Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I WHAT IS SEX DISCRIMINATION?
- PART II SEXUAL HARASSMENT
- PART III PREGNANT WOMEN AND MOTHERS AT WORK
- PART IV FEMALE BREADWINNERS AND THE GLASS CEILING
- 47 The Supreme Court Slams the Door on Pay Discrimination Claims
- 48 A Call for Congressional Action to Remedy Pay Inequality
- 49 The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
- 50 Taking Stock: Is the Ledbetter Act Working?
- 51 The Lady in Red
- 52 Unfinished Business
- 53 Will ABA's Proposed Solutions for Gender Inequity Work?
- 54 Equality Still Elusive for Women in the Federal Workforce
- 55 “Girlie Men”
- 56 Playing “Too Womany” and the Problem of Masculinity in Sport
- 57 Binders for Women, Blinders for Romney
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Index
57 - Binders for Women, Blinders for Romney
from PART IV - FEMALE BREADWINNERS AND THE GLASS CEILING
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2016
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I WHAT IS SEX DISCRIMINATION?
- PART II SEXUAL HARASSMENT
- PART III PREGNANT WOMEN AND MOTHERS AT WORK
- PART IV FEMALE BREADWINNERS AND THE GLASS CEILING
- 47 The Supreme Court Slams the Door on Pay Discrimination Claims
- 48 A Call for Congressional Action to Remedy Pay Inequality
- 49 The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
- 50 Taking Stock: Is the Ledbetter Act Working?
- 51 The Lady in Red
- 52 Unfinished Business
- 53 Will ABA's Proposed Solutions for Gender Inequity Work?
- 54 Equality Still Elusive for Women in the Federal Workforce
- 55 “Girlie Men”
- 56 Playing “Too Womany” and the Problem of Masculinity in Sport
- 57 Binders for Women, Blinders for Romney
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Index
Summary
It was a welcome moment in the second presidential debate, held October 16, 2012, at Hofstra University, when one of the town hall participants asked a question about pay equity. The first debate, after all, had ignored all women's issues, despite the fact that such issues have been at the center of several national political controversies and reveal stark ideological and practical differences between the two candidates for president, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. And, of course, it is no secret that women comprise well more than half the electorate and an even greater proportion of the much sought-after “swing” and “undecided” voters.
At Hofstra, Katherine Fenton directed her question at President Barack Obama. “In what new ways,” she asked, “do you intend to rectify the inequalities in the workplace, specifically regarding females making only 72 percent of what their male counterparts earn?”
This was something of a softball for Obama, who has an excellent record on women's issues and on pay equity in particular. The very first bill he signed as president was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (discussed in Chapter 49), which restored the protection to victims of pay discrimination that had been gutted by the Supreme Court in its 2007 ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. And Obama's health care reform law contains many provisions designed to ensure that women have access to essential medical care such as mammograms, Pap smears, and contraception.
The interesting part of this segment of the debate began when Romney opened his mouth. In his nonanswer answer, Romney revealed that he fundamentally does not understand – or care about – issues like pay inequity that face women in the workplace. And his efforts to suggest that he does were ill informed, irrelevant, and, in some cases, downright offensive.
“BINDERS FULL OF – OF WOMEN”
To Candy Crowley's lead-in, “Governor Romney, pay equity for women,” Romney responded with praise for the “important topic,” one that he “learned a great deal about” as governor. His learning came when trying to “pull together a Cabinet and all the applicants seemed to be men.” “Well, gosh,” he said to his staff, “can't we – can't we find some – some women that are also qualified?” Enter the binders full of women.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Nine to FiveHow Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Continue to Define the American Workplace, pp. 330 - 335Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2016