Thought for today: Equality achieved? Hardly!

Saw a news item today, about a recent Pew Research Center survey of American men and women. Whichever of the two major political parties they identify with, and whichever presidential candidate they're voting for in November, 63% of the women surveyed say that obstacles continue to make it harder for women than men to succeed. Among men, though, just 41% think those obstacles still exist.

The men's response must have sounded a bit odd to the women observing Black Women's Equal Pay Day today, which commemorates the fact that it took America's black women from January 1, 2015, until this day -- August 23, 2016 -- to earn the same amount of money that white American men earned last year. That's right: it takes the average black woman eight extra months to match the average white man's annual income in this, the land of equality. That massive pay gap -- which adds up to a lifetime differential of $877,480 -- persists even though black women are the most educated group in the United States, and even though they participate in the labor force at higher rates than other American women.

It must have sounded odd to most other American women in the workforce, too. Whichever calculation you accept as valid, women still are paid less than men who bring the same levels of education, training and experience to the same job. Women often find themselves bumping up against the proverbial glass ceiling, not even being considered for the next job. They observe that it is they, but not their male "peers," who are asked to organize the staff meetings, plan the menus, and sometimes even prepare the coffee. And heaven help women who try to prove their ability to compete in the workplace by being tough and authoritative rather than nurturing and collaborative: instead of being seen as leaders, as their male counterparts are, they're dismissed as bitches.

An oversimplified, anecdotal statement, yes -- although research studies abound to prove these notions true.

That's why I am convinced that, when Hillary Clinton becomes President (yes, she will!) on January 20, 2017, the quest for full equality for American women will not have ended. For just as Barack Obama's election didn't signify the end of racism in America, but rather brought issues of racism further to the fore in the national conversation, Hillary's election is sure to do the same when it comes to the quest for ender equality.

August 23, 2016