In 1912, Marxist philosopher and activist Rosa Luxemburg reminded us that, “in any society, the degree of female emancipation (freedom) is the natural measure of emancipation in general.” Since March 8th is International Women’s Day, and 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment (essentially guaranteeing a women’s right to vote), we thought it was time for a Peoples’ Study of the plight of working women both here in Roanoke and beyond.
Let’s start right here at home. Republican Congressman Ben Cline (VA-06), representing an area that includes Blacksburg, parts of Roanoke, and Harrisonburg, was recently one of 207 signatories petitioning the Supreme Court to consider overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that legalized abortion. The amicus brief, filed in support of a Louisiana court case that would leave that state with one abortion services provider if upheld, is part of an ongoing crusade by conservatives to further endanger working women all over this country by chipping away at access. Issues like lack of health care coverage, high costs, driving distances to service providers, and extended wait times are all blatant efforts to create an “undue burden” for women seeking abortion care in particular, and reproductive health care in general. These increasingly common hurdles affect all women, but disproportionately affect women located in the South as well as low-income Black women & women of color. It also affects women beyond our own borders; in March of 2019, the Trump administration re-imposed what is known as the “global gag” on federal funding for overseas organizations or clinics that provide abortion services (or even simply counsel women about the procedure). Both here and abroad, the net effect of these and other restrictions is to undermine women’s health and safety by forcing them to seek black market or DIY solutions. This is, without a doubt, a terrifying state of affairs for women and their families all over the world. And in case you were wondering, the 207 signatories were overwhelmingly conservative, white, and male.
The numbers are just as distressing when it comes to the composition of our legislative bodies at all levels of government. A quick civics lesson: Our representative bodies are supposed to be just that – representative of the general population in all of its diversity. Women make up nearly 51% of the general population of the United States. In 2019, an alarmingly low 26% of the Virginia General Assembly were women: 27 in the House, 10 in the Senate, with 37 women overall out of 140 possible seats. Despite significant gains made during the 2018 midterm elections, the numbers at the federal level are similarly bleak. Women comprise roughly 23% of the chamber’s active voting membership in the House of Representatives and 25% in the Senate (101 and 26 souls, respectively). To put these statistics into sharper relief, the United States ranks an embarrassing 75th out of 193 countries in terms of the percentage of women currently serving in government.
A brief overview of a few indicators of women’s health and well-being are also bound to dishearten. According to the most recent available data, in Virginia and on average, men made approximately $20,000 more than women across the five most common occupations (roughly $74,000 to $55,000, respectively). In Roanoke, the largest demographic living in poverty are women between the ages of 25 and 34. The second largest? Still women, only this time between the ages of 35 and 44. Furthermore, the occupations that are predominantly held by women – in the healthcare, personal care & service, and retail industries – are also some of the lowest paid and least stable, and offer the fewest (if any) benefits.
Beyond the economic indicators, incidents of rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence are grossly underreported. Although there are many reasons for these discrepancies, much of it has to do with the prevailing stigmas surrounding survivors of sexual violence as well as fears of reprisal by the perpetrator. Generally speaking, however, one out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Unbelievably, every 73 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted, and while men and boys are also affected by sexual violence, the overwhelming majority of victims are women.
In spite of the above statistics, there are many reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the state of women’s rights in 2020. Among them are state level measures like HB 99, intended to prevent landlords from denying housing to domestic violence victims because of things like their credit history; there are also sweeping national movements afoot to add the long overdue Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the constitution. (Of note: Virginia ratified the ERA on January 15th, becoming the 38th state, and last required, to adopt the measure. A somewhat murky legal future awaits it in federal court.)
As 2020 rolls along, let us remember that freedom for all means first and foremost freedom for the most vulnerable and marginalized communities in our society, including low-income communities, communities of color, our LGBTQ+ comrades, and of course women. As RPPN and other allied groups continue to organize for a society free from the clutches of sexism, white supremacy, poverty, and the like, it is absolutely critical that we continue to build a grassroots, worker-led movement that is as inclusive and diverse as society as a whole. That is, ultimately, the only true measure of freedom.
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