Outside the Square
The Realities of Rape Prevention
At the beginning of my semester abroad in Delhi, I entered the Metro station for the first time and I saw to my right a hot pink sign, decorated in flowers and displaying a stick figure woman. She was wearing that public bathroom classic, the triangle skirt, a style that few American or Indian women actually sport. I laughed, reading this "Women Only" sign, and snapped a photo to send home. I thought, “What a hilarious collection of stereotypes! What a silly, paternalistic notion to have a separate train car for females!”
Shortly afterwards, I rode the train. I got on the women's car, close to the accordion-like connector, and felt ten pairs of male eyes on me from the next car. I quickly deployed my tried and tested strategy for getting rid of creeps: A stern look. It seems silly in retrospect, but on the streets of Boston, it's all I've ever needed. However, on this occasion, my glare fell flat, and if anything, I was just met with more curiosity, more stares, and more examination from the men in the car next door. I moved down the train and internally thanked the Delhi Metro for that pink sign and this car.
A More Representative Democracy
Last summer, I worked as an intern in Washington, D.C. for a large federal agency. I lived in a George Washington University dorm, and many of my high school friends shared a house in Georgetown. We had an amazing summer—learning at our jobs, exploring the city, and planning our future careers in public service. This summer, I’m working at the Massachusetts State House, again having a great internship. I’m seeing the inner workings of another branch of government, making more connections, and gaining valuable experience for my career.
This story seems simple enough, but in reality, the opportunity to have such experiences is a far reach for most students. Why? Because neither the state nor federal government pay their interns. I’m fortunate enough to go to Harvard, where the Institute Of Politics has funding that can help cover some or most of the cost of a summer internship. And even then, I was lucky to receive that funding; despite our huge endowment, Harvard is unable to provide stipends for most of its students interested in working in public service. Further, my parents live in Boston and let me live rent-free for the summer. They both have steady jobs, so I don’t have to contribute to household expenses.
What Do We Mean by 'Equal Work'?
When my mom entered the workforce in 1973, women earned about 57 cents for every dollar earned by men. When she was named Budget Director for the Massachusetts House Committee of Ways and Means in 1980 (the first woman in history to hold this position), she was paid thousands less than the man who held the job before her. Things are slowly improving: The White House reports that for every dollar earned by a man today, a woman will earn 77 cents. (According to some sources, the number is 84 cents, but everyone agrees that this gap is real.) It gets worse when broken down by race and ethnicity: Black women earn 64 cents to a white man’s dollar, and Latina women earn 56. This “wage gap” arises from a combination of outright discrimination and the systemic devaluation of traditionally female roles.
Plain old sex-based discrimination is alive and well in Americans’ salaries, as evidenced by data that demonstrates the differences in pay for people working the same jobs. In a very timely example, the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team received a $2 million bonus for winning the World Cup last Sunday. Last year, the U.S. Men’s Team earned $8 million after losing in the first knockout stage.
Down With the Dichotomy
"Socially liberal, fiscally conservative."
This explanation of one’s political convictions is so often heard on Harvard’s campus that it has begun to lose meaning, when in fact, its meaning matters greatly. Raised in an era of moderate Democrats, extreme Republicans, and Greg Mankiw, many see government spending as something to be extremely wary of. But while large deficits are certainly dangerous and austerity has its merits, this statement of belief rests on a false dichotomy that offers refuge from the full implications of fiscal conservatism.