Gamifying the Wage Gap for International Women's Day?

As a parent, we want our children to have a better life than we do. Part of making things better is leading by example, speaking up about injustices in this world, and championing change.

Financial literacy is one of the many things we aim to teach our kids. Unfortunately, an often unspoken part of financial literacy is that women still make 65-75 cents for every dollar men earn. 

Stop the Party is an important annual campaign that coincides with International Women's Day. Stop the Party represents a pledge that Canadian businesses can commit to creating wage equality within their organizations.

Board Game Mimicking Real Life

Image Courtesy of Stop the Party

This year's Stop the Party campaign uses a classic family board game, The Game of Life, to showcase the wage gap's impact on the unbalanced odds stacked against women "winning" at the game of life. Their hacked version of the game features a supplementary pack of cards representing the reality of being a woman in the Canadian workforce. 

This past weekend my kids had the opportunity to play The Game of Life: Wage Gap edition with their cousins and experience its impact in a tangible, relatable, fun (albeit frustrating) way. 

The good news is we can still do a lot to help raise awareness of the wage gap and take steps toward wage equality. Making change starts with where we work and what we teach.

Families who want to play the game can download the rules and game cards for free at stoptheparty.ca  

Let's make a real difference this International Women's Day. The success of the next generation depends on it!

Click Here to learn more about  participating in the Stop the Party pledge individually the pledge on behalf of your organization.

Just Because I'm a Woman

Today is International Women's Day, a day dedicated to celebrating women, their political and human rights. For a number of years I have written a post on a topic that is meaningful to me about being a woman to commemorate the day.

I consider myself a feminist, and since becoming a parent have set out to provide a solid example for both of my children on what it means to be a woman.  I want them to know about what equality means, what friendship means, and that there is no right or wrong answer for what a family or romantic partnership is and can be.

Here's the problem: sometimes it's hard not to feel like a fraud.  My husband and I have a fairly traditional relationship, and have lived an extremely privileged life.  The exception I have felt is how motherhood, the perception of motherhood, and my position as a parenting or "mommy blogger" have impacted my career.  Career wise things changed when I became a mom, there's no doubt about it, but at the end of the day am I just another family in a cookie cutter mold of societal norms, perpetuating the nuclear family?  What am I doing to promote the cause, to help create a world for my children where they both will have ample and equal opportunities to be and do what they want when our family is the status quo?  Here's the big thing, my family structure, my relationship, my partnership, what I've been doing with my career, it's all my choice, and one I'm incredibly thankful for.

Who said construction workers can't wear pretty dresses?  Me at 4 years old.

For the most part I feel like Chris and I are rocking the whole parenting open minded children who are both aware and accepting of the many different lifestyles around them.   We want them to know that they should aim for their own happiness, not what they feel they should do or become because other people have told them to.

Then something gets said or asked of me by my children that makes my blood boil even though I know that my four and a half year olds are not trying to oppress their mother, they are simply trying to better understand the world around them.

For example when a child says:

"You're sitting in daddy's seat."

We both assure them that we share the drivers seat and that not one of us "owns it"

or

"Did you ask daddy for permission to X (INSERT RANDOM THING I AM DOING HERE)?"  Then it is explained that mommy and daddy work together as a team, and don't always need permission for everything they do.

It's hard not project your own personal hang-ups on your kids, I'm still learning alongside them and happily.  We are all so lucky that we live where we do, that we have the choices that we do.

What feminist inspired children's book you are you going to read with your kid on International Women's Day?

Here's what's on our reading list:

Rosie Revere Engineer by Andrea Beaty

Girl Power 5 Minute Stories by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch

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Man! I Feel Like a Woman

Dear Molly & Jack,

This Sunday is International Women's Day.  I know that probably doesn't mean much to either of you yet.  Heck it didn't mean anything to me until a couple of years ago which is particularly shameful for someone who was half a credit shy of earning a minor in Women's Studies in her undergrad.

In 1975 the United Nations began celebrating International Women's Day on March 8th.  Forty years later it is celebrated as a day to look back on past struggles and achievements of women from the past as well as looking forward towards the potential and opportunities that we all hope are available to future generations of women, such as yourself Molly.

I didn't really feel the impact of the glass ceiling until I was in my thirties, when I smashed my head against it rather hard.  For over half a decade your father and I would play career tag as we'd catch up and pass each other with various new promotions on a regular basis.   We both continuously sought out new levels of professional experience and education.

Then we had you both.  Two amazing people who have provided more love and inspiration than I could ever imagine, leading me to write more than I ever had in my life.  For my maternity/parental year I focused on you, building our new lives as a family, my writing and I picked up a small contract with my work for several months to both show my post-parental dedication to my career and help me with the transition to my new life as a working mom.

Me and Molly, about a month before I returned to work.

On my first day back at the office I was so excited to have returned.  My day flew by, then half an hour before the end of the day I got a call that changed everything: one of you had spiked a fever and needed to come home immediately and not return to daycare until you were 24 hours symptom free.  I rushed out of the office, only to be faced with a 45 minute subway delay.  I wept all the way to daycare.  All of a sudden everything was different. I was torn between my ability to be a stand up employee and the mom I wanted to be at the same time.  In two words, it sucked.  Nearly three years later I still struggle.

I have always prided Chris and my equal relationship in our marriage and parenting.  Suddenly, I felt this equality was biting me. Chris was openly praised as this amazing dedicated dad and business professional and I felt like I was falling farther and farther behind as a 6-8pm parent who was struggling professionally.  It seemed like he was getting amazing professional support and accommodation for working from home, parental leave days and sympathy on being a working dad while I felt like I was under an unseen microscope as if I was unable to fully dedicate myself to a job. I continued to walk the tightrope of trying to prove myself to a new boss, using vacation time to care for sick children and getting incredibly sick myself on a regular basis, particularly in my first six months back.

Years later, as you continue to grow up and I continue to grow my career as a writer, I recognize that my title as a "mommy" blogger has a stigma attached to it that negates some of my credibility as a writer, but I continue to wear it as a proud badge (I've always had a thing for badges, just ask my Girl Guide leader). Anti-feminist movement and anti-women sentiment seemed to be a theme in 2014 as my rage began to boil. I wanted to both "lean in" and be a freaking awesome parent.

Molly, the other day you asked me if I was a woman and what that meant.  As we had our conversation about women and men you told me that you wanted to be a woman"RIGHT NOW" and not a little girl. I encouraged you to enjoy your youth, stating the obvious facts that you'll be an adult most of your life.

The truth is we have a lot of work to do as women and men before I'm ready for you to be a woman. I've never felt an urge to fight harder for my rights as a woman, as a professional and as a parent since you two have been born.  With all of the technology we have today to work remotely and allow for flexible hours it's shocking to see how many organizations are focused on hours of face time put in rather than production from individual employees.

I was raised in an environment filled with really strong women role-models, which I credit as one of the reasons why I didn't know about International Women's Day until recently.  I lived it each and every day.  On this International Women's Day, I am wishing I can provide you both the example I was and you never have to question how your gender impacts your professional or family needs and rights.  I will fight so hard to make sure that some major changes happen before you are both grown up.

Sincerely,
Mom


To view my post for International Women's Day 2014 on princesses and the Bechdel Test click here.

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More Than a Woman

Saturday was International Women's Day: designated over 100 years ago to celebrate women, mainly in a political and human rights themed manner, as designated (and designed) by the United Nations.

I thought long and hard about what this day means to me and what it will eventually mean to Molly.  I debated writing a letter to Molly about this day in a post, then I decided that this post should be for both of my children in the hope that I raise Jack to care about women and women's issues just as much as his sister.

On International Women's Day (and every day) I want you both to know the following:

You are both 100% of everything.  I hope neither of you has to struggle with earning 81% of  anyone because of your gender, orientation, class, age or any other demographic.

The other day (Molly) when you told me that you played princess all day I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes and sighing.  You then explained to me that Jack was a princess, daddy was a princess and mommy was a princess.  When I asked you what a princess was, you told me that it was someone nice, who sings, dances and likes animals.  I'm pretty okay with your interpretation of what a princess is, especially compared to the Disney version in my own head.  My issues with princesses are my own, clearly not yours.

You can be anything you want* and we will both support you.

This International Women's Day I am thankful for the following things:

Books that support princess boys and princess girls like: My Princess Boy, 10,000 Dresses and of course The Paper Bag Princess


The Bechdel Test: Essentially it's a test for movies to support better gender representation.  To qualify or pass this Swedish film rating system, your movie must:

• Have two or more women
• These women must talk to each other...
• About ANYTHING other than a man. 

I am especially thankful for movies like Despicable Me and The Hunger Games that bring us strong women role models who pass the test.

Jack, your love of pink teddy bears and Molly, your insistence that you are in fact Batman, help your dad and I both unlearn a lot of the gender stereotypes we are guilty of every day.

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*Within reason and I'll support you: I hear there is a shortage of clowns, just don't become drug dealers or prostitutes (literal or figurative). I can't handle that.