Forget the "war on women" as you've heard it framed lately. The sharia-like posture of many of the presidential candidates regarding women's reproductive rights is shocking, but it's only the tip of the iceberg. Just as Mrs. Romney's decision to be a stay-at-home mom was celebrated by the right to the embarrassment of an unfortunate comment on the left, women's work is where the real controversy lies.
Lately we've heard a good many American occupations maligned: lawyers, teachers, postal workers and so on. Ronald Reagan even attacked restaurant workers for not paying enough taxes on tips. I've been wondering who does the work Republicans love to hate? And who does the work no one dare criticize?
Here are by my reckoning (couldn't manage to find data on this) the occupations -- and situations -- we hear accused of various and nefarious offenses:
Maligning attorneys, judges and politicians is popular even though mostly men hold those jobs. But women's careers are certainly more likely to appear on the right's hit list. Gender is not the only factor in determining who to beat up on from the halls of power. But the second list is indeed interesting. Other than housewife, can you think of a single predominantly female occupation that receives frequent political or pundit praise?
I can't. But then, I belong to one of those gutter occupations, those blood-suckers in the top list.
Lately we've heard a good many American occupations maligned: lawyers, teachers, postal workers and so on. Ronald Reagan even attacked restaurant workers for not paying enough taxes on tips. I've been wondering who does the work Republicans love to hate? And who does the work no one dare criticize?
Here are by my reckoning (couldn't manage to find data on this) the occupations -- and situations -- we hear accused of various and nefarious offenses:
- Welfare Moms
- 100% women, I'll venture
- Social workers
- 82% women
- Postal workers
- 40% women
- Teachers
- 77% women
- School administrators
- 65% women
- College professors
- 46%women
- College students
- 58% women
- Government workers (in general)
- Could not find a gender breakdown. There are 11 million local government employees, 3.8 million state government employees and 3 million federal employees for a total of nearly 17 million workers.
- Attorneys
- 32% women
- Judges
- 44% women
- Politicians
- 24% of state legislators are women; 17% of Congressional representatives are women
- Doctors and nurses
- 75% of healthcare professionals are women
- Soldiers
- 80% male
- Business owners and CEOs
- 76% male
- Police officers
- 88% male
- Fire fighters
- 95% male
- Engineers and other STEM occupations
- 80% male
- Athletes and coaches
- 65% male
- Clergy
- 82% male
Maligning attorneys, judges and politicians is popular even though mostly men hold those jobs. But women's careers are certainly more likely to appear on the right's hit list. Gender is not the only factor in determining who to beat up on from the halls of power. But the second list is indeed interesting. Other than housewife, can you think of a single predominantly female occupation that receives frequent political or pundit praise?
I can't. But then, I belong to one of those gutter occupations, those blood-suckers in the top list.
Comments
Post a Comment
I'm interested in your comments.