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Happy Women’s History Month, 2009

By Carol Amoruso, IMDiversity

Last year, in speaking for the Professional Women’s Village, I welcomed in Women’s History Month by musing on what a Hillary Clinton presidency would represent for women.  Obama’s victory has rendered that polemic stale, and Clinton is now one of 4 women in Obama’s official cabinet (assuming that Kathleen Sebelius will be approved by the Senate as head of Health and Human Services), with two other women serving in cabinet-level posts.

Whether Clinton’s gender was a factor in her losing the primary to Obama will be long debated.  But Americans’ unwillingness to cede electoral power to women is ineluctable and inexcusable.  The U.S. ranks 69^th in the world in electing women to national office.  Rwanda (yes, Rwanda) ranks first with over 45% of their parliamentary seats occupied by women, Sweden is second, Cuba third, while in the U.S., women hold only 17% of the seats in both houses of Congress.

Obama’s rep as a woman-centered president is already solid.  A recent Ms. Magazine cover displayed the new president vaunting under his white button-down a tee shirt emblazoned with: “This is what a FEMINIST looks like.”  His approval rating amongst women was etched warm and fuzzy from the start of his stardom as keyholes into his evolved marriage to lawyer/healthcare high-up Michelle Robinson were breached.  His administration has already scored high, with the first piece of legislation to sit on the new president’s desk the Lilly Ledbetter Act, assuring equal pay for equal work, a commitment to eliminate the pay gap between the genders (as well as races and generations), which stands now at 21%. 

The Obama agenda for women is ambitious.  Much of its thrust falls under social welfare goals, such as health care overhaul, that would benefit whole demographics of underrepresented Americans, but other initiatives target women specifically, such as funding research into women’s health; support for women’s right to choose; expanded access to contraception and preventive services; reducing domestic violence (see my recent, irate blog on the Rihanna, Chris Brown atrocity); and more. 

With the economy so grim and a potentially recalcitrant Congress, many of our and our administration’s dreams may go on hold as we struggle through these tough times.  But, 2009 is giving women more reason to hope for fruition than the last many, too-long years.

On another note, here are some super sites to help us along our way:

The National Women’s History Project is featuring a kicker of a women’s history quiz for 2009.  Other useful historical information is included on the site, including tools for promoting women’s accomplishments in the schools.

WomenCo is one of the few sites with a major social networking component that I eagerly joined.  Worthy articles concentrating on employment and links to believable self-realization pieces abound.

No matter your generation, Ms. Magazine is the mommy of us all.

MommyTrackd, not only for the maternal among us, is a great page of fun, news, and some flashy columnists covering issues like what to do if your dermatologist suggests a face lift and hyper-parenting from a kid’s point of view.