Attack of the 5-foot woman

Reimagining economic stimulus

The federal budget that came down this week missed a real opportunity to stimulate the economy by making it easier for parents, especially mothers, to work.

An amazing way to kick-start the stalling economy would be to bring in a national child care program.

If it was done well, it could create jobs for early childhood educators, and bring above board the thousands of unregistered home-run child care options parents use because they can’t afford registered day care.

It would give mothers that want to work, the opportunity to work full-time or even start their own businesses.

Spending money on the women who take care of children (their own and other people’s) may seem like a crazy way to battle a recession.

But why is it any crazier then pouring money into make-work projects in male-dominated fields, like building roads and bridges? Roads and bridges are not actually a one-time expense, they have to be constantly maintained and repaired and someone has to find the money to pay for that.

That money could just as easily, and maybe more effectively, be spent on supporting working families who need child care.

The push for a national child care program has been around since before my mother got pregnant with me, Unfortunately in recent years the debate’s been tainted by politicians. Now, if you want national child care you must support the Liberals and if you want $100 a month, you’re Torrie blue.   

But the fact remains wanting good, affordable child care, so that everyone can participate equally in the workforce, isn’t Conservative or Liberal. It’s just smart.

Expecting more for pregnant women

A B.C. woman who was fired after announcing she was pregnant was awarded a $26,000 compensation for discrimination after her case went to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal

The Tribunal ordered Traveland Leisure Vehicles to compensate Hailey de Lisser $21,000 for lost wages and maternity benefits and $5,000 for injury to her dignity and feelings.

It’s great that this woman was vindicated, but $26,000 seems a pretty paltry settlement.

I guess breaking the law by firing a pregnant part-time worker isn’t considered as serious as firing a pregnant full-time employee. Considering how many women work part-time while their children are young, that could leave a lot of women with less protection.

Canada's birth rate is increasing, but between bad employers, lack of affordable day care and the wage hit women take for spending time at home with a newborn, it’s amazing anyone is deciding to have children.

A Handmaid's Tale

One parent’s concern over a book his teenage son read for class could get ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ banned from the Toronto school board curriculum.

I’d certainly heard of the Margaret Atwood 1985 classic but hadn’t got around to reading the book. Once the complaint surfaced the curiosity was too much to ignore.

It’s an incredible book. A well-written, terrifyingly bleak portrayal of a fundamentalist society that reduces women to either breeders, housemaids or wives for wealthy men.

I’m not sure what the father’s problem with the book is, but it’s suspected that it’s over “sexuality and criticism of religious fundamentalism”.

The sex scenes are few, undetailed and not remotely erotic.

The depiction of a fundamentalist religious state is not flattering. The fictional religion is Bible-based but it doesn’t reflect any Christian sect I know of (the multiple women for wealthy men could be compared to fundamentalist polygamist Mormons but it’s a stretch).

Banning any book that looks at society and religion critically could take everything from Robert Munsch’s Giant to Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities out of the classroom.

Let’s hope one closed-minded parent doesn’t have the power to take this Canadian classic out of the classroom.

A few good women

I had a history professor who said Canadians rarely build statues and monuments to our heroes, the greatest honour a Canadian can get is to have an elementary school named after them.

I’m sure an arboretum is an equal honour.  

Local nature lover Minnie Pennell worked to make Cobourg beautiful for decades and this week she was recognized by the town for her effort.

Council decided to name the tree sanctuary at Elgin and Burnham Streets the ‘Minnie Pennell Arboretum’.

Minnie spent years trying to convince the town to create the arboretum and then was instrumental in choosing the types of trees planted in the park.

The town also considered naming the arboretum after Susanna Moodie, an anti-slavery English settler to Cobourg in the early-1800s who was an author best known for ‘Roughing It in the Bush’.

They decided to wait for something related to writing to bear Ms. Moodie’s name. Maybe we can look forward to seeing Susanna Moodie’s name on a new wing of the library.

While the town is naming places after bad-ass Cobourg women, I hope they consider Alice Wilson.

Ms. Wilson was a geologist born in Cobourg in on Aug. 26, 1881. She spent a lot of her childhood outdoors, canoeing and camping with her father and two brothers.

Her early interest in the fossils in the limestone formations around Cobourg turned into a career as an eminent paleontologist. In 1909 she became the first woman to hold a professional position at the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) labelling specimens and keeping records.

Back then women weren’t allowed to work in the field but through her persistence she was eventually assigned the Ottawa-Saint Lawrence Valley. She became known for her detailed studies of the fossils and rock of the lowland.

The Geological Survey gave cars to its male employees but would not give one to Ms. Wilson, so she bought her own.

The GSC gave employees paid leave to further their studies but it took seven years for Ms. Wilson to convince her employer to grant her leave to get her PhD. She was 48 when she earned her doctorate in geology.

In 1935 Ms. Wilson became a member of the Order of the British Empire. Then the GSC finally published her work for the first time and gave her a promotion.

In 1936 she became a Fellow in the Geological Society of America and in 1938 she was the first woman Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada.

At 65 she retired and five people had to be hired to replace her.

War and Peace

Eight Jewish women were arrested and released without being charged after staging a good-old-fashion sit-in at the Israeli consulate in Toronto.

The group of peace activists, filmmakers, the president of Science for Peace and students, were protesting the Israeli attack on Gaza.

“Israel purports to represent all Jews worldwide and these atrocities are not being committed in our name,” said filmmaker Cathy Gulkin.

It’s been 12 long days of Israeli troops clashing with Hamas militants, and mounting civilian deaths.

While these demonstrators were opposing Israeli actions, it’s not like all women agree with them.

“Having made the difficult decision, too long deferred, to take the conflict to Hamas by sending ground troops into Gaza, Israel needs to finish what it started; to control the battlefield for today and for however many tomorrows can be secured by this tragic but unavoidable campaign,” said Rosie Dimanno in her column.

It’s good to see the Star representing the range of reactions to this war, and resisting the stereotypes that lump all women together as pacifists.

The price of harassment

An East Coast woman is suing the Halifax Bank of Scotland for sexual, racial and religious harassment.

When Mona Awad worked as a corporate banking manager in the branch in Nottingham “one boss taunted her by saying a colleague had been watching her on holiday wearing a bikini, it is alleged.”

She says he also told her he did not want to work with Asians and mocked her for fasting during Ramadan.

Then when she transferred to another branch in Derby, her new boss started to harass her.

‘He asked me in front of my colleagues in a meeting whether I was “s****ing” an employee of our customer. I was devastated.’

He once lifted up her pant leg in front of staff to show them her leg. 

Ms. Awad is suing the bank and her two former managers. Neither man works with the company anymore, but after she encountered such a hostile work environment in two branches it does raise questions about how the bank failed to protect workers from discrimination.

She’s suing for £16.7 million ($29 million in Canadian dollars) in compensation for loss of earnings, injury to feelings, aggravated damages and punitive damages.

If she gets that much, it could be one of the highest amounts awarded for sex discrimination in Great Britain.

I kind of hope she gets it. Companies can be really bad at handling harassment, reacting months after the fact or simply transferring the complainant or putting her on sick leave. 

Nothing will inspire companies to pro-actively tackle discrimination in the workplace like the potential to lose almost $30 million.

Resolution Issues

Happy New Year!

Now that 2009 is officially underway it’s time to look at those New Year’s resolutions in the cold, hard light of day.

The first ones to ditch are those resolutions born from pressure to look like an anemic super model.

Eating well and exercising is never a bad idea. Trying to drop 50 lbs. in 6 months is either not going to work, or the rebound will be painful.

Now’s also a good time to abandon the resolutions that involve a complete personality makeover.

One year, I resolved to stop telling people off and just let things slide off my back. I’m sure for some this would have empowered them with a Zen like calm. For the two weeks I tried it, this was pure torture. It turned out I was telling people off because they were being rude. Instead I decided to like that I stand up for myself, and back people up when they’re out of bounds.

This year I suggest sticking with fun resolutions: learning to belly dance, spending more time with friends and family and maybe taking a trip.

Here’s to a wonderful 2009.