March 3, 2012

Yes, there’s a gender war going on in the U.S. It seemed to be on the wane a few years ago. But the radical right, the ultra conservative whomevers… They’ve been gearing up and going all out.

What else would you call a bunch of men deciding that access to birth control doesn’t much matter? The attacks on Planned Parenthood aren’t really about abortion. The attacks are mostly about birth control.

I stand with the women and mothers around the world who are fighting for access to comprehensive family planning. Watch this wonderful video about women’s health.

I expect my elected officials – my government! -to do the same. I expect my elected officials to take John Kennedy’s stance that neither the Pope (nor Rush Limbaugh and the radical Republican candidates for president) direct government. It’s time to return to a separation of state and church (mosque and synagogue). Reach out to your elected officials.

What else would you call higher insurance rates for women? Or unequal wages for the same work? Or no penalty fees for companies that pay women less? Or no universal childcare or…

We Americans think we’re so advanced. But we aren’t as advanced as many other countries. We Americans think we’re so democratic and so equal. Not so. Iceland is probably the most gender equitable country in the world. Iceland has gender equity laws and a Center for Gender Equity that monitors performance.

What do we have here in the U.S.? A renewed gender war. It’s way past time to stop the war on women.

Filed under: Social Commentary

About Simone Joyaux

A consultant specializing in fund development, strategic planning, and board development, Simone P. Joyaux works with all types and sizes of nonprofits, speaks at conferences worldwide, and teaches in the graduate program for philanthropy at Saint Mary’s University, MN. Her books, Keep Your Donors and Strategic Fund Development, are standards in the field.

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