According to this astoundingly ill-informed and idiotic article at the New York Times, the last barrier that women face in the workplace is…each  other. Yes, ladies, that’s right. Apparently it’s all of your catfighting and petty grievances with each other which stands in the way of equality. If only you could all just get along, everything would be dandy for women in the workplace.

So, what makes this article so amazing, apart from the fact that it is structured around an incredibly stupid premise, is that it was written by a woman. And this serves as a powerful reminder of the fact that women are not often abreast (so to speak) of women’s issues. When I see things like this, it shows me how far feminism needs to come, that other women are so out of touch with reality that they think the world really is like this, that the biggest problem women face is other women.

And that the Times would print an article like this kind of blows my mind. I mean, not that the Times is Ms. or anything, and not like the paper has a great track record on feminist issues, but come on, people. You have a front page story about the Lilly Ledbetter Act and then a few days later, you have this pile of tripe?

What possible problems could women face in the workplace beyond other women and moronic articles like this one?

Let’s start with the wage gap, which is still large and very much present. ($.77 for women to every $1 for a man in a comparable position, on average.)

Let’s continue with the fact that men are routinely promoted in preference to women, even when women are just as or more qualified.

Oooh, or the woeful pregnancy and family leave provided in this country, along with the fact that many workplaces are not breastfeeding-friendly, or pumping-friendly.

Oh, and the rampant sexism which women endure in the workplace on a regular basis, including sexual harassment from colleagues and superiors.

How about the fact that women of colour make pennies on the dollar ($.52 for Hispanic women, to be precise) compared to white men, and substantially less than their white female counterparts?

Or the “appearance standards” in many workplaces which place heavy burdens on female employees, including the need for expensive beauty maintenance/work appropriate outfits?

If only all women had to worry about in the workplace was catty infighting. If. Only.

Two interesting pieces of news in Wired: the Obama Administration just backed up the Bush Administration’s grossly violating policies in re: warrantless wiretapping (boo, hiss), and an NSA whistleblower just exposed the fact that the NSA spied on tons of people who probably should not have been spied upon.

Speaking of change that isn’t, the Obameter is tracking President Obama’s campaign promises and their outcomes.

Columbus, Ohio has created a haven for transgendered people.

How much do you know about white phosphorous?

Want to see some pictures of those tunnels in Gaza? You know you do.

Mass transit is evidently not a priority of the Obama Administration, to which I say “boo, hiss,” followed by “appropriating funding to build more highways doesn’t really scream ‘we care about the environment’ when there are needed public transit projects ready to roll.”

The United States isn’t the only place which has infringed on civil liberties in the wake of a major terrorist attack.

How did health care get so expensive, anyway?

Was the death toll on the Titanic so high because of…manners?

Oscar nomination o’clock! (With a side of snub-o-rama.)