Some women resist the need for a special economic plan for women. This is my response.
My ovaries and mammary glands single me out for different economic needs.
As I walked around pregnant 3 times as an attorney, my big tummy and leaking breasts effected the type of adjustments I needed on a temporary basis to succeed. My body demanded that I shift great resources to nurturing, and caring for the life of others. I couldn't delegate breast feeding to anyone. I had to carry the pump with me, and I had to keep track of whether I needed to pump thirty minutes before the Judge expected me to be in his chambers, or before the deposition started. If I forgot, I leaked everywhere.
Later on, after the kids were born, it was me who had to be there when my children were throwing up, or needed a parent at the school party. Of course the other parent can share the load, but then a system that discriminates against that sort of involvement makes it difficult for the father as well. And if the parent is single, the need to succeed at both, presents a no win situation for a single parent.
I want a economic plan for women, specifically, so that we can pursue the joys and successes of applying our body to care and raise other people for the next generation. Putting forth an economic plan that does not take into account ovaries, uterus, and lactating breasts, is what prevents women for making greater advances in the work place.
Read Care and Equality by Mona Harrington and Cornell West, and you'll understand what I expect.
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