He figures to hire a woman because she is qualified and cheaper to get than a man.

So sad and true.

Two of my favorite quotes: 

“Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men in order to be thought half as good.  Luckily this is not difficult.”  Charlotte Whitton (1896-1975, Canadian writer, Mayor of Ottawa)

“If the hours are long enough and the pay is short enough, someone will say it’s women’s work.”  anon

Love this one! Thanks, Liza.

Susan Gabriel

                           INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE

 Mr.Coffin: Well, sit right down, Mrs.Cheapin…

Gwen Chippidale: It’s Gwen Chippidale, Mr. Coffin.

C: Right, right, well–––Mrs. Chippidale, I…

G: You can call me Gwen, if you don’t mind.

C: No, no, of course, Gwen. So–––I see here that you have been a domestic  for thirty some years?

G: Yes, and in that same time period I have brought up four children, one husband, run countless bake sales, been on countless boards, nursed my mother through her cancer, put two dogs to sleep, been on the Democratic legislative council for six years, cultivated a vegetable and flower garden every spring, redecorated my home about sixteen times, cooked probably a thousand and some meals, and now I am ready to put all that experience to work.

C: Hmmmm––mighty impressive, yes, yes, well, so what makes you think you would be suitable for our company?

G: Are you kidding me?

C: No, my dear, I just don’t see where you have the qualifications.

G: First of all, sir, I am not your dear, and second of all if you don’t recognize my strengths, then I am sorry for your mistake. You could have gotten me cheap and over qualified––what you have now is one angry woman who is telling you to take your job and shove it! Once bitten is once enough for me. So long, Mr. Coffin, may you finally see the light one day. 

Gwen Chippidale walks out, head held high, but before she exits the building, she drops off a small package at the desk to be delivered to you know who; it has the faint smell of garlic. 

To Lila Kuh:

Damn Betcha!  Your comment, "Clearly, this is not a government contractor office" is spot on, at least according to several of my clients.  Being considered, if not actively courted for, civilian contractor positions in Iraq & Guantanamo, they were all told, in answer to "What does the position pay?"  —  "name your price;  we can probably meet it!"  One went to Guantanamo (he went, 2x now, as a well-paid interpreter, & he hopes to go back again, as he loved the beaches!);  the other two were an HVAC guy & an electrician, respectively;  they loved the huge bucks & claimed they didn’t work very hard at all, compared to the private sector.  Frankly, until I learned about the work of Alan Grayson, D.-rep., Florida now, but formerly a private attorney who decided to investigate these contractor abuses, I wondered whether my sources were actually disembling  —  so florid did their stories seem. 

Not “cheap” - “cost effective”. It’s an employer’s market. It always seems to be that way. Ironically, it is the employees that keep the economy going.