Friday, March 14, 2008

According to a United Nations report,

            "...women constitute half of the world’s population,
            perform nearly two-thirds of its work hours,
            receive one-tenth of the world’s income
            and own less than one-hundredth of the world’s
            property."

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               "We hold these truths to be
               self evident, that all men are
                         created equal."

    The United States declared independence from Great Britain in 1776. After writing the Declaration of Independence, the patriots of our nation failed to include women. Now, over 230 years later, women continue to remedy the defects of this inquality.

    We, as young women, have been taught to abide by social norms. We should learn how to cook, while our male peers are taught how to throw a football. It's funny how women make up 51% of the American population, and yet we are still seen as a minority. As a female high school student, I’ve recognized the double standards of our American society, and believe that, despite the obvious inequalities, young women contain a strong voice that must be heard. In order to defeat humanity’s lack of women recognition, we must come together through sisterhood to fight these unfortunate realities.


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Did you know...

    We earn more than half of all bachelor degrees, yet make only 73 cents
    of the man’s dollar

    The law labels pregnancies as ‘disabilities’, and, to make matters worse,
    health care providers are more likely to cover a Viagra prescription than
    birth control

    The male-dominant Supreme Court is now down to one woman, and our
    current President, George W. Bush, has appointed a chief justice who has a
    history of opposing legislative actions in support of woman’s rights by
    questioning "whether encouraging homemakers to become lawyers
    contributes to the common good,"

    In the 1970s, if a girl "got herself pregnant", she may have lost her membership
    in her local chapter of the National Honor Society. Sometimes, these acts of
    injustice continues to occur today.  


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Interested in learning about our ATTENTION! campaign? Click here.

     If you're a leading high school female, start a chapter in your school. Stand up. You're a woman.


- Cristina A. Lara
Founder of the Society of Young Leading Women