While there is no doubt that women have come a long way from the discrimination and struggles they faced in the previous century when it came to getting an education and finding a job, the sad reality is that when you look at the hard facts, there is still a fair amount of inequality when it comes to women's role in the working world.

Whether you're a working woman yourself or just want to help support the rights of women, these facts are a surefire wake-up call that women still don't always get a fair shake when it comes to getting paid, attaining promotions, or entering certain fields. Read through these ten eye-opening stats to see where women really are in the working world.

(thanks Lauri)

Each time the library puts up a history month exhibit, whether it be Black History or Women’s History or any of the others that come up during the year, someone is sure to ask if this is necessary any longer.

“After all,” someone will say, “we have an African-American president, a woman Secretary of State. We have worked hard to be more inclusive. Aren’t these months set aside for certain groups just an unnecessary remnant of past prejudice?”

For the me, the answer is no. One of the my other jobs is reviewing books. I often get biographies and histories to read. I’m always amazed at the things that I don’t know about our country’s past. This past month, I reviewed a book on women’s role in the U.S. military. While the role of military women in general has been basically ignored in the history books (except for the passing references to nurses and the occasional sidebar on women dressing as men in order to fight), the role of African-American women rarely even merits a sidebar.

What Black History Month does is to allow to see a more complete picture of our history and to give praise to those who also contributed to our nation’s welfare. There’s nothing wrong with that at all.

Some books on the exhibit for this month:

  • Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to Worl War II.  Douglas A. Blackmon.
  • The Colfax Massacre: The Untold Story of Black Power, White Terror, and the Death of Reconstruction. LeeAnna Keith.
  • Sojourner Truth’s America. Margaret Washington
  • Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen. Lynn Homan and Thomas Reilly.