Today I woke up, a bit disoriented from daylight savings
time, and checked Facebook and Tumblr like usual. However, the first thing that
lit up my screen was a colorful comic, proclaiming “Happy International Women’s
Day!” This is the day where we commemorate women’s strife and accomplishments
thus far. While I admit we’ve come pretty far in terms of equality and
feminism, I feel like there’s a still a lot left to go.
In terms of statistics, women have had it rough in recent
years. 77% of homeless people in families are women, and fifty percent of them
escaped domestic abuse only to end up on the streets. While the women’s
movements of the 20th century tried to alleviate problems associated
with homeless women and abuse, we’re still seeing rising numbers. When it comes
to the homeless population of families, a majority are single women with more
than one child. The percentage of women living in poverty is greater than the
number of men, especially when combined with the figures of women dealing with
motherhood and living on the streets. In the 21st century, we’re
still seeing the popularity of “pink collar jobs”, aimed towards impoverished
women. The wage gap is already a hefty tax on being a woman in the United
States, but for underprivileged or impoverished women it becomes worse combined
with lacking benefits or any available childcare. And to think that this is
just in the United States, an industrialized First World country. Just think of
the problems women in Africa and Asia face, in more rural villages where women
are treated like commodities, or in urbanized and patriarchal societies where
they can’t get their foot in the door. Women are dealing with a multitude of
systemic and societal issues on a daily basis, even on International Women’s
Day.
Holidays like this try to make feminism seem like a thing of
the past. We as people like listening to stories. We heard them a lot in
history class as children when we talked about hot-button issues, like racism,
sexism or poverty. In our stories, we like the underdog, put down by society,
and we like to see them come out on top. We like pretty endings. We like to talk
about things in past tense. We talk about the civil rights movement and the
women’s rights movement as being over. But radical social movements don’t work
like storybooks. Feminism is a powerful force for change, and is still a large
societal movement, sweeping with it organizations and philanthropic charities
aimed at alleviating the issues women face. We’re starting to see women’s
influence everywhere in society, most importantly in philanthropy. We listened
to Anita and Allie talk about their predominantly-female giving circles, where
women got to be the sources of change in their community. We’ve talked about
Doris Buffet, making her mark in the philanthropic world. Just look at our
class, 80% women. We women are on the rise. So as saddening as it is to read
about the continuing issues women face across the world, we also have to
acknowledge that we’re taking everything back and we’re helping ourselves.
So, I’d like to wish everyone a great International Women’s
Day. And personally, here’s to putting more feminism in my philanthropy.
Great post, Rachel! Feminism is a cause that is incredibly important to me, so I was also thinking about how it can tie into philanthropy so seamlessly. Although I think feminism is more of a social issue than an issue that can be fixed with donations and grants, I think it is important to talk about the statistics and information that you mentioned. It is pretty well known that there are women who suffer in third world countries because they are not allowed to get an education or go to work, but I think it is important to know that these issues are taking place in America as well. It would be very interesting to know the reason behind increased poverty among women. Is it because of motherhood, the wage gap, or difficulty getting a job in a male-dominated field? Or is it some entirely different cause? This information would probably be very difficult to obtain since each individual case is different, but it would be interesting to take a look at.
ReplyDeleteI don't completely agree with you that International Women's Day makes feminism out to be a thing of the past. If anything, I think feminism is making a comeback and more men and women are fighting for gender equality. The fact that it is 2015 and there is still a wage gap means that feminism is not a fight that is over. The fact that there are still people who disrespect women and their bodies means that this is a fight that needs to continue. As I said earlier, I don't know that the real issues of gender inequality can be fixed through monetary donations, but it is important to take a look at women and how poverty affects them differently. There are definitely specific causes that you can donate to that relate to women's rights and equality, but I think, more than anything, we really need a change in the mindset of society. Feminism is important for people of all genders and I, personally, am so happy to see more people and celebrities fighting for the cause. Here's to putting feminism in philanthropy and into society in general.
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ReplyDeleteRachel, this is a great post! Feminism and Women's suffrage have jumped leaps and bounds due to social movements, politics, philanthropy, and strength in numbers. I am intrigued at the statistics you have provided, I think they have surprised me just as much as the statistics did today in our class presentations. Many of these numbers and percentages are way to high in many different problems. (LGBT, Poverty, Domestic Violence, Education, etc). The percentages you have illustrated such as the 77% and the 50% are numbers we can fight to lower. I was curious, what is your source on these percentages?
ReplyDeleteI like how you added the title of "Pink Collar Job". This reminded me when I was shadowing in the NYS Assembly/Senate a bill was being passed to improve wages for women. This was about 5 Years ago when I was a junior in High School. It is hard to imagine that these are still issues that need to be overcome and achieved. This inspires me to run for an office someday as I progress through my life. Great post!
Best,
Pat LaBuff
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post and for sharing important ideas about women in our society. I love your empowering attitude towards the issue. Your statistics and others that exist prove it: women still have less opportunity than men and face ridiculous repression in some parts of the world. I would, however, like to differentiate between philanthropy for women and philanthropy by women, as I feel the difference is a little unclear in your argument.
Philanthropy for women is philanthropy that gives to females in need. An example of this would be RISE, Binghamton’s Domestic Violence Service, which provides shelter for women and children coming from abusive homes. This type of philanthropy is specifically geared towards helping women, however it can be supported by anyone, male or female. The primary focus is not on who the donations come from but on how the donations are being used.
Philanthropy by women is philanthropy organized by women who are giving to a variety of causes. This is where Anita, Allie, and Doris Buffet fit in. These are women who are making a difference in the world by attempting to combat multiple issues. This type of philanthropy empowers women to take charge in any and all areas that are important to them. This philanthropy is controlled by women but can be directed toward any purpose.
And then, we have philanthropy that is both for and by women, which is when female philanthropists support women in need. The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) exemplifies this. NCJW is a grassroots foundation that “strives for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families”. NCJW engages with many organizations in an effort to provide support for women both in America and abroad, specifically in Israel. Their Anti-Domestic Violence Campaign, Higher Ground, “educates and mobilizes advocates, community members, and decision-makers to promote progressive policy solutions that champion economic justice”. This kind of philanthropy gives women power to make a difference, and that difference is in the lives of other women.
In your post, I am unsure of whether your call for “more feminism in philanthropy” means more philanthropy geared towards women or for more female philanthropists. It may even be for both! If this is the case, I wholeheartedly support you. Philanthropy that is both orchestrated and received by women, such as the work that NCJW does, is incredibly special. It empowers women on the giving side, helps women on the receiving side, and creates ties and support between women of all walks of life. Thank you again for your thoughts and here’s to supporting women on both sides of philanthropy.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteThis past weekend, I was walking through Times Square. NYC was busy as usual but on that Sunday, I had to wade through throngs of smiling New Yorkers, and the inevitable tourists, watching a medium sized parade trudging down 7th avenue. I had no idea what was going on until I heard the loudspeaker of a politician on a podium repeating "What do we want‽" while a crowd gathered in his front interjected with "Gender equality!" I'd later learn that what I originally thought to be some sort of protest was actually a celebration of International Women's Day.
In your blog post, you argued that IWD "tr[ies] to make feminism seem like a thing of the past." I disagree. From my walk cutting through the heart of midtown and from all the social media outreach I felt this past weekend, my impression of IWD seemed to be in stark contrast with your view. I agree with your view that modern feminism has far surpassed a simply growing movement: It's a huge social issue and an issue that is being pushed forward by very vocal proponents. The vast majority of the US at least is not trying to "suppress" or "deny" feminism even though many feminists seem to feel that way. IWD is simply celebrating the past progress in gender equality and urging for continued and exponentially growing advances in this field.
You do bring up the interesting statistic that women seem to be more active in the philanthropic world. Honestly, I'd like to figure out some correlation and reason as to why but I'd be lying if I said I had a clue. Your other stats regarding homeless women are also thought provoking and surprising. Like Pat, I'm really interested in a source and read more on the topic considering Google wasn't of much help.
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ReplyDeleteRachel, I thoroughly enjoyed your post. Happy belated international women's day! The one thing I would have to disagree with you about however is that I think the women's movement is gaining support in recent years and have actually progressed. I don't know if it is because I am older or because I am more aware but I am definitely noticing an increase in feminist movements than I have in recent years. Even though there is an increase in the awareness of the feminist movement I do agree with you that philanthropic organizations should do more regarding women. I think this is a huge problem that more philanthropic organizations should be dedicated to, spreading awareness is not enough.
ReplyDeleteThe presentation in class about domestic abuse really shocked me. I really cant believe that 40 women are victims of abuse every 2 minutes. I have not been able to stop thinking about that statistic since I heard it on Tuesday. Women face much more problems than men do, and not just in terms of abuse. What makes me sad is that a lot of women don't have the option to leave when they are being abused and that ties in to a multitude of issues.
If women made as much as men maybe they would be able to save up more money and leave their abusive partner. If there wasn't this social stigma that women instead of men should take care of children maybe more women would have stayed in jobs instead of taking care of their children. If a woman has no job and no money they are essentially tied to their husbands. What was depressing to me was what was said in the presentation: "many women have to chose between being homeless or being abused." Needless to say, those are both horrible options. Women should receive more education, should get paid as much as men, and should have more options than choosing between either working or taking care of their children. I know in France there is free daycare for all children. If there was free daycare here, women wouldn't have to choose between quitting their job and taking care of their children or staying at their job and paying so much money for a babysitter. I think that would help a lot because education and money are powerful and if a woman has those two things she doesn't have to choose between being homeless or being abused.
Nonprofit organizations should work more to spread awareness about abuse and should provide more shelters for females who have been abused. Women should not be threatened for speaking out about issues that they face, like Emma Watson recently was. Emma Watson is a feminist activist and after a recent speech she gave at the UN about issues women face she was threatened by a anonymous person that nude photographs of her were going to be leaked. That was disgusting to me. No women should be threatened for speaking out about problems that they face. If that was a man, he would have never received that threat.
Let alone the problems we face, the problems the women in India or in the middle east face are much worse. A women gets raped and then they are blamed for that and punished for it. We need to work more to spread awareness about issues female face in other countries and more needs to be done to help them. There are more women involved in philanthropy than men so I see no reason why there is not more aid directed to women. Thanks for a thought provoking post!!