The Lipstick LobbyList 6.10.10 - Mama Grizzlies

Was Tuesday’s primary elections a sign of the another “year of the woman”?  Sarah Palin is credited with cracking the Republican Party's glass ceiling and shepherding in a wave of “mama grizzlies” - pro-life, feminist, conservative women candidates. (h/t Banker Babe)

From the Washington Post:  In at least five races, from California to Arkansas, women won by straying from traditional women's issues and only infrequently discussing their gender. Especially noteworthy, according to The Washington Post's Anne Kornblut, is that four of the women who won this week were Republicans.

From Barbara Lee’s statement on the June 8th primaries:

The June 8 elections put women candidates in the spotlight and on the ticket from Maine to California. Though these candidates are not united ideologically, yesterday’s elections give us an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate women in today’s political landscape....Women comprise only 17% of the U.S. Congress. A mere 12% of our governors are women. And as we know, it is the governor’s office more than any other public office that leads to the Presidency.

I appreciated Sen. Barbara Mikulski on calling any year the “Year of the Woman”: "Calling [it] the Year of the Woman makes it sound like the Year of the Caribou or the Year of the Asparagus. We're not a fad, a fancy, or a year."

As a reminder of progress still needed, today’s the anniversary of the Equal Pay Act.  President Obama’s statement: "47 years later, pay parity remains far from reality, as women in the United States still only earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. For women of color, this gap is even wider.  This remains unacceptable, as it was when the Act was signed.  All women – and their families – deserve equal pay."

Some tips from abroad: Sweden paves the way towards gender equality in the workplace.  “Now men can have it all — a successful career and being a responsible daddy.” 

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