Sunday night at the Academy Awards, Patricia Arquette rallied for equal pay for women. This is a topic that I speak about often, and is the subject of my keynote speech, Sexy from the Bedroom to the Boardroom- Bridging the Gender Wage Gap.
We have come a long way since the 50’s and 60’s but there is still work to be done to get to where we, as women, are paid the same as men. The statistics that I have heard are that women are paid about 78 cents-92 cents to the dollar compared to men. What are the contributing factors to this and why as a country are we allowing it? Most of our Presidents have daughters and I would imagine it is similar in the Senate and Congress and in Boardrooms around the country. So pretty much what is being said is that is ok to pay my daughter less than my son. How, as a parent, can you say that is okay?
I don’t have children but I would want them all treated equally and whomever is smarter, brighter and has more experience should make more money. It should not be based on gender.
I think as society we have some issues. We have de-feminized women in the workplace so much, that it isn’t a surprise that women in homes across the country have sexual issues. In the 50’s and 60’s women were sexualized in the workplace, but they also looked like women. Over the past 30+ years we have swung so far in the opposite direction that women often don’t feel like women anymore. Women have had to work in a “Man’s World”, dress like a man, and lead like a man. Women have had to work against “Being a Bitch” when doing the same thing a male counterpart would be praised for, for less pay, doing the same job.
I experienced this 1st hand in the restaurant industry. The dress code I had to adhere to left little room to feel feminine. Pantsuits, button-down shirts (with no more than the top button undone), clunky slip-resistant shoes, and little to no jewelry. Some of this was for safety, but it was over the top. Nothing lower than the collar-bone, nothing sheer, no short sleeves. The men looked handsome in a collared shirt and tie, and the women never looked as polished. It was hard to switch on the feminine switch when returning home after a 10-12 hour day at work. When this happens, relationships suffer. The last thing a woman wants to usually do when returning home from this world is to flip the switch and be sexy with her partner.
By not allowing woman to dress femininely and sexy, it removes that part of her from her livelihood. It has not been surprising to me, how much sexier I feel now that I wear a dress and heels everyday! I like my body more, I care more about what I look like and I look and feel better. And you know what? Confidence is sexy! I am much more sexual both with myself and with my lover. I feel like a lady. I feel more confident in business and congruent to my true self.
Yes, I did mention self-pleasure. Men masturbate more. I think that is a known fact. I correlate this to confidence and in part the wage gap. When self-pleasuring, the body creates the same chemicals released, as when with a partner. But when you are not with another person, instead of the chemicals putting out love and attraction for the other person, the mind gives that love and attraction back to yourself. It creates self-love and confidence. It helps to overcome body-image issues and creates confidence to ask for what is needed and desired, including more money in a job. Men self-pleasure more, are more confident, they have less body-image issues, ask for what they want, receive bigger raises and make more money. More self-pleasure=more money!
This is purely my opinion and thanks for reading my theory because it is based on personal experiences and observations!