Patricia Arquette’s Academy Awards speech
Why is it that a woman can’t bring up anything about equal rights or equal pay without getting the eye roll? If two men were up for a position at a company and one was overlooked for the color of his skin or sexual orientation, people would be sympathetic, outraged even. But, for some reason, when women stick up for themselves, both women and men alike freak out ON THE WOMAN. It’s just not right and although I agree, there is a time and a place for everything, why is Patricia Arquette getting blasted for at least TRYING to make a point at one of the most exciting moments of her life?
My brother and I were having a conversation the other day and he made a comment about how, “women have taken over the world.” We could go back and forth on that, but let’s say for the time being that he’s right. What if all the major corporations in America were headed by a woman? Let’s just make that assumption. The reality of it is their wage would NOT be equal to a man in that same position. Why? And moreover, why can’t we talk about it?
After the Oscars, Patricia expanded a little on what she said onstage:
“It’s time for women. Equal means equal. The truth is the older women get, the less money they make. The highest percentage of children living in poverty are in female-headed households. It’s inexcusable that we go around the world and we talk about equal rights for women in other countries and we don’t. One of those superior court justices said two years ago in a law speech at a university that we don’t have equal rights for women in America and we don’t because when they wrote Constitution, they didn’t intend it for women. So the truth is even though we sort of feel like we have equal rights in America right under the surface there are huge issues at play that really do affect women. It’s time for all the women in America, and all the men that love women and all the gay people and all the people of color that we’ve all fought for to fight for us now.”
It is not my nature to bring up a problem without a solution, but some things are not that simple. I wish they were. Pay men and women the same money for the same job. Easy-peasy, right? Unfortunately, we all have our reasons for why this won’t be so easy.
Many women want to stay home and take care of the kids and the home. THEE hardest job out there and I applaud them all who make that choice. As a consequence, they lose experience in the workplace.
Consider that judgments (pick an “‘ism) are everywhere and everyone has them. For instance, if a woman boss will say something like “Hey, I need you to get this done for me right now.” and she may been seen as bossy, pushy or even worse, the “b” word. If a man says it, he’s just being the boss. That’s what he does. It’s not right, but that’s what it is. Moments like the one Patricia Arquette had on Sunday night helps to start a conversation.
Keep these moments coming. If you have something to say, say it. If you feel like you are being unfairly compensated, speak up. There will be risks involved and you may, in some cases, lose your job. But, the braver we are as women to speak up, the more power we will have and eventually, more money in our pocket.
Love and respect,
Sarah
