Guest Column
Bozeman’s Tracy Velazquez: Gender Matters in Politics
By Tracy Velazquez, 5-10-06
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Bozeman House candidate Tracy Velazquez wrote this guest column in response to an earlier story about a campaign flyer she distributed. Read about it, and a comment from Sen. Bob Hawks, by clicking HERE.The following is Ms. Velazquez's response.]
Does gender matter? The answer to this question, it appears to me, is “yes.” First, a little history on women in politics:
Nineteen states – including Montana – have absolutely no female representation in Congress. Women make up over half the population, but hold only 15.2% of the seats in the U.S. House and Senate, 220 years after our country’s independence. To gain equal representation by 2020, the hundredth anniversary of women’s suffrage, women would need to win nineteen more seats every two years.
Here in Montana, less than one in four of our legislators are currently women; eighty-eight percent of the Montana Senate is male. Jeannette Rankin may have been the first woman representative in Washington, but she was the last woman representative for Montana, ever. Why is this important? Because research has shown that women believe that women represent them and issues important to them better than men do, regardless of party.
I understand my opponent thinks women’s issues don't matter to my house district. Perhaps he doesn’t understand that here in Montana, and in America, there is a lot in play this time around that women would like a say on. Some of these issues include:
-Choice. With Samuel Alito and John Roberts now in full Supreme Court regalia, there is the very real possibility that Roe v. Wade may be overturned; this will bring the issue back to state legislatures. A male friend of mine joked, “Have any members of our county delegation ever woke up worried they might be pregnant?” Having three children myself, I know how pregnancy and motherhood impacts every facet of a woman’s life. Shouldn’t women in Gallatin County have at least one woman’s first-hand perspective on reproductive choice and privacy?
-Inequalities in the workplace. A 10/5/2005 report stated that the largest gender wage gap in the country is right here in Montana, where women make 67 cents on the dollar (nationally it’s 76 cents). Some have tried to portray this as a result of less job experience or education. However, a research report by the Montana Department of Labor last month showed women in state government earned over a thousand dollars less per year than men, even when factors like tenure, union affiliation, and full time status are taken into account. It makes sense that more women – many of whom have faced gender discrimination in their lifetimes – need to be in Helena.
-Values. There is a gender gap in America when it comes to what men and women believe on important issues. A January 2006 Gallup Poll showed that 62% of American women, versus 53% of men, want our troops to come home from Iraq by the end of 2006. Only 34% of women approve of President Bush’s handling of Iraq, compared with 53% among males; three-fifths of women disapprove of Bush's handling of the economy, while only half of men disapprove. (Bloomberg, April 2006). In a separate February 2006 poll, 64% of women are dissatisfied with the direction the country is going, compared with 53% for men. The fact is, women see the world a little differently than men – and we deserve to have women representing our world-view.
-Health and Healthcare. Last week, I attended a Sierra Club-sponsored event to measure how much mercury – a known toxin that is especially dangerous to children – is in a person’s system. I was struck that the vast majority of participants were women. Mercury emissions – particularly from coal-fired power plants – will definitely be an issue in the legislature. Women in many ways are still the “caretakers” of families, especially the young and the old. And they themselves tend to live longer, meaning issues around Medicare, Social Security and prescription drugs affect them more. From my two decades of work in non-profits, I can say with authority that women are the ones in the trenches on issues like these, and it’s important that there be women in Helena they can relate to.
Is it divisive to say that women deserve representation? Not any more than it’s divisive to say that race and class played a role in the pitiful response to Hurricane Katrina. These are tough issues. And, unfortunately, this is a zero-sum game: nineteen more women every two years to get to a 50-50 Congress by 2020 means nineteen less men every two years.
This coming Sunday, Mother’s Day, there will be a Rally and March in Bozeman. “We the People: A Revolutionary Mother’s Day March” will begin at noon in Lindley Park. Organized by “Montana Women For,” the event is to draw attention to the many ways our government is ignoring the will of the people. Few know that Mother’s Day wasn’t originally about a nice brunch and flowers for Mom. It was about women marching to protest issues they felt men weren’t addressing. First, it was working conditions. Then, it was the First World War. Again, it has fallen to women to organize; to pick up swords and ask us all to beat them back into ploughshares; to protect the rights of all citizens; and to fight for liberty and justice for all. This event is for EVERYONE. No one involved believes that men are adversaries; we all need to work together. I hope you will come.
As the flip side of my postcard (at right) shows, there are LOTS of good reasons to vote for me; representation was just one of twelve listed. I have broad experience in issues that matter to Montana and Bozeman. As a small business owner, I’d bring a sense of entrepreneurship and innovation – not to mention fiscal responsibility – to the legislature. And unlike my opponent, I actually stand for things. You can’t stand for “compromise”: you and your opponent need to each make compromises to your core beliefs, to come up with something you can both live with. Anything less is capitulation and appeasement. The folks in House District 66 deserve someone with some “chutzpah;” and in this case, frankly, the best man for the job is a woman.
Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.
Comments
Add your comment below
What is the basis for such a statement?
What you're saying is almost sexist in a way...getting rid of nineteen "men" and replacing them with "women?" No other reason? It's almost like saying we need to replace whites with colors for that reason alone. You bet it's divisive.
As for your wage parity, again, the fact remains that women do different jobs in the private sector, in the public sector, with all the GS ratings and stuff, a thousand bucks for a sector that pays more than the MT average already, say 28 grand, is not a 33 percent disparity but on the order of 3 or 4 percent. That's trivial.
You need to think things through a lot better before you are qualified to play with my money.
I do not work for or support your primary opponent, just wanted more facts on candidate differences.
Even after reading the second paragraph of your comment over and over and over AGAIN ~ I'd almost swear you are stating as a fact that there is only a 3 or 4 percent variance in wages paid to women vs. those paid to men for doing the same jobs??!!??
Is that what you reeeeaaaalllllly intended to say? ~ and/or what you reeeeaaaalllllly believe to be true?
Surely not!!!
I guess I better read it one more time ~ or ~ better yet: would you mind re-stating what you reeeeaaaalllllly meant to say in that paragraph please?
I know it is late in the day so maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me!
So while you're at it would you please tell us just what "different jobs" you think women do out there in the land of the living?
Rose Mary
Dave seems to have focused on the second one, for state workers after adjustments: "However, a research report by the Montana Department of Labor last month showed women in state government earned over a thousand dollars less per year than men, even when factors like tenure, union affiliation, and full time status are taken into account."
I agree with him that is pretty small but still worth looking at.
The first one was statewide for all employees not just state government employees:
"A 10/5/2005 report stated that the largest gender wage gap in the country is right here in Montana, where women make 67 cents on the dollar (nationally it’s 76 cents). Some have tried to portray this as a result of less job experience or education..."
Rosemary seems to have focused on that first one.
Well it is a much bigger difference worthy of attention but it also does appear this data was unadjusted. I assume if it was adjusted job experience or education or child rearing choices and other factors might have an affect but I dont know specifically how much.
Moving from the first statement to the second may have created some of the confusion among us. Two different employment groups, one unadjusted, one adjusted. They look different because of the adjustment and because state government pay scales work differently and may be easier to control on equal basis than private sector (much more to bosses discretion, allowing more incentive based for performance or favoritism).
Interpretations of the private sector pattern especially will vary from person to person based on personal knowledge and perspective. I hope all share an equal pay for equal work philosophy-especially the two candidates. But equal pay outcome may not occur if all the variables are not equal. I am sure that is detailed literature out there to read if folks want the full 9 yards on this issue. I've read some and accept some men/women variance due to legitimate other factors but dont know how much of the total it is. Some of the gap is still legacy injustice when you look at comparable work basis.
Can you tell us a bit more about where you stand on the issues? I've checked your web site and can't find anything re: your alternatives to topics you identify as important.
Rather than be charactized by his opponent as insufficent on these topics Mike Phillips could if he wanted also step up and talk more about where he stands on issues particularly important to women- beyond the staples of good education, healthy environment, economic development that are certainly important. Or point out where that information has already been shared.
You provided as “evidence”, "What he has -- and hasn't -- said and written." This is not responsive.
If he's "said" or "written" something to the effect that women’s issues don't matter, what did he say, or write, and when did he say or write it? (Of course your comment regarding what he hasn't said or written is nonsensical.)
So, before darkly implying your opponent is in some way a sexist, how about some evidence? Inquiring minds want to know.
If you'd like to see the importance Phillips puts on women's issues, I suggest you go to his website, and also "Google" him. If you want to see what I've done on women's issues, google ME and you can check out my statewide op-eds and letters to the editor on issues like gender-equity insurance; wage gap; and the need for more female elected officials. And you can see the pictures of me at the Roe V. Wade anniversary forum that I organized on my website. Googling me should provide any interested individual more information on what I stand for and what I've done in Montana than they probably have time to read. I'm glad there has been such lively debate; this is an issue that has needed more attention for a long time.
I googled both candidates and learned some things. I'll read and listen more to the other available sources of information down the stretch and think about skills and agendas. When there are two candidates with virtues it can be hard, testy but I thank both for offering to take on the responsibilities and would guess that either will work hard and achieve some gains.