In response to all the thoughtless comments by giddy Obama supporters such as Rep. Clyburn that now all children in America can believe in the possibility of fulfilling their potential, I’ve said repeatedly: “Only male children in America have received that assurance; female children will have to wait.”
At first glance, it appears that President-elect Obama won’t contribute much to gender equality on behalf of all those little girls in America, including his own daughters.
Politico’s Lisa Lerer reports:
“The early teams released by the Obama administration have tended to be male-dominated. On Wednesday, four women and eight men were named to Obama’s transition advisory board. His agency review team is headed by seven women and thirteen men. And last week, Obama met with his key economic advisers — four women and 13 men.
“So far, Obama has named four members of his top White House staff. Three are men – chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, press secretary Robert Gibbs and chief congressional liaison Phil Schiliro. And one is a woman – senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.
“Additionally, Vice President-elect Joe Biden has named Ron Klain as his chief of staff.
“The senior staff assisting with the transition is more evenly divided, with Jarrett, a mentor and close friend one of the three top aides overseeing it.
“While Obama has not made any Cabinet appointments, the names that are circulating have worried some in the women’s rights community.
‘“I have been struck by how few women have been mentioned for high-level positions,’ said former Vermont Gov. Madeleine Kunin, who worked on the Clinton transition. ‘It’s still very early, so I don’t want to reach conclusions yet. But the rumors are a flashing yellow light.’
“The mention of Clinton Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers is seen as particularly problematic. As president of Harvard University, Summers said that innate differences between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers. The controversial comment led to his ousting as president.”
Read Lerer’s post in its entirety here.
Welcome to Katalusis for progressive views on politics, religion, environmental issues, and popular culture. (Photo of the Mississippi River from the University Club in St. Paul, MN.)
hey, virginia, your anti-obama prejudice is getting embarrassing. for the verdict, let's wait until the obama admin is history, not before it's begun.
ReplyDeleteyou're almost as bad as rush limbaugh, who is already trumpeting the "obama-recession".
let's get real and give the guy a chance
Hi Ray,
ReplyDeleteNice of you to stop by.
In reply to your comment, it’s been my experience that waiting until after an event is “history” before critiquing it robs one of the opportunity to change its course.
And I don’t think America needs yet another male-dominated administration.
Hi Virginia. I love your blog and visit every day but don't comment much anywhere.
ReplyDeleteAs tr0ll Ray points out: Don't you know that you are not to be critical of O'Precious? Especially when it comes to Women's Rights or anything regarding women. These O followers love to beat up on women. Their Master has won and they still patrol all the blogs spewing their hate.
Hi no pasaran,
ReplyDeleteIt's good to hear from you, and I'm glad you like Katalusis.
You're right. Throughout the primary and general election, the Obama camp tried to put a lid on any criticism of BO, and his supporters are still overly protective of him.
Hope to hear from you again, soon.
Virginia