oh, you know, just hanging out at the UN.

One day, this will be my seat. seriously.

One of the reasons I've been too busy to post on my little blog was that I spent two weeks at the UN for the Commission on the Status of Women. I got to attend as a representative for the Worldwide Organization for Women (website pending...)
and meet the other women who are members, and they are absolutely beautiful, incredible women with such a passion to do good and recognize the good that women can do in this world. I am such a lucky girl to be part of this!

So, this was the 52nd meeting, with women coming from all over the world to discuss issue pertaining to the status of women, this year focusing on financing for gender equality and empowerment of women. And really, isn't that where the power really is? We can talk all that we want about empowering women through education and health care and government involvement, but the way to make these things happen is to 1) dedicate money to these very important issues and 2) include women in the budgetary process. It was so fascinating to go to these meetings and learn about how this can be done. Ah, the public finance nerd in me coming out! One of the most interesting topics that was addressed in a few panels was the value of unremunerated labor-- the work of unpaid caretakers, or mothers. So much focus is on how to get women involved in the labor market to contribute to the GDP, so that they can be valued "economically". I understand that it is really the easiest way to value labor according to the wage rate, but there is so much unpaid labor that is done that really contributes so much to society. Women are the main contributers, and in some countries (I can't remember which ones were measured right now) if the unpaid labor of women were measures, the GDP would increase by 1/3. That is a huge amount, and a huge labor contribution to society that we can't do without, not just economically. The social value of the work of stay at home parents and volunteer work done is unmeasurable. I met some really wonderful women from a Mother's group in Sweden, who were there to promote the value of women who chose to be stay at home mothers, and the value of mothers in general. It was a really interesting and eye-opening experience for me, and I think I really came to understand some ideas of feminism that I've been thinking about. I love women, and how diverse we are. I love the influence we are for good on all parts of society-- within the home and family, in the workforce, in politics, in our communities, in the world in general. There is value in every women, and the choices that we make deserve to be valued. All the choices. I am such an appreciator of the women who have come before me, who have made it so that I have choices and no one way of life is forced upon me. I love that and appreciate the early feminists-- the bra-burners and the Relief Society presidents. As a feminist, I was reminded that the value of women comes in what we chose to do, and that there is value in being a mother, being a homemaker, being a teacher, being in the PTA, if that is what women chose to do. In fact, those are areas where we can really do so much good. Now, I'm not saying that this is the only way to be a woman-- not at all! I am so excited that there is a woman running for president! And I look forward to years of doing good in my community, in my home, in a career of my choosing, and in any way that I can (playing with orphans, eating local, wearing pretty shoes). The key here, I think, is that as women, we support each other, applaud each other, and make the path a little bit easier for our sisters worldwide to also live in a way that makes them happy.

As a local, I took some of my new friends over to the MoMA and over to Serendipity to feed our souls with some beautiful artwork and then our bellies with delicious sundaes! Yummy!