Hey lady, what do you want? Or, why Utah women deserve better

Hey lady, what do you want?

Do women want equal pay? Family leave? Promotions? Affordable childcare? Options? Equality? Dependable healthcare?

Lusher lashes? Anti-aging serum? Bracelets? Colorful cosmetics? Liposuction? Brazilian butt lift? Fat transfer?

Twice a year, my XX chromosomes go berserk as I see the ads for the “What Women Want” Expo! Last week, hundreds of women paid $5 to be wooed, enticed, artificially enhanced, and shown how to be superficially beautiful, all in the name of “What Women Want!”

Many women enjoy attending, but I’d prefer to see more substance.

Some booths showcase things I might enjoy, but they’re not in the Top Ten things that I, as a woman, want. As a younger, recently divorced mother, did I lust for longer, thicker lashes or for safe, affordable childcare for my daughter? Bet you can guess which one I chose!

As a middle-aged working woman, did l yearn for a Brazilian butt lift or for a greater opportunities to be promoted based upon my skills? Again, not too difficult to figure out what I wanted.

As a senior citizen collecting Social Security, am I more concerned with affordable healthcare or adding to my bracelet collection? I sure am faced with some pretty tough decisions, aren’t I?

As my chromosomes begin to simmer down, I’ll explain why I find this so disturbing. The What Women Want Expo seems superficial to me! What messages are we sending to our young women and girls who see this overt glamorization of fiber-built lashes, breast lifts, and layered bracelets?

It’s ironic that last week, as women were being beckoned to the glittery WWW Expo, MSN Money had an article about America’s 10 Worst States for Women, and guess which state was at the top? Sing out our state song, “Utah, This is the Place” and you’ve got your answer! Women are under-represented in boardrooms and under the capitol dome. A wage gap of $16,586 between male and female median earnings puts Utah as No. 2 nationally in that category; hopefully we won’t become No. 1 anytime soon!

A study entitled “Utah’s Gender Opportunity: An examination of the difference between the earnings of Utah men and women” by Voices for UTAH Children was released Thursday. The study provides comprehensive examples and explanations of the economic situations currently facing girls and women; the findings are not pretty!

What startled me was that, even though the gender wage gap is s…l…o…w…l…y closing nationally, it’s not predicted to close until 2047.  Now the bad news: Utah’s gap isn’t expected to close until 2087! My two-year-old granddaughter will be 74 years old when (if) that happens!

I urge you to download the study as it’s disturbing and enlightening and offers some answers. We need sound information as we continue to address these inequities, which brings me to another event of the past week that I think is significant.

What would happen if 90 percent of Utah’s females went on strike for a day? There are are 842,000 of us … just imagine what we can do!

October 24, 2015, was the 40th anniversary of Women’s Day Off, the day 90 percent of the women in Iceland went on strike! They were demonstrating to gain equality with men by refusing to go to work, care for children, or do any of the daily tasks they regularly did. It was an abrupt awakening for a country that gave women the vote five years before U.S. women had it. In 1980, just five years after that massive peaceful protest, Vigdis Finnbogadottir, a divorced mother, was elected president of Iceland, thus being the first women to be democratically elected to lead any country in the world!

One way Utah women and our sisters throughout the world are going to improve our salaries, educational opportunities, business status and childcare and become empowered is to take action.

What would happen if 90 percent of Utah’s females went on strike for a day? There are are 842,000 of us … just imagine what we can do!

If you do pay $5 to go to the next What Women Want Expo, please also consider donating  to Emily’s List or The Wish List or taking a young woman out and encouraging her to become a power-filled person.

Please do something today to encourage women to graduate from college and to vote! It’s the best way to begin changing the world.

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