Challenges for Millennial Women

This is a special post in honor of the Third Annual Blog for International Women’s Day, a day where bloggers, writers, and humanitarian organizations are asked to write about issues facing women and girls. 

International Women’s Day provides us with a great opportunity to celebrate the many things the women who came before us accomplished. But it is also a time to ponder on the many things we have yet to do..  Our world has seen very dramatic changes in the past 50 years and millennial women have reaped the benefits of the revolutions that occurred in the 60’s and 70’s. Yet we don’t have to go very far but to see that millennial women still have much ground to cover on the domestic and international fronts:

A Fair Work Place

·     I’m sure you know that the United States is one of the few industrialized nations that doesn’t provide Universal Paid Maternity Leave. This is only one of the many issues that affect women’s role in the workplace and is indicative of pay inequities that still exist in our country.  Clearly we are still struggling to integrate women with children into the workforce in an equitable way. Meanwhile, the stay-at home mommies and the work mommies are still struggling to find common ground. I hope millennial women figure out how we can all join forces so that women stop feeling like they have to choose one path over the other.

·      I’m also still alarmed at the pay inequities that exist among men and women and how this recession has disproportionately affected women. While it is great that more of us are taking on Graduate and Professional degrees during times of economic uncertainty it is unfair that we will be compensated differently once we enter the workforce. We have heard the numbers: 

• Women earn 77-85 (studies take into account certain factors to come up with the higher number) cents to every dollar a Man makes. If you are a woman of color this number is lower (Yay, for me). As if we needed more proof the most recent census revealed that women earn less per month than men at EVERY degree level.  We could go into details as to the why’s and the hows of this but either way it is something we need to examine further in the next few decades.

Slut Shaming (See next point)

Access to Basic Health Care
If you haven’t noticed it seems that health services that have played a big role in women’s lives, such as birth control, are still considered quite controversial. Just last week Rush Limbaugh caused an up roar when he declared that the Georgetown Student that testified in Congress about the importance of having access to birth control, was a “slut” and that her and all of the other Feminazi’s that want to government to pay for birth control should have to upload videos of the themselves having sex. Then a few weeks back Mr. Foster Friess (sp?) explained to renowned journalist Andrea Mitchell that in his day women would “put a Bayer aspiring between their legs for birth control” aka- Close your legs! Mr. Freeze was on television discussing his support for Presidential nominee, Rick Santoroum who was quoted as saying that “birth control is harmful to society.” Geez.

This is a challenge for millennial women because the way these things play out in our country is very indicative or where women stand in contemporary society. I know our mom’s and grandmothers tell us that “we just don’t know what it was like in the old days” and you know what? Thanks to all of their efforts we don’t, but we still have our own battles to fight. I can’t help but wonder if these political discussions would play out differently if Congress was 83% female, instead 83% male. Hmmm…This reminds me of my next point

Breaking the Glass Ceiling/s and/or denying there is still a Glass Ceiling to Break

Source: janluijk.nl via Catherine on Pinterest

Sometimes I feel like I’m living in parallel universes, on the one hand there is world declaring “the end of men” and telling me how men are falling behind on educational attainment. Yet on the other hand I see a world where I can only think a few female CEO’s and I see that many of the organizations that hold the power in our society are still very male dominated. This brings us into a larger discussion about whether or not women are failing to achieve seats of power because they don’t really want to be there, what Sheryl Sandberg called “the ambition gap” in her now famous (well famous among my colleagues) TED Talk. Others may argue that there are indeed true barriers to access. If such barriers exist are they institutional barriers? Or is it that women were not raised to have the characteristics needed to succeed in high level positions? I wish I had the answer to these questions. If I did there wouldn’t have been a need to list it as a challenge for millennial women. I will probably be wondering about this one for the rest of my life. This brings me to my next thought…

First World Problems

 I use the phrase “first world problems” when I am discussing a problem that can only happen in the life of someone who has their basic needs fully met. It’s also a reminder to myself that for a majority of women around the world, not having been selected to serve on a Board of Directors is a superfluous issue that does not compare to losing a child because you are unable to provide food or shelter, or because you are living in a place being ravaged by a war that was most likely started by men. (Sorry sometimes I make generalizations)
How will we continue to advance the rights of women and girls around the world to ensure that they are no longer casualties of famine, war and of the decisions made by those around them? Michelle Bachelet is one example of a bad-ass woman who is working to ensure that the next generation of women has a better chance at life. While it is important to work to advance ourselves, we must also remember our sisters around the world who could use our help and deserve a chance to pursue their own dreams and aspirations.


Ok so now that you are riled up let’s look at some organizations that are already working hard to solve these issues:    

• To Get HER There- Learn more about the issues affecting women and girls affect all of us and how we can develop the next generation of women leaders! 
• Women’s Media Center- Changing the public discourse on issues pertaining to women and girls 
• United Nations for Women- Learn more about how to help women around the world 
• 20 20 Campaign- Wrote about them before. Great organization working to increase diversity in our country’s board rooms. 
• Planned Parenthood Action Center- Don’t just get angry at Rush Limbaugh, Get Involved!

What do you think are the biggest challenges for Millennial women? 


Together we can make a difference!
Happy Women’s Day!
xoxo
Betsy Aimee

Is Graduate School the Answer?

I have always wanted to go graduate school. It probably has to do with the many statistics I have read that state that women need to go to graduate school to earn as much as men.  I also genuinely miss the academic environment and the excitement of an empty notebook on the first day of school. I loved school, the subjects I studied, the late nights of studying and the many books I read.

After college I also realized that school was simple, you do the work you earn the grade! The work world isn’t so easy. You can’t go to office hours with the professor to explain why you couldn’t do your work on time (not that I did that often). As we all know, the hardest workers don’t always get the highest reward and there’s not a syllabus that contains all the deadlines and relevant information.  Naturally, all these previously mentioned facts make me want to run back to the simplicity of the academic world.

 I do think graduate school is worthwhile, for those who are going into a field that requires licensing and credentials such as a J.D or a M.F.T. It’s also valuable if you are simply expanding your knowledge in the field you are already pursuing and are completely certain this is the field you will continue working in once you obtain your degree. But for the rest of us confused, souls, what are the rewards of graduate school? Do these rewards outweigh the costs?  Now if anyone has the answers to these please do let me know! (Please note that if you are personally wealthy and/or have parents that will pay for graduate school these thoughts may be irrelevant to you.)

In the meantime, I have pursued my own research and performed mental math and have come up with no formula that would allow to pay for my living expenses and my tuition given the hefty prices of some of the fancy programs that have caught my attention. The other issue is the radical lifestyle change that would have to occur. In college, my lack of funds meant living paycheck to paycheck and sometimes only having enough money for gas and one meal   for a few days.  I wonder if I could be happy going back to that.  

There’s another issue to ponder about, if graduate school isn’t a precise means to an end then is it worth pulling yourself out of the workforce? Could you learn things in the workforce that would supersede an MFA, or Journalism Degree (I use these as recently these are the ones that I have been considering). 

I suggest that if you are confused about what to do next, want to explore your options while keeping your day job, or if you want to feel as though you are still learning in your free time, you should consider the following things:

1)      Take Classes at your Local University- Many schools offer Open University to students who have their degree but want to take other courses. This is a good way to explore those subjects that interest you before committing to a two-year program across the country.

2)      Take Classes at your Local Community College- An even less expensive way to explore other options. These classes also tend to have flexible hours.

3)      Consider a Certificate Instead of a Master’s Program- Depending on where you live Universities can offer certificate programs that can offer you a new set of skills. Such as Business Development, Communications, Marketing.   This might sound completely controversial and it completely depends on your field. I’m not suggesting that you reject that offer from Columbia University!

4)      Switch Jobs- You want to work in healthcare, then what are you doing working in retail management!?  Do not be deceived by graduate school programs that claim they will find you a job and place you in marvelous internship. If you are having a hard time networking and selling your skills now, graduate school will not solve this problem for you.

5)      Informational Interviews- Talk to people who pursued fields that interest you and find out if they went to graduate school etc.  Don’t be shy people want to share their experiences. 

Currently, I’m working on option number 3 and I will definitely keep you posted on my progress!

Stay Fabulous,

Betsy