Women’s Equality Day 2017

AUGUST 27, 2017 BY JENNEFFER

Women’s Equality Day 2017

Women’s Equality Day, August 26th, marks the ratification of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. DJ Trump never proclaimed equality for women on the day of observance, something every sitting president since Nixon has done. Trump skirted around mentioning equal access to health care, the gender pay gap, or gender-based violence.  And hey, we have no shortage of questionable national days so do it right-- hello, National Cheeseburger Day.

Here is the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA):

Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

It IS that simple.

For years, I have listened to men complain about being discriminated by affirmative action. Guess what men; you will benefit from the passage of the equal rights amendment.

Today, there is little doubt that one of the greatest areas of discrimination against women is in employment. The average is an 18% pay discrepancy annually. Unions report, “we want to protect the little women” than admit that it is lucrative for the men in American industry. Thousands of jobs from which women are arbitrarily excluded are the well-paid, interesting, “male” jobs and what remains are the poorly paid, tedious jobs, as “female” jobs. This is a cruel way of keeping women in a condition of poverty and humiliation. 35% of the families headed by women live in poverty; 61% of the Nation’s poor children live in families headed by women. Your failure to pay equally leads to a nation of children destined for a path of poverty and dependence on government aid.

Equality must be written into our Constitution. Women have not been protected by the Supreme Court; which has not extended to any female citizen the protection of the 5th  or the 14th amendments. Why should working women spend thousands of dollars on litigation to gain work equality?

Prevarication that the amendment will keep women with dependent children from receiving alimony is a common scare tactic. The women I know, who are divorced, must work to support their children because child support is not there. If a man divorced his wife, done legally, got custody of the children, alimony, and child support, then good for him.

The ERA would put “gay rights” into the U.S. Constitution. Yes, it’s about damn time!

The ERA will jeopardize single-sex programs and schools. Yes, we need to begin teaching children that sexism in youth lays the foundation for sexism as an adult. We are a country that is sexist; dictated under a current Administration that demonstrates misogyny and racism. The current “ways” are not successful for 1/2 of its population. It is time to change. Additionally, it would take away women’s traditional exemption from military conscription and also from military combat duty. I wholeheartedly believe that all citizens, if able, be exposed to conscription and the ability to join the armed forces.

Yes, the ERA would put abortion rights into the U.S. Constitution and make abortion funding a constitutional right. I am sorry, anti-abortion advocates, your beliefs should not be above the current rules of law. Federal health care does not ban any legal medical procedure for men. Additionally, the ERA will lead to a balancing of insurance companies premiums: health, life, automobile, etc. Women will not be required to pay higher insurance premiums with equality; they will be paying insurance equally with men.

“I will continue to support and uphold equal humanity for all.  Let us never forget that all people in the USA are entitled that the equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. ”

Jenneffer Pulapaka

#womeninspirechange #womenlead #docslead #equality

Sexist

AUGUST 9, 2017 BY JENNEFFER

Sexist

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DEFINITION:   SEXIST
sex·ist/ˈseksist/
adjective
1. relating to or characterized by prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.
“his attitude to women is patronizing and sexist”
noun
1.a person with sexist views.
“I want to make it clear that I’m certainly not a sexist”

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As I got off the phone, I thought, “Did that just happen?” And after a long pause, “No, it didn’t. I’m just hypersensitive to that issue. ”

I explained what happened to my husband and then went on with my day.

Again, two hours later I thought, “Did that really happen?” As I tap my pen on my desk, I wanted an answer. I had referred several patients to this doctor and three off the top of my memory had basal cell cancerous lesions like myself; one female and two males. I pick up the phone and did some quick follow-up calls. I thanked the last patient and got off the phone now knowing, that really happened.

All three patients have yet to have their surgeries. The woman is having insurance scheduling issues, and they are working with her on her options. But both men, can’t schedule surgery at this time as it interferes with their work. They planned on “getting it done,” over the next several months or during the Christmas break. They reported the doctor was understanding and did not hassle them about waiting until they could free-up time from work. Although, both men have been delaying surgery since their January and March diagnosis.

“Wow, that did happen!”

During my morning conversation with that same doctor, I told him I just finished several long vacations and had three more business trips and a packed schedule due to my absence. I was planning for January to have my surgery; in the mean time, I wanted to start topical treatment as my lesions are tiny and want them to remain under control.

DOC: “You need to clear your social calendar and get this surgery scheduled.” ME: I know my head tilted like a dog hearing a whistle. “What? No, I don’t have time right now and have to wait till next year when things can slow down”.
DOC: “Your social life is not an excuse.”
And then things spiraled into the abyss from there.

This doctor devalued my career, my patients, my businesses, my duties, my responsibilities, my own “doctor” work schedule, my “restaurant” work schedule, and my “advocacy” schedule. Only after my follow-up calls did I catch the depth of his devaluing of women. Both male patients had careers that were not addressed as a “social calendar,” he understood their need to perform at a high level, and the surgeries would have to wait.

This came right on the heels of the anti-diversity manifesto penned by James Damore. In it are the author’s qualms with diversity and inclusion initiatives at Google, programs he deemed a waste of time because women are inherently less suited for technical roles than men.

Blind commenter:
“The fella who posted that is extremely brave. We need more people standing up against the insanity. Otherwise ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ which is essentially a pipeline from Women’s and African Studies into Google, will ruin the company.”

“I’m impressed. It took serious guts to post that.”

“I hope nothing happens to the guy.”

So no, my doctor was not brave, and I am not impressed. I want to make it clear that my doctor is certainly a sexist. Right in the very definition as noted above, “his attitude to women is patronizing and sexist.” But no, nothing will happen to this guy and that is why women need to inspire change.

**Update

New doctor, great service, respected my schedule, and I am on a plan to beginning skin cancer free.  My new doc is a male because he is the best-qualified surgeon in my area and I am NOT gender biased.