The Pulse on Gender Equity in Seattle & Beyond
What a couple of weeks it's been! Last week (as I'm sure you're aware of, if only by the fact that rainbows took over social media) the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
And now, another victory, this time closer to home. Earlier I wrote about how Legal Voice, a local nonprofit that fights for women's rights by changing laws, was working to pass bills to fight non-consensual pornography, often referred to as 'revenge porn.'
“One? I have to pick just one?” she laughed.
I was chatting with Catherine Weatbrook, who’s running for Seattle City Council district 6 (Ballard/Fremont/Greenlake), and had just asked her to tell me about one gender equality issue she would work on if she were elected.
It’s hard to choose just one issue, because when it comes to Seattle, Weatbrook argues, “We are so not progressive enough. We talk a big game, but we don’t deliver.”
It’s Friday, early evening, and you’re enjoying happy hour with a few coworkers in downtown Seattle. After a couple of beers, you decide to head home to get some rest. But before catching the bus, you have to make a trip to the bathroom. You hug your coworkers, wish them a good weekend, and head to the back of the room to find the restroom. As you walk down the hall, a familiar, unpleasant feeling sets in to your stomach.
This is the moment you dread.
What do you think of when it comes to politics and gender equality?
You might think of the back and forth arguments about abortion. Maybe you consider the fact that women hold less than 20% of the seats in congress at the federal level. Or perhaps you’d think of the many women that Obama has appointed to high-level political positions, such as Janet Yellen.
But what about in Washington State? What’s happening here?
“It’s not just me,” I thought with a feeling of relief as the third city council candidate shared her story of facing discrimination at a former workplace.
“It’s not just me.”
These are incredibly powerful words. They indicate a shift from blaming oneself for something that’s happened to you, to realizing that it's actually a systematic issue, built into the very foundations of our culture.
When it comes to gender equality, “it’s not just me” can be a transformational moment for women who have experienced things like being underpaid, discriminated against, or workplace harassment.