’s horrific actions against dogs and I do believe that he rightly went to prison for his indefensible behavior.  But there is something wrong with a society that on the continuum of morally outrageous conduct, dog fighting is somehow a worse offense than hurting women.

And yes, Roethlisberger was never convicted of rape. But guess what? There are a whole bunch of Roman Catholic priests walking around free who will never be convicted of rape either, let’s not pretend it’s because those guys are innocent too. Systemic change to our laws on how rape cases are prosecuted needs to happen, no doubt. But may I humbly suggest that first we need some righteous anger and a change in mentality that puts the well-being of human women before that of animals?

Image credit Wolfgang Staudt via the Creative Commons License.

The horrific and preventable death of Savita Halappanavar due to septicemia from a miscarriage at Galway University Hospital in Ireland made me once again shake my head in appalling astonishment. Why didn’t licensed health professionals provide Savita an emergency abortion as she requested? The tone deaf response continues to ring in my ears:  “Ireland is a Catholic country”

The early lessons from childhood can be difficult to unlearn. I was raised in a Roman Catholic household and learned from a young age that men, irrespective if they actually have the skill set, are leaders. Men lead the church, men lead the community, and men lead the family. Only men have direct line to god. Catholics confess their sins to a male priest, who then through his connection with the divine, can dole out the appropriate penance. Women exist to serve.  This outdated worldview came into direct conflict with women’s continued inclusion and influence in the social, economic, and political mainstream. As a response the Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) was founded in 1975 to ordain women as priests, deacons and bishops into an inclusive and accountable Catholic church. The long-term goals of the WOC are heady:

Renew church governance to be inclusive, accountable and transparent;
Bring about justice and equality for Catholic women; and
Incorporate women-centered theologies into every-day Catholicism.

I abandoned Roman Catholic teachings as a teen and never looked back. Let’s just say I found Catholic doctrine limiting and leave it at that. Indeed, I don’t identify with any religious or spiritual group. I also do not care much for atheist, agnostic, or other humanist communities. If I had my way, I’d never want to talk about spirituality, believers, non-believers or anything connected to faith or the divine ever again.

Until now.

Abortion laws in Ireland need to be updated. No doubt. But laws are not enough. In the United States abortion rights have been curtailed to a level that Roe v. Wade is effectively meaningless for poor and working class American women attempting to access the services.

The law changed almost 40 years ago but our society’s thinking and feeling hasn’t. We need to change the how spirit of the law is interpreted so that the letter of the law can be carried out effectively. And one way to do that is to support women’s ordination. Catholic women need to be seen as moral thought leaders. Catholic girls and boys should learn that women can lead and are moral agents and experts of their own lives.

In Jodi Jacobson’s recent on-point post addressing conception and what it all means, her line “The issue of ‘personhood’  is a theological and personal rather than medical or scientific question” really gets to the crux of this matter. Imagine a world where female Catholic bishops and priests have a seat at the table and are looked to for leadership and as experts in attempting to answer that question. Imagine a world where women priests and bishops had a hand in editing the next encyclical letter on Humane Vitae.

Being seen as a leader, being taught that women can lead is powerful, make no mistake. It’s one reason why the Catholic hierarchy is dead-set against allowing women anywhere near the altar. But the Catholic Church is also a political construct. Vatican II happened. It was real and it changed the hierarchy just enough to allow it to survive and remain relevant in the 20^th century.

Roman Catholicism is one of the largest transnational religions in the world. What happened to Savita has been and will continue to repeat its tragic outcomes in countries in every part of the globe where Catholicism is practiced.  Catholic women’s ordination is a necessary part, though not a silver bullet, to help to create a culture where women’s lives have meaning outside of being an auxiliary to men. And to be clear, I don’t think that all women clergy would be social justice warriors. I’m sure a Sarah Palinesque priest or three would get access to the pulpit as well.

I’m an empiricist. I accept and deny assertions based on provable facts. I do not believe that pregnancy and childbirth are miracles. To me, both are pretty mundane—we know the mechanics, we simply refuse to fully teach accurate sexual health information. I also accept that so long as there are questions unanswerable to humans, religion is one way that some people choose to fill in the gaps of knowledge. Women are needed as priests and bishops in the Catholic Church. When Catholic women are recognized and accepted by the Catholic Church as leaders all women and men will benefit.

Image credit joltgen via the Creative Commons License.

During the Presidential town hall debate last week, Katherine Fenton, a 24 year old pre-K teacher asked a question about the wage-gap to the candidates: “In what new ways do you intend to rectify inequalities in the workplace? Specifically regarding females making only 72 percent of what their male counterparts earn.” As was reported last week, the right immediately attempted to vilify Fenton as an ultra-radical man-hating leftist for daring to ask the question.

Irin Carmon from Salon.com interviewed Fenton the next day and found out that Fenton, as the title of her article plainly states, is “absolutely not a feminist.” Fenton went on to explain, “I’m a 24-year-old woman that lives in the United States and feels like I should be treated the same as anyone else. That makes me a normal human being.”

I admit I was saddened but not completely surprised by Fenton’s statement. I reckon we all have stories about women who clearly espouse and live the values of feminism; women recognized as leaders and visionaries in their professions and the wider community who don’t use the word ‘feminist’ to describe themselves.  (Ahem, Marissa Mayer).

But it is nice to have a woman think matter-of-factly that the wage gap is everyone’s issue. Together, women and men need to solve this problem that detrimentally effects over half of population and reaches all Americans who rely on women to head or contribute to household earnings. It is not merely a ‘woman’s problem’ talked about in pink sections of the newspaper, but now put front and center with the ‘real’ political issues.

Does the label ‘feminist’ matter? The struggle for equality continues and for those of us fighting in the trenches it can seem like the ultimate betrayal. Shunning by another woman who, without the efforts of feminist women and men before her wouldn’t be able to vote or work, let alone ask a question at a presidential debate.

But if women like Fenton are being raised to put themselves first and see themselves as human, hasn’t feminism, in this instance, succeeded? This is a win! If a woman doesn’t identify with movement feminism but clearly gets the message that she’s entitled to equality of opportunity, wages, bodily autonomy et cetera, then why should we fuss over semantics? Feminists got the message out and the majority of people agree that the political, economic and social equality of the sexes is the way forward.

Let me be clear, I’d love it if every person, male or female, whose actions are without a doubt feminist, would identify as such. But they don’t. If anything, I think American women who do not choose to use the word “feminist” have that perplexing American quality that they achieved everything on their own by hoisting their bootstraps. It is disingenuous,  not to mention majorly annoying, that women who do not identify as feminists , at a minimum, do not recognize the struggles that were fought by feminists (and are still fighting) so they are allowed the full opportunities to participate and succeed in society.

I made a personal decision years ago regarding a friend of mine who does not identify as a feminist but clearly has her professional position due to the work of feminist women and men a generation before her.  She has spent over 20 years being a leader in her field and mentors her junior colleagues and spends hours volunteering her time to help sustain domestic violence shelters. She is clearly a feminist and I told her that she was.  She did not agree. I decided that I would not to force a label on her that she does not agree accurately describes her.  It is absolutely clear to me by her actions that she is a feminist whether she uses the word or not.

Men and women who do not want women’s equality have done a great job vilifying the word ‘feminist’ and turning it into a pejorative, no doubt.  And indeed, some of feminism’s biggest critics wouldn’t even have a job, let alone a voice was it not for the movement. (I want to start a blog called “Unintentional Consequences of Feminism.” Sarah Palin and Ann Coulter would be the poster-ladies!)

Feminists may debate on if or how to reclaim the f-word, but the message of feminism –of the common humanity of women– got out years ago and it’s a winner. We’re not there yet, but we will get there. With or without our people who use the word.

Photo credit garryknight via the Creative Commons License.

The first International Day of the Girl has come and gone and I’m very excited that international agencies, non-governmental organizations, governments, and community leaders are yelling from the rooftops that girls can and are changing the world. As a former girl myself, I totally agree! There’s an old saying ‘when you educate a girl, you educate a family.’ It seems self-explanatory, right? Women are overwhelmingly likely to be the first educators to their own children. And indeed, the empirical evidence shows there is a direct correlation to the educational attainment of women and a nation’s improved gross domestic product (GDP) as well as a host of other improved social and health outcomes.

But don’t take my word for it. Consider these tangible benefits from girl-child education:

• Greater participation in the work force and increased family incomes: for each additional year a girl is in school, her wages as an adult rise by approximately 15 percent.
• Greater chance that their own children will be educated: children whose mothers have no education are more than twice as likely to be out of school as children whose mothers have some education.
• Girl education is linked to higher productivity; higher returns to investment; higher agricultural yields; and an improved demographic structure. The economic growth that results from higher education supports continued investments in education and extends the gains to human capital and productivity. The impact is felt not only in women’s lifetimes, but also in the health, education and productivity of future generations.
• Girls with higher levels of schooling are less likely to marry as children. In Mozambique, some 60 percent of girls with no education are married by 18, compared to 10 percent of girls with secondary schooling and less than one percent of girls with higher education.
• Educating adolescent girls has been a critical factor in increasing the age of marriage in a number of developing countries, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.
• Improved family planning.
• Lower infant mortality: every day over 2,700 children under the age of five will die needlessly because their mothers were denied an education earlier in life.
• Fewer maternal deaths in childbirth.
• Lower HIV/AIDS infection rates: rates are doubled among young people who do not finish primary school.

Girls have an inalienable right to education. Education is better for them, and it’s better for our world. Girls’ education contributes to economic growth; educated mothers increase human capital through their influence on the health, education and nutrition of their children; education improves a family’s economic prospects by improving women’s qualifications and skills; and education improves reproductive health.

Why then are only 30% of girls worldwide in secondary school? There are many reason, including child marriage, school fees that are too high, and the sexist belief that girls do not need an education in the same way that boys do.

Ingrained sexism held up by the columns of tradition and culture will be the hardest to overcome. I’m excited that he Ford Foundation will spend 25 million dollars over the next five years focusing on reducing child marriage rates in Nigeria, Egypt, India and Central America, working with local nonprofits and civic leaders in those countries.

But how do we, long term, change the hearts and minds of people about the common humanity of girls and women?  I think one of the reasons that girl-child education is not given the weight it deserves, besides taking on deep-rooted cultural beliefs and traditions, is because girls grow up to be women. And too many societies, including our own, are invested in limiting the voice and power of women.

The evidence is clear but the political will is still slow to muster.

The path to sustained growth and strong emerging economy is tied directly to the education of girls. Sarah Moore Grimke the 19^th century American abolitionist and women’s right’s activist famously wrote, “All I ask of our brethren is, that they will take their feet from off our necks and permit us to stand upright on that ground which God destined us to occupy.”

It’s well past time to lift the burdens of tradition and culture off of girls so they can help us be the change we need.

Photo credit DFID-UK for International Development via the Creative Commons License.

Are you registered to vote in November? Are your friends and family? Do you know where your polling place is?  With just over 40 days till Election Day 2012, the deadlines for voter registration and absentee ballots are fast approaching. It’s even more important this year to be properly registered and, unfortunately, depending on the state, to make sure you have the correct photo ID when you show up to the polls.

Your vote does count.  Consider some recent voter stats from previous elections.  During the 2008 election, voter turnout increased by 5 million people. Women vote at a higher rate than men, 66 percent to 62 percent, respectively.  Additionally, voters 18-24 were the only age group to show a statistically significant increase in turnout, reaching 49 percent in 2008 compared with 47 percent in 2004.  African-Americans had the highest turnout rate among 18-24 year old voters–55 percent, an 8 percent increase from 2004. The increased turnout among certain demographic groups was offset by stagnant or decreased turnout among other groups.

In the 2010 election cycle, people who came out to vote for the President in 2008 stayed home. Retrograde tea party candidates, who are anti-choice and deny that a pay gap exists and are generally anti- equality of all stripes were elected to both chambers of Congress.

The message from the data is clear. When women and minority voters don’t show up on Election Day, our voices are lost nationally from the office of the President down the ticket to our state representatives and local city and town officials.  Our issues lose.  As an example, EMILY’s List has a great round up of the Republican War on Women from January 2011-July 2012.  If women and minority voters are registered and we show up to our polling places or cast an absentee ballot, President Obama wins a second term.

Polls have shown Mitt Romney draws support from the affluent and white men. In the past, that would be enough to win an election. But the days of the “Southern Strategy” are coming to an end. Even Republican strategist admit that 2012 may be the last presidential cycle where they can shamelessly pander to the white male voter.

Make no mistake, despite the gaffes and major missteps by Governor Romney and his campaign, election 2012 will be close. And outrageous voter ID laws are in effect in many states to specifically repress the vote of traditionally Democratic leaning voters. Indeed, Pennsylvania Republican legislator Mike Turzai was infamously caught on video declaring at a Republican state committee meeting in June that Pennsylvania’s new and hastily put together voter ID law–which is thankfully being reviewed by the Commonwealth Court per a ruling from PA’s supreme court–would “allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania” and it 20 electoral votes.  Between 100,000 and 500,000 Pennsylvanians may be disenfranchised in a state that has voted for the Democratic Presidential candidate in the past five elections.  Additionally, women face an additional burden to vote in PA as well. Married or divorced women who have changed their name must present two forms of identification: the state voter ID issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation AND a separate government-issued ID or driver’s license!

We know the stakes are high this election year. You know how you are going to vote, and your friends probably know how they are voting as well. Now it’s a matter of getting out the vote and arriving at our polling place. If you’ve recently moved, or didn’t vote in your last local or state election, make sure you are still registered and ask your friends to double-check their status as well. That can be as simple as a phone call or email the election division in your city or town. If you have a car, start a car pool and ask people if they need rides to the polls on Election Day. If you are able, consider taking election day off  of work or school to make phone calls on behalf of Democratic campaigns to people who are registered by have not yet cast their ballot on Election Day.

Our voters are out there, it’s up to us to make sure we are registered and show up!

Photo credit bjmccray via the Creative Commons License.

There are a few lessons we can take away from Rep. Todd Akin’s (R-MO) recent outrageous remarks, the first being that you can lack total empathy and be mind-numbingly dense, yet still somehow be an elected official crafting legislation in Congress in 2012.  Another is that many Americans truly don’t understand how and where babies come from. Millions of Americans are parents to multiple children, they have been pregnant themselves and given birth. How many of us though, could explain how human reproduction works, beyond saying that a lady and a guy have sexual intercourse?

I reckon that if put up to the task, a random American on the street could not explain step-by-step ovulation, production of sperm, fertilization, and implantation of the zygote in the uterus and the subsequent stages of pregnancy and childbirth. Isn’t it odd that we can put people on the moon, yet we can’t accurately describe how we reproduce ourselves?

Americans can no longer be in the dark about how our own bodies function. It’s too dangerous. We continue to have important policy discussion about health care, which rightly includes sexual health.  Americans–including our elected officials–are making critical decisions that affect us all, based on urban legends, half truths, and pseudo-science. Sadly and hilariously, Rush Limbaugh insinuated during one of his harangues about Sandra Fluke in March that each time a woman has sex, she has to take a contraceptive pill. Unfortunately, too many Americans are getting their sex education on the playground during recess from people like Limbaugh.

Education, health, and sexuality are linked. American children have a right to a free public education which includes health education; sex education is a vital part of health curriculum. Comprehensive sex education is important for everyone, including groups particularly at risk, such as teens exposed to domestic violence. Additionally, the threats of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS are often left behind in the debate about sex education in America because there is a tendency to focus solely on intercourse and pregnancy prevention. While a focus on unwanted pregnancy is necessary it takes away from other discussion including those around oral sex and STD prevention. According to a recent analysis from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “Although there has never been data to support it, there has been the perception that many teens engage in oral sex as a ‘risk-free’ alternative to intercourse. But the CDC analysis shows that sexually active young people are likely to engage in both activities.”

Americans should expect more. Whether we admit it or not, we are keeping scientific facts from our children and providing information that is at best, half of the story or just downright inaccurate.

According to the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) “for over twenty years the federal government has sunk millions of taxpayer dollars into abstinence- only- until- marriage programs. These programs often replace more comprehensive sexuality education courses and rarely provide information on even the most basic topics in human sexuality such as puberty, reproductive anatomy, and sexual health, and they have never been proven effective.”

The SIECUS convened a task force which brought together experts in the field; they identified six key concept areas for inclusion in sex education programs: human development, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture.

Here are some scary stats on what is being taught in our classrooms now: 86 percent of all high schools taught abstinence as the most effective way to avoid pregnancy and STDs; 82 percent taught about risks associated with multiple partners; 77 percent taught about human development topics (such as reproductive anatomy and puberty); 79 percent taught about dating and relationships; 65 percent taught about condom efficacy; 69 percent taught about marriage and commitment; 48 percent taught about sexual identity and sexual orientation; and 39 percent taught students how to correctly use a condom.

This is not acceptable and we can do better.

We have a road map for a successful, evidence-based,  inclusive, age appropriate, and accurate sex education curriculum. Now, we have to have the courage to get our politics out of our science. If we don’t, we run the risk of another generation of Americans living in the dark, unable to be an expert on their own bodies. And unfortunately, the willfully misinformed and undereducated will continue attempting  to force their own incompetence and misunderstanding on your body.

Photo Credit Horia Varlan via the Creative Commons License.