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I'm writing Leviticus 21 today, and verse 7 is addressed to the priests: they mustn't marry whores or divorcees, because priests are holy. This makes me sad: it's the message "used women are damaged goods" loud and clear.
On the same theme, today's Times talks about the recent hoo-ha in the public sector, which has decided that women ought to get the same pay as men for doing equivalent jobs in practice as well as in theory, and has been wrangling with the unions over a way to approach this without completely bankrupting everyone.* As the Times puts it, "Over the past two years, unions have reached hundreds of agreements with local councils to help to protect male workers' pay and jobs while getting a good deal for women."
Jolly good. But it continues: "But aggressive no-win, no-fee lawyers are now unpicking the agreements by winning higher compensation payments for thousands of individual claimaints [sic]." and goes on: higher pay and compensation settlements will cause "escalating costs that could lead to higher council tax bills next year and further cuts in NHS services."
In other words, be satisfied with what you've got. If it isn't fair, suck and deal. If you keep pushing for a fair settlement you're aggressive and anti-social, and you'll be taking away money that other people need (why would it have to come out of the NHS and local services, eh?).
This is precisely, precisely the same messages that have kept women in low pay ever since women worked men's jobs. If you ask for more, you're a bad girl - "It only then takes one woman to want more to break the whole agreement." If you keep pushing for more money, not only are you hurting the men who will have their salaries cut (and think of their poor families!) but you're also going to raise council tax (which is high enough already; you'll be hurting everyone!!) and reduce NHS services (you're even going to take away from the SICK people! Some little child is probably going to DIE because you kept pushing for more money!!!).
I do think it would be awfully nice if they could do a better job of veiling their prejudices. But caught between writing an ancient record of a millennia-old prejudice and reading a record of a similar prejudice alive and kicking, are you surprised that I'm feeling a bit pessimistic as to humanity's ability to grow up and treat people as people?
PS If anyone can help me see an optimistic conclusion to this, do feel free to chip in.
* the Times is cheap and won't let you read it online without a subscription, so I won't bother linking to it
On the same theme, today's Times talks about the recent hoo-ha in the public sector, which has decided that women ought to get the same pay as men for doing equivalent jobs in practice as well as in theory, and has been wrangling with the unions over a way to approach this without completely bankrupting everyone.* As the Times puts it, "Over the past two years, unions have reached hundreds of agreements with local councils to help to protect male workers' pay and jobs while getting a good deal for women."
Jolly good. But it continues: "But aggressive no-win, no-fee lawyers are now unpicking the agreements by winning higher compensation payments for thousands of individual claimaints [sic]." and goes on: higher pay and compensation settlements will cause "escalating costs that could lead to higher council tax bills next year and further cuts in NHS services."
In other words, be satisfied with what you've got. If it isn't fair, suck and deal. If you keep pushing for a fair settlement you're aggressive and anti-social, and you'll be taking away money that other people need (why would it have to come out of the NHS and local services, eh?).
This is precisely, precisely the same messages that have kept women in low pay ever since women worked men's jobs. If you ask for more, you're a bad girl - "It only then takes one woman to want more to break the whole agreement." If you keep pushing for more money, not only are you hurting the men who will have their salaries cut (and think of their poor families!) but you're also going to raise council tax (which is high enough already; you'll be hurting everyone!!) and reduce NHS services (you're even going to take away from the SICK people! Some little child is probably going to DIE because you kept pushing for more money!!!).
I do think it would be awfully nice if they could do a better job of veiling their prejudices. But caught between writing an ancient record of a millennia-old prejudice and reading a record of a similar prejudice alive and kicking, are you surprised that I'm feeling a bit pessimistic as to humanity's ability to grow up and treat people as people?
PS If anyone can help me see an optimistic conclusion to this, do feel free to chip in.
* the Times is cheap and won't let you read it online without a subscription, so I won't bother linking to it
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