Fifty years ago today, on June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, requiring men and women be paid equally for equal work. Argue the statistics whichever way you want, but the pay gap persists. White women earn, on average, 77 cents to the white male dollar. Black woman earn 69 cents, and Latina women earn 57 cents. (Infographic by the lovely Emily Nemens for LeanIn.Org.)

womenofthe113th:

Modification of the last infographic. Congressladies + men = still a ways to go.

Source: Office of the Clerk

This is the most beautiful infographic I’ve ever seen. Paging I Love Charts!

The Reconstructionists: A Blog to Celebrate Badass Women

Portraits of Los Angeles’ low rider street culture, on a deck of cards. Photos by Estevan Oriol. #LA #photography #lowrider #losangeles #lawoman #chicano #cards ##estevanoriol #la (at Downtown LA)

"The court ruled 7-0 that bosses can fire employees they see as an “irresistible attraction,” even if the employees have not engaged in flirtatious behavior or otherwise done anything wrong. Such firings may be unfair, but they are not unlawful discrimination under the Iowa Civil Rights Act because they are motivated by feelings and emotions, not gender, Justice Edward Mansfield wrote."

#IOWASHAME (via annfriedman)

This is a fucking Onion story. Except not.

valentineuhovski:

Esquire,  March 1965

Amazing.

Sex education class (1929)

(Source: google.com)

My piece in today's business section: How to Solve the Gender Wage Gap? Learn to Speak Up. (New York Times)

The Atlantic: The Problem with Women Who XO at Work

In which Rachel Simmons and I take on the Watergate of modern email etiquette: the workplace XO. 

XO has surfaced in the digital correspondence of everyone from Arianna Huffington to Nora Ephron. Wendy Williams, the talk-show host, says she wishes she could stop using it, but just can’t. Anne-Marie Slaughter—foreign-policy wonk, Princeton professor, and she who still can’t have it all—doesn’t xo, but knows several professional women who do. In Diane Sawyer’s newsroom, staffers say, the anchor uses xo so frequently that its omission can spark a major panic. 

“I feel like xo has taken on its own kind of life,” says Karli Kasonik, a Washington consultant.

“I do it, most women I know do it,” says Asie Mohtarez, a writer and social-media editor.

“In my field, you almost have to use it,” says Kristin Esposito, a yoga instructor in New York.

(Source: skvtelxrds)

womenofthe112th:

Infographic #3: Geographic distribution of the Women of the 112th Congress

What up, California/Washington State/NY, ie all the places I’ve lived. (See the breakdown by name here.)

Women of Protest: A Feminist History Refresher  

It wasn’t until 1920 that women were granted suffrage, but it was 1917 when members of the National Women’s Party — Alice Paul, Lucy Burns and others — picketed outside the White House, burning copies of Woodrow Wilson’s speeches and demanding the right to vote. What resulted — mass arrests (most for “obstructing traffic”), unlawful imprisonment and bloody beatings — became known as the Night of Terror, though it’s fair to say most among my generation don’t know it.

The Night of Terror took place on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Workhouse Prison, in Occoquan, Virginia, ordered his guards to teach the suffragists a lesson. For weeks, the women’s only water had come from an open pail. Their food had been infested with worms. But on this night, some 40 prison guards wielding clubs beat the women senseless — grabbing, dragging, choking, kicking and pinching them, according to affidavits recounting the attacks. 

Read More

womenofthe112th:

Infographic #2: Chromatic party breakdown in the House and Senate.

Disclaimer: I lost Oregon Democratic Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (special election, 2012). She’ll be up by Tuesday, probably in red.

Poor Bonamici! Another beautiful layout from Emily Nemens’ “Women of the 112th.” check out Tumblr’s interview with her here.

Iconic Newsweek covers from the 60s and 70s. RIP.

Painting the Women of the 112th — Powersuit by Powersuit

Political portraiture doesn’t often feature women, so artist Emily Nemens decided to paint all 90+ female members of Congress — in watercolor. The result is 47 linear feet of women in power — and a stark display of uniform power suits, bouffant hair, and toothy smiles. Read more.