I am a feminist

The statistics are staggering (see below). I think sometimes we forget about gender inequality. Feminism became an ugly word somewhere along the way and as a result people (men and women) have swept the conversation under the rug and ignored the problem. Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In provided some fodder for the conversation, but let’s be honest, hearing about the plight of women from a woman who is COO of Facebook, with a husband who is a CEO, and clearly not facing the challenges of your average woman seemed a bit silly.

Last weekend in an opinion piece for the New York Times, Charles Blow provided a new angle on the conversation around feminism. His call to action was for men to stand up as well; that discrimination doesn’t just require those being discriminated against to fight, it requires those doing the discriminating to recognize their bias and stand up as well. I think this is a conversation worth having. Women and men need to recognize the realities of the situation and DO something about it. Wear the feminist label proudly.