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c
o v e r s t o r y
Pursuing
the Femme Identity
by
Andrea Spoehrer
f e a t u r
e s
Revealing
the "psuedo-invert"
Una, Lady Troubridge
by
Alison Phipps
Ashes
in the Paint
by
Michelle Bancroft
c o l u m n
s
Health
by
Dr. Lipstick
Wealth
by
Ms. Moneygrrl
Sex
by
SexySuzi
Advice
by
Victoria
Fashion
by
Dara
Femme
Perspective
by
Kenya
Butch
Perspective
by
D
Publisher's
Note
Letter
from the Editor
Contribute
to Femme
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The
Wage Gap: Where have we been, where are we now and where are we
going?
By:
Ms. MoneyGrrl
(Continued,
page 2)
Where
are we now?
In
1997, the numbers looked like this: women averaged 76 cents of
income to every dollar a man was making, African American women
63 cents and Hispanic women 56 cents. Sounds like we came a long
way? Hmmm, well let's look at it in these terms: ·
- The
wage gap has closed by an average of only ½ cent per year
- A
woman must work from January to December and then January to
April to earn the same dollar that a man can earn by only working
from January to December
- Men's
wages have been falling, contributing to the lessening of the
gap.
We
have not narrowed the wage gap by much, now have we? Seen in the
context of a lifetime, the average working woman will lose about
$523,000 due to lost wages and retirement benefits because of
the wage gap. How about that one!
So,
where are we going and how can we narrow the gap?
It
is the year 2000, I know I can't believe it either! Third Wave
Feminism has the vision for National Women's Equality Act for
the 21st Century, but we are still struggling for equal rights
as women, as femmes, as queers, as dykes, as lesbians, or as what-ever
other title or box society would like to stuff us in.
After
helping my co-worker understand the causes of the wage gap we
talked about what we can do to narrow it even more. We discussed
getting involved in organizations like National Organization for
Women (www.now.org) and
the National Committee of Pay Equality (http://www.feminist.com/fairpay.htm).
Besides this, we must overcome our fear and reticence and ask
for salaries commensurate with our worth. Pricing our skills and
asking for value is easier said than done.
When
I set out to get a new job last year I wanted to be certain that
my salary requirement was consistent with my skill level, education,
knowledge, industry and job location. I knew that I had to stick
to the minimum dollar value I wanted. Even if I was tempted to
justify a lower salary in my head, I determined not to do it.
I spent considerable time researching salaries on the Internet.
I found a wealth (no pun intended) of information. Sites like
www.monsterboard.com and www.hotjobs.com are devoted to specific
occupations and job hunting.
continued
on page 3
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