from In These Times:
On the World Stage, U.S. Falls Flat on Women’s EqualityWednesday
Nov 24, 2010
11:30 am
By Michelle Chen
The United States speaks boldly about women's rights in Afghanistan, about liberating Arab women in the Middle East, and about Mama Grizzlies and Supermoms on the home front. But when it comes down to codifying our commitment to women's equality in the law... we'll get back to you.
As the Senate bailed on the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have strengthened critical anti-discrimination protections, lawmakers again locked horns on gender equity at the international level, in a debate on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Along with Sudan, Iran and Somalia, the U.S. has yet to formally ratify the United Nations' CEDAW since it was launched over three decades ago. (It hasn't even been a century since the 19th Amendment, so conservatives understandably need a little more time to adjust.) The CEDAW is associated with campaigns against gross human rights violations like human trafficking or systematic violence against women. But the Convention is also a versatile framework for measuring equality in many arenas, including the global economy and the workplace.
Article 3 provides for equality in the "full development and advancement of women," especially in the "political, social, economic and cultural fields." Such words may prompt the same red flags that conservatives waved when fighting the Equal Rights Amendment (“by 'equality,' they mean mass abortions and the demise of the American family!”). But the text articulates a vision of gender justice that draws upon decades of feminist discourse. ...........(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/6699/on_the_world_stage_u.s._falls_flat_on_womens_equality/
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