Ireland Speaks at K-School

Patricia Ireland told a capacity crowd last night at the Kennedy School of Government that while the feminist movement has already done a great deal to improve women's lives, there is still a long way to go.

In an hour-long speech titled "Has Feminism Helped Women?" the president of the National Organization for Women spoke on a variety of subjects ranging from the role of women in Congress to recent violence at abortion clinics to Harvard's choice of General Colin L. Powell as Commencement speaker.

Citing changes in attitudes towards women, such as the view popular as recently as the 1970s that women do not necessarily deserve equal pay for equal work, Ireland said feminism has without doubt helped women take control of their lives.

"When I was growing up, birth control, even in married couples, was against the law, and illegal abortions were the number one cause of maternal death," she said.

Ireland lauded the growing number of women in government. "Women finally have a bathroom in the U.S. Senate. We've tripled the number of women in the Senate and increased the number in the House from five to 10 percent."

"Women bring to public policy a different experience in life and therefore a different set of priorities," Ireland said. "That's definitely a gross generalization, but we do tend to champion different issues."

Ireland said that when asked if she will ever be satisfied with the success of feminism, she says, "Never. Not until 50 percent of the members of Congress are women...Just as we began the century by winning the vote; I want to end the century by taking real political power."

Asked what she thought of Powell as Commencement speaker, Ireland said, "It is important that we have a free flow of ideas with so polarized a society...We must respect him as an African-American man who has broken through barriers."

But she added that, "I wouldn't go to hear him speak."

Ireland derided the old-fashioned, "Pat Robertson version of feminism," which she said branded feminists as those who "leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians."

"That's quite an agenda," she quipped. Ireland said she spotted one of her favorite definitions on the back of a T-shirt at the University of Miami: "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people."

Ireland spoke of the recent selection of a female attorney general as "instructive of many of the issues we face." She said that after Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood were denied the position, the running joke in Washington was that for President Bill Clinton to find a suitable female candidate he would have to locate "a childless woman with a dirty house. So along came Janet Reno."

Ireland said that women must often make difficult choices to maintain professional positions--choices not required of men.

"In the Fortune 500, only half of the women in management positions have children, compared to 95 per-cent of men...And if you don't have a family, you're accused of being a lesbian. It's a case of 'You're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't.'"

Ireland ended her speech by inviting everyone to become an activist and NOW member.

"But for those of you who will never be activists or have positions of power, you can use your ability to vote and to react against sexism to make a difference," she said. "I want every one of you to take the next step in advancing the feminist movement."

Ireland's appeal evidently struck a note with all ages. At the end of the question-and-answer session, 13-year-old Ryan Foster of Ann Arbor, Mich., stepped to the microphone to ask, "I'm really young, so I can't do much, but I'm wondering what I can do to help the women's movement."

Ireland's advice: Concentrate on school activities, like promoting equal access to gyms and the coaching staff for athletic teams. "Those of us who consider ourselves tired old feminists are always looking for young people like you," she said

Ireland spoke of the recent selection of a female attorney general as "instructive of many of the issues we face." She said that after Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood were denied the position, the running joke in Washington was that for President Bill Clinton to find a suitable female candidate he would have to locate "a childless woman with a dirty house. So along came Janet Reno."

Ireland said that women must often make difficult choices to maintain professional positions--choices not required of men.

"In the Fortune 500, only half of the women in management positions have children, compared to 95 per-cent of men...And if you don't have a family, you're accused of being a lesbian. It's a case of 'You're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't.'"

Ireland ended her speech by inviting everyone to become an activist and NOW member.

"But for those of you who will never be activists or have positions of power, you can use your ability to vote and to react against sexism to make a difference," she said. "I want every one of you to take the next step in advancing the feminist movement."

Ireland's appeal evidently struck a note with all ages. At the end of the question-and-answer session, 13-year-old Ryan Foster of Ann Arbor, Mich., stepped to the microphone to ask, "I'm really young, so I can't do much, but I'm wondering what I can do to help the women's movement."

Ireland's advice: Concentrate on school activities, like promoting equal access to gyms and the coaching staff for athletic teams. "Those of us who consider ourselves tired old feminists are always looking for young people like you," she said