Get the feed!
Little things that would make a big difference
Read the article / show / issue that provoked me to write a letter and my response below that or go straight to my response
Date Posted on this Site
June 25, 2007
Publication
Toronto Star
Publication Date
June 21, 2007
Published Content
Equal pay, no tax on birth control, universal daycare just a few items that would lighten the load for most women
Antonia Zerbisias
Whether we're talking the Prime Minister's Office, the corner office or a dark corner of the globe, it's a man's world.
But imagine the impact if the Pope kept his umbraculum away from our uteri, or if girls stayed in school until 16, instead of having babies at 14.
Alas, I am not Queen of the Planet - although I will accept your votes. So, until my coronation, here are 10 things, some serious, some not-so-much, that would improve life for women here:
1. No matter how much learning a girl gets, her earnings never match a boy's. Statistics Canada reports that the wage gap for young women with university degrees has barely shrunk.
In 1991, they earned 20 per cent less than their male peers. In 2001, 18 per cent. Maybe women gravitate to jobs that pay less, in the nurturing professions, for example. Maybe they take jobs that allow them to have families instead of going for killer careers.
Either way, they make a contribution that has no monetary value.
So, unless you think an investment banker who deals in e-blips is worth more than a teacher who works with troubled kids, you should not be okay with the disparity.
Then why not some tax breaks?
Start with tampons. The NDP has repeatedly proposed that the GST on them be eliminated.
With "feminine protection" a billion-dollar industry, that's $60 million a year padding the federal coffers, all from women who don't exactly have a choice. (There is no PST on this in Ontario.)
Let's also scrap the taxes on diapers, for children and adults. There's a reason you see women in those Depends ads.
Wipe out the tax on toilet tissue. Women buy more than men.
And did you know there is no GST on human sperm? There, a tax break. But if she tries to avoid sperm, boink! Taxes on birth control products and pregnancy tests.
Which brings us to....
Eliminate the GST on baby food. Working mothers have enough to do.
2. Give fathers a paid two-week paternity leave immediately after the birth of a child.
That's in addition to the parental leave rights now in place.
If a father is not in the picture, then the mother should be able to hire assistance or order in food or whatever, and deduct the cost without losing any of her (fully taxable) federal child care allowance - which is a lousy $1,200.
3. Absolutely no clothing should ever be sold without containing some spandex.
It not only extends the life of a garment, it also extends your comfort, your reach - and your ability to enjoy dessert.
4. Ensure that women across Canada have equal access to abortion.
Federal law dictates that the provinces fully fund abortion clinics. But that's not happening in Quebec and Nova Scotia.. In fact, women in the Maritimes and in rural areas have few options. In Prince Edward Island, they have none.
5. Universal daycare. Safe and subsidized. Now.
6. Teach boys in sex education class that there's more to it than the part of the first party fitting into the part of the second party. A recent joint survey by Men's Health and Cosmopolitan revealed that 93 per cent of women have faked orgasms - and yet only 40 per cent of guys believe their partners ever have. Men need to learn that there is a rhymes-with-bit bit involved and, if they don't find it, all they'll get is drama.
7. Put the brakes on misleading advertising. If there were really a cream that banished cellulite or a pill that made you burn fat, everybody would look good in a bathing suit.
8. If 50 is the new 30, why are models getting younger and skinnier? Baby boomer babes have money to burn - and we ain't dead yet.
In fact, no longer dragged down by children or even, sometimes, husbands, we're hotter than ever.
Why must mature women be used only to promote wrinkle potions or cover-your- grey hair colour? Why can't Angela Bassett's or Sharon Stone's butt fill out a pair of designer jeans?
9. Ride the TTC and you'll notice that a disproportionate number of passengers are women. Drive the DVP and you'll see that most of the drivers are men. Create a discounted fare for women who use the TTC in the off-rush hours - the office cleaners, the chambermaids and the nannies.
10. Employers that make women wear pantyhose should pay for it. It's expensive, it never lasts and it ends up in landfill. It profits the petrochemical industry, it's ugly and it causes lineups at public washrooms. It doesn't keep you warm, it doesn't keep you cool, and, if you need it to hold your tummy in, ask yourself if a man would wear it.
They don't call it control top for nothing. And control is what this is all about.
My Response Letter
How ridiculous that Ms. Zerbisias believes the load for women would lighten considerably if only the "Pope kept his umbraculum away from our uteri".
Let's be honest: women who champion abortion and contraception don't listen to the Pope in any circumstance.
The pot shot at the papacy is hollow and unwarranted.
Jason Gennaro
Was my response published?
No