Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got. Janis Joplin

WELCOME to the Jungle….well we start another week and I’m recovering from 2 days of Yard Sale and a day of hair and nails—which is why you haven’t heard from me in awhile.

Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.
— Erica Jong

JOHN F. KENNEDY DEC 1963 MY WEEKLY READER SPECIAL MEMORIA… (262302962446)

Beardless now

what do Scottish Women like in a man?

http://www.scotsman.com/news/odd/over-half-of-scottish-women-like-clean-shaven-look-1-3924870

and who’s the worst Villian on TV–it’s down to 2 and one is on OUTLANDER

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/11/actualworst-round-one-vee-parker-vs-black-jack-randall/414406/

and beardless way back when:

Find out who you are and do it on purpose.
— Dolly Parton

SHOES, SLID ON SLING BACK SIZE 11 M LEATHER UPPERS NEW M… (262302948970)

I watched a very idealized movie about Florence Nightingale today and it got me thinking about women and how they have been treated thru time. How they were once on top of the world as the being who could re-produce other beings…but then the male found out he actually had contributed and we were totally screwed (in more ways than one) from then on.

The first women by Christian tradition was Eve of course and she was blamed for being that weak creature that gave in to the evil serpent (better known as the Devil) and led to the downfall of mankind as he was so bewitched by her that he too ate and they both were thrown of Eden Resort forever.

So I thought I’d look a bit further. Hinduism feels that women were created to help her husband, give birth to his children and take care of them so that he can do something useful in life. Ok so the religions of the world are all pretty much out of that men rule and women are at best procreative machines and helpful mates to at worst they caused the downfall of the entire race and thus are always considered a bit suspect.

Hope is a thing with feathers
That perches in the soul;
And sings the tune without words
And never stops at all.
— Emily Dickinson

So here we are—and though we insist that we roar and that we’ve came a long way–do we and have we really?

1. Job Type: Jobs and industries with higher pay are
often dominated by men.

2. Job Level: The gender pay gap increases as you
climb the corporate ladder.

http://www.payscale.com/data-packages/gender-pay-gap

So there you have it….most of the top jobs belong to men and if you are a woman and do make it up to the top, you’ll still going to be making less than a man in a comparable job.

At 2014 the gap:

Women made only 79% what men did

A Gap of 21%

Though it has narrowed (Education and workforce participation has helped in the narrowing) some since 1970 if it continues at its present rate it may be 100 years or more before there is real equality.

In fact the progress has slowed again recently and some doubt it will ever go away on its own.

http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/

And there are lots of other factors:

Inadequate family leave policies and child care options–women defaulting to being caretakers

Woman opting for gender “appropriate” jobs like nurse and teachers and not doctors and attorneys. And then there’s the fact that many woman just do not choose the path of longer hours and the devotion to corporate to the neglect of family and home. So as in all cases it’s never simple.

I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.
— Eleanor Roosevelt

So we’re submissive, instigators but poor wage earners that find home and kids and care giving a priority. Interesting.

In the US, where we might think that we have an edge, it’s interesting to learn that a mere 18% of woman participate in politics and leadership positions which when you compare us to say Uganda with 49% it’s down right mind blowing.

Studies by the American University in 2011 survey indicate that “men are 60 percent more likely than women to believe that they are “very qualified” to run for office.” This research begs the question as to whether belief in qualification stems from ingrained gender perceptions in comparison to ability.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ella-gonzalez/women-in-politics_b_4077687.html

It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.
— J. K. Rowling

and then there’s technology

While only 1/10 engineers are women

2/10 techs are

Women make up

17% of all industrial engineers

12% Metallurgical/metal engineers

11.5% Chemical

11% all others (including aerospace, mining, petroleum and nuclear)

http://www.dol.gov/wb/factsheets/hitech02.htm

In 2013, just 26 percent of computing jobs in the U.S. were held by women, down from 35 percent in 1990, according to the study released Thursday by the American Association of University Women, a nonprofit that promotes gender equality. During that same period, the number of women earning computing degrees also declined.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/27/women-in-tech_n_6955940.html

Percentage distribution of probable fields of study among first-time college freshmen, by sex (fall 1996)

Probable major field of study	Men	Women
Arts and humanities	9.4	10.5
Biology	6.5	7.4
Business	18.1	13.8
Education	6.3	14.2
Engineering	15.2	2.6
Physical Sciences	2.7	2.0
Professional	9.8	20.2
Social sciences	6.1	11.7
Technical	3.7	1.4
Computer Sciences	4.3	1.2
Undecided	7.4	8.8
Other	10.5	6.5

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_STEM_fields

Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
— Harriet Beecher Stowe

So there you are I could go on and on—but let’s face it unless we’re very dense– we all (at least down deep)

realize that we’ve been working at a disadvantaged position since birth…

About 700,000 victims are transported and exploited within or across international borders (sex slaves) each year with at least 50,000 of those coming into the US and of those victims 98% are women.

1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of [some form of] physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime.¹
1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
1 in 7 women and 1 in 18 men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime to the point in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed
1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the United States has been raped in their lifetime
http://www.ncadv.org/learn/statistics
To be kind to all, to like many and love a few, to be needed and wanted by those we love, is certainly the nearest we can come to happiness.
— Mary Stuart
PAT BENTAR Get Nervous Vinyl LP 33 1/3 Record 1982 (262302927076)