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"Bad choices lead to miserable lives.

If a woman studies hard and goes to law school, she will have far more financial autonomy than most men. Her decision to challenge herself is the key.

A woman who gets pregnant, drops out of school and hangs out with losers has less opportunity in life. But that's not society's fault. "

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E-mail Mindy Jacobs at [email protected] .
Letters to the editor should be sent to [email protected] .

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Despair over cuts to women's groups
By Mindelle Jacobs
Edmonton Sun, September 24, 2006

The way critics are wailing over possible cuts to women's programs, you'd think the Harper government was preparing to force females into burkas.

One group, the National Association of Women and the Law, closed down earlier this month because it didn't get federal funding.

The little-known Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action thought it was going to have to close last week. But its grant application was approved on Thursday, it announced on its website.

So much for those women-bashing Tories, eh?

Still, the movers and shakers in the women's movement are waiting with baited breath to see if Status of Women Canada, a federal agency that bankrolls women's groups and promotes gender equality, is on the chopping block.

If it gets the boot, will the rights of Canadian women be in danger? Will their life choices be curtailed? Hardly. Women in this country are better off than ever before.

This endless quest for gender equality is quite tiresome at a time when virtually all the significant barriers to women's accomplishment have been smashed.

Read full article

[ 24 September 2006: Message edited by: barb_anello ]

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The open letter was signed by 31 women's groups that supposedly represent Canadian women. But 22 of the organizations are from Quebec

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Nice little appeal to regional prejudice there.

And how clever to insinuate that organizations from Quebec can NEVER represent "Canadian women".

Seems pretty clear that, to our Mindelle, the only real women are, well, REAL Women.

[ 24 September 2006: Message edited by: Ken Burch ]

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Despair over cuts to women's groups
By Mindelle Jacobs
Edmonton Sun, September 24, 2006

One group, the National Association of Women and the Law, closed down earlier this month because it didn't get federal funding.

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The paper harps about the ongoing pay gap between men and women, without pointing out that men tend to choose higher-paying jobs because they're socialized to be the breadwinners.

It's disingenuous to complain that women working full time only earn about 70 cents for every dollar men make if you've deliberately chosen to work as, say, a low-paid restaurant hostess.

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This is why I don't like the discourse of "choice" language. Feminism is about way more than choice. And look how the right wing idiots co-opt it.

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Before it lost its funding, the National Association of Women and the Law worked "to end racism and colonialism." Yeah, there's a lot of that happening in Canada.

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If we really want to help marginalized women, let's put money into concrete initiatives like Head Start programs, affordable housing and retraining grants.

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Originally posted by Ken Burch:
Will they be able to reopen, or is it too late?

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Ken, I'm confident that NAWL will reopen. Here's an excerpt from CTV quoting NAWL board member, Alison Dewar:

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Staff at the National Association of Women and the Law had actually closed their doors because they weren't certain they could afford to stay open any longer without government assurances.

Board member Alison Dewar said the association was relieved to find the government thought they were still worthy of funding. The association has been getting government cash for decades in its efforts to educate women on legal issues and to support key court cases.

Dewar said it will receive $290,000 for a year's worth of funding, rather than $350,000 for 18 months as it did last year.

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