Tonight we posted on Facebook that we interviewed SCSU President Robbyn Wacker about being a female leader and her story about gender equality. Please enjoy the recording of our interview!
Tag Archives: Sexual Discrimination
Once a Husky, Always a Husky!
Today I shared on Facebook that last week our group held a men’s panel where we asked men to share their stories about being a man and what their thoughts and experiences were in regard to women’s equality. It was a successful panel that left me with hope for the future of imagining a world where women are valued. Early in the conversation my son, Teddy, shared that he also attended St. Cloud State as an undergrad for two years as he was wearing a SCSU sweatshirt. Earlier that day I was in a meeting with faculty and administrators and Provost Dan Gregory made a remark that stuck with me “Once a Husky, always a Husky.” I quoted the Provost in the recording, and after the panel I thought about sharing the blog with him. It was a minute and half into the recording so I thought some day when he had a moment he would check it out.
Much to my surprise he watched the entire recording that day and responded back. I would like to share Provost Dan Gregory’s remarks (with his permission) and his story about Women’s Equality:
“Once a Husky always a Husky! Polly, thank you for everything you do for SCSU and our students. I really appreciate you sharing this with me and appreciate the conversation. I have a couple of observations: 1) you must be so proud of your son. He is clearly a great thinker and person, 2) It is an interesting conversation and I really liked how the panel explored the space in real time, 3) as the husband of a very successful professional, I really appreciate the discussion and approach, 4) Ph. D.’s and hair? Never thought about that connection. 5) One of the most powerful statements on women stereotypes for me was the video of asking people to throw a ball like a girl. I say this because it demonstrates how deep these stereotypes run in our culture. I tear up every time I see those little ones go! 6) my female role models are my mother, wife, daughter and one of my Ph. D. advisors. Now, of course, President Wacker (who is more amazing than most people realize).
I am going to share this with my son as I think he will appreciate it.”
Thank you to the men who contribute to realizing the #Dear Daughter vision of gender equality that leads to gender equity and gender neutrality.
Girl’s Panel 11/21/20
Men’s Panel 11/19/20
Tonight we posted on Facebook that we had a panel of men who shared their stories with us about women and women’s equality. Together we can imagine a future where women are valued at work, at home, and in society.
This Could Never Happen to Me: Part 3
After we got the results of the comparable worth study in April 2001, two female coworkers and I realized how much we were being underpaid compared to our male coworkers. I myself was being paid 34.4% below the predicted pay level for my position. We tried to work with the city and with the union (two of us were in the union), and we had no luck. In fact, they gave four foremen merit raises instead, which were outside of the union contract. It was crushing to us. The city administrator seemed to be on our sides but he was also on the chopping block as he was new in his position and the city council did not like him.
So, we filed claims of sexual discrimination based on pay against the city and the union with the department of Human Rights and they found probable cause over a year later in October of 2003. All three of us had different situations since the two other women had worked at the city much longer than me and one of them was wrongfully dismissed from her position in retaliation of the filing the claims. By this time, I moved on to another job. Once we filed the claims in the fall of 2001 I knew I did not want to stay in such a toxic environment. My husband worked active duty for the MN National Guard and his position was very demanding plus we had two small kids at home.
The three of us hired an attorney who was wonderful. She was an older woman who was very stern and kind of bull-dog like but she helped us through a trying time. First we had a mediation with the city. By now there was a new city administrator because the previous one was fired. The new administrator was our colleague who worked in community development, which was awkward for us. During mediation we went back and forth with our attorney and the city’s to come to an agreement. During that time, we had to tell and retell our stories. Since I had moved on, the story telling was not as painful for me. One woman was still working there and the other was unemployed from being wrongfully dismissed and the pain they carried was incredible.
Fortunately, we prevailed with the city and because they settled with us, the union did not have to pay anything to the two of us who were in union. Our attorney took pity on us because it was such a sad and long-drawn out case that she only charged 10% of our settlements, which was generous since the fee is usually 35%. Since this was before the real dawning of the internet, and we were public employees, it was covered extensively in the local newspaper. The newspaper was online but most people still had it delivered and many would comment on the articles online. We endured so many comments about wanting to get paid as much as men. I was shocked then, and now I have grown weary of knowing it is just a reality. I got hate mail from anonymous people and I featured an example in my last blog. Our fellow union brothers told us that we didn’t need to be paid the same because we were married and we weren’t the bread-winners. It was just unbelievable.
One woman stayed working there for a number of years before filing another claim and prevailing. Part of her settlement was quitting her position. I found it hard to get support from hardly anyone except my husband. When friends and family heard about the claim, they were not that supportive even though I prevailed. At times I felt guilty of being greedy but I know deep down that is not the case. The other woman went on to have a successful career. We are still all friends today. Our experience made our bond stronger. I think there are a lot of women out there who are not getting the pay they deserve and they will never stand up for themselves because of the treatment they might receive. I think their stories about how earning less money for most of their careers and lives should be told and how it affected their ability to provide for their families.
I have provided a copy of the settlement below. Also, please visit Instagram or TikTok for a brief video highlighting this case.
The Beginning of #Dear Daughter
I have a daughter, Molly, and I want the world to be a place where she is treated like a human being and not devalued because she is female. During the early months of the pandemic, we were cleaning out our basement and I found a box of documents and evidence from a claim I filed against local city government and my union, and I shared it with Molly and I told her what happened. Some of the hate mail I received is above. I need to keep telling my story and so do other women. My #Dear Daughter journey started with Molly that day and I will continue to share with her and other daughters the inequalities I have endured in an effort to imagine their future lives with equity and inclusion.
The first goal is to make connections with women and their allies who are working toward equality and to have conversations. Because of the pandemic and the advantage of the internet, these conversations can take place online through social media platforms. In the conversations women will discover what they have in common, what is different, and what other experiences women are undergoing. Women all over the world are experiencing the pressures of the pandemic whether they are single, married, or if they have kids or not. Gender inequality spans into other marginalized groups of LGBTQ+ and women of color. Inequality may look different for certain groups of women but the struggle for and the goal to achieve equality will be the same. Working toward equality will create solidarity for women, and women will discover they have more in common than they think.
The next objective is for women, guardians, and allies to make #Dear Daughter connections with girls ages 10 to 20 to talk to them about a world that is better for women so that we can realize a better world for all. For women to bring the #Dear Daughter dimension to life they need to talk about imagining gender equality to each other as well as with allies and girls. Talking about issues regarding pay gaps, education, helping women start and sustain small businesses, and empowering women in today’s world should belong to everyone not just women and the conversations should start with girls. Gender equality will be achieved by encouraging men to share the care work, empowering girls to speak out, and stopping the body shaming.
Allies of gender equality are important for imagining the success of the #Dear Daughter movement and mission of inclusion and equity. The term daughter is intended to be imagined in the broadest sense as the mentors will vary from grandmas to neighbors to anyone who feels connected to the movement to improve gender equality. The purpose of planning a social media campaign that will propose ideas that are dynamic and work in the pandemic environment we are living in is to empower women and bring light to gender inequality. Our real world has been redefined and working with women, their allies, and guardians the social media campaign #Dear Daughter will reach out to girls to mentor and empower them in age-appropriate mediums.
In order for the movement to thrive, natural leaders will be identified to continue and carry on the #Dear Daughter messages and stories to the next generation. The long-term goal will be to incorporate more men into the movement to imagine equality for all. Men have the ability to be the greatest allies when the movement can successfully integrate them into the project to realize equality for all. We posted a brief video on this claim on TikTok and Instagram.
Please stay tuned to our blog and Facebook because we have a Men’s Panel on Gender Equity scheduled for Thursday, November 19, and we will post a video of that panel discussion.
Mental Load: A Day in the Life of a Woman in the Pandemic
Women’s Panel 11/8/20
This Could Never Happen to Me: Part 2
I attended my first union meeting a few months after I started my position. The union meetings were held in the Public Works building where most of the men in the union worked. The only two women—I was one of them—who were in the union worked in City Hall. Upon entering the building, there were men gathered around a table drinking beer. Mind you, this was a city government building and drinking alcohol is illegal. No one greeted me or welcomed me so I sat down and was fortunately joined by the only other woman in the union. We had no chance of running for any of the union officer positions because we would not be elected over any of the men in the union.
The most vivid memory I have of my first meeting was sitting across the table from a man who was wearing a t-shirt that said “free mustache rides” with no shame. I considered myself a worldly person and open-minded but I will never understand why he decided to wear that t-shirt to a union meeting. Between the beer-drinking and the t-shirt, I felt intimidated right from the start.
Although I no longer remember the business at hand at that meeting, the union went on throughout my 18-months of employment to undermine all my proposals and the proposals of the other woman in the union. The city underwent a comparable worth study from an outside firm and the study showed that both of us, plus a non-union woman, were not earning what we should be, especially in comparison to male union members. The union denied me vacation time during my first year of employment although they granted two other new male employees vacation time during their first year of employment. When I got a copy of the union contract I realized that I was hired at $1.54 less than what the minimum amount was supposed to be for my position. It took me six months to convince the union and the city to even consider adjusting this discrepancy that was clearly spelled out in the contract.
I am a supporter of unions. I have been a union member for several of my jobs throughout the years, and currently I work for a union and I am in a union. Unions are there for worker’s rights and I could not for the life of me figure out what was going on. The big difference in this union was the male to female ratio. When we asked for equal pay we were told outright that we did not need to earn as much as a man because we were married and our husbands were the bread-winners. I mean, seriously, what year, what decade was this? It was 2001! It was years later that I heard the term “gaslighting” and I knew right away that was what I experienced in this mostly male union.
When the three of us women finally filed claims with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, even though probable cause was found against both the city and the union, it was the union that refused to mediate with the two of us. By that time, we were worn out and we gave up. In my next blog I will talk about filing the claims and mediation. (To be continued in Part 3)
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