I can only imagine my father’s reaction when he sees the cover of this month’s issue. When I was a kid, he would tease me about a poster that hung on my bedroom wall. It had a photo of the Statue of Liberty, and underneath her were the words, Women have to work twice as hard to be treated half as well as men. That was 1978.
I was too young to grasp the significance of those words; too naive to understand that they were born of activists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth. And Alice Paul, who in 1923 wrote the Equal Rights Amendment. I didn’t understand that my poster represented the ERA that still hadn’t become law, and the one that’s in limbo today.
So we’re still making less—despite President Kennedy signing the Equal Pay Act in 1963, and President Clinton calling for additional laws to ensure equal pay, and President Obama signing the The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Really?
In the 1970s, women earned about 58 cents of every dollar their male counterparts made. Today, women nationally bring in about 77 cents. That number drops to 68 cents for African-American women and 58 cents for Latinas. Delaware does not mirror those stats: Our numbers are worse.
I can hear my marketing friends now: You’re only targeting women. Not so. We serve thousands of male readers whose daughters, wives, sisters and friends fight pay discrimination. This cover story is as much for them as it is for our female readers just starting out in the workplace and those who’ve been swimming against the tide for years.
We did not approach the subject with bias. We invited a man (Nick DiUlio) and a woman (Christine Facciolo) to co-write the piece, and we insisted that interviews include perspectives from male and female professionals.
We offer other great reads. This month marks the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Mark Nardone interviewed Delawareans who experienced it first-hand. We lighten the mood with Drew Ostroski’s take on geocaching. Since no one really knew what geocaching was, we put Drew on the trail. The results are hilarious.
By the way, my dad did tease me about my poster. But I know he’s as frustrated as I am that the fight for equality continues. All the best men are.
Enjoy.
Louise So, I’m going about my usual work routine on Monday, July 11. First thing: Facebook post of the day. To my surprise we surpassed our 5,000 fan marker over the weekend and we are still climbing! Thanks to all our fans out there for all the love and support. You’re why I do what I do! AND if you aren’t a fan yet, just go to facebook.com/DelawareToday and our Twitter account: @DelawareToday.
Mark There was no better place to spend a hot summer day than on the breezy Brandywine at Hagley while the museum’s Creek Kids explored Civil War history and assembled care packages for Delaware troops overseas. The activities were very clever, and it was great to see Adjutant Gen. Frank Vavala of the National Guard support the program. Thanks to Hagley’s Meg Marcozzi for the invitation.
Kelly Sept. 11 is my birthday, a day I had always looked forward to, but started to dread. People always wince when they find out. Friends have told me to change my birthdate. But, as time has passed, I’ve realized that I have so much to celebrate on this date. Life. The love of my husband. The fact that we live in a country that pulled together in the face of a tragedy and now celebrates the lives of those we lost on that day.
Drew Linda Parkowski and Tina Madanat of the Delaware Tourism Office were extremely helpful as I researched the Delaware Geocaching Trail. Also, a special shout out to Mike Frank, an avid geocacher who got me even more excited about the sport. See you on the trail.
Katie With the absence of “Mad Men” from the tube this summer, the Delaware and Philadelphia Ad clubs were left to entertain themselves. I’d say they did pretty well as evidenced by a recent combined meet-and greet at the World Cafe Live at the Queen. Here’s to future events!
