[News] Obama Gets Real About Women's Rights

So I'm four days late on the uptake on this one. My full-time job gets in the way of these things from time to time.

During Monday's press conference, Obama took the time to talk about Women's History Month. While he cited progress that women like Eleanor Roosevelt promoted in the past, he also took on the honorable task of articulating the protracted road before us. Women still attend and graduate college at lower rates than men, and (duh!) they still earn less for doing the exact same work. I'm not sure he actually plans to do anything concrete to change these inequities, but bringing awareness to the fact that women still very much face unequal treatment in the workplace is a huge deal.

However, I'm not prepared to say that this is enough. I know it's a lot to ask from a man to talk about the major cultural biases that women face in America, but it needs to be opened for discussion, just as Obama opened race up for discussion in our nation. Women need to know that they are not powerless against cultural and social discrimination, no matter how subtle it is. And it is damn subtle. But these subtle differences in the way we are treated, how we are referred to in the workplace (Miss Jones), these are all things that prohibit us from excelling at work and from trying harder. They keep us from reaching out for more and from being highly competitive. It starts at a young age, all this, and it needs to be nipped in the bud.

I distinctly remember hearing a mother in a park about a year ago say the following to her daughter: "Little girls are seen and not heard." Meanwhile, the girl's girl's brother screamed over the mother's voice trying to divert attention from his sister. I worry for those "little girls" who will soon become grown women and who won't see themselves very far outside the domestic sphere. I want so much more for them.

Now, I do want to give Obama credit. Obama's policies might not be all that he promised they would be, but I never heard President Bush talk about Women's History Month. Once, I heard him talk about the immorality of third trimester abortions (he made no mention of the fact that these operations usually occur to save the woman's life). I also don't really think of President Bill Clinton as having done much for women's rights. In fact, I think he probably put us back about two decades. So here's a salute to you, President Obama. Thanks for trying. This can't be solved by one man's call to action. We all need to re-think gender relations in this country, and we all need to start doing so right now.