h later on down the road. and on the issue of stopping it, i think that these protests we have seen in arizona and california that's the way you can be effective. you effective. you are not being inhumane or insensitive. this is a serious problem and issue. the federal government has failed to do there job, and we have a crisis on our hands. it is not just one side of the political spectrum that thinks that way. i think standing up and doing what you can and contacting people who can do something about it is the way to go. so that is what i would say my best explanation of what is going on.

>> over here, and then we we will go to hear. >> thank you for being a voice for the conservative movement, and a young voice. question, with your knowledge and steady, what do you see that 2014 election 2014 election being white and the 2016 presidential election? >> you know, my focus is really on issues. my focus is not really on candidates or whether we will win or not or candidates of one side or the other so i am not sure. i have hope. i know what the feelings are i just don't have enough brain capacity with everything i cover to really pay that close of attention. i am hopeful but i think it

we will take some work and i hope that they do not drop the ball so to speak. we are on the 2-yard line. i apologize for not having the details, but it is not my focus. >> thank you so much for being here. we appreciate everything you do. you are so articulate and knowledgeable. >> thank you. i appreciate that. >> an issue, fast and furious. do you have an update on what is happening? >> for the past year and a half we have been stuck in this way to because it is caught up in the court system. it is impossible to get documents and talk to people because there is an ongoing lawsuit. we have seen some movement

with judicial watch getting a hearing a hearing in front of a judge saying, the executive privilege claim by barack obama over these documents is taking, a, too long for you to make a decision and b, we have a freedom of freedom of information lawsuit that must be responded to. they are getting -- good at getting details that even congress can't. so so we are waiting to see what judge will decide. i am hopeful we we will at least see more documentation , but we we will have to wait and see. all right. thanks, guys. [applauding] >> this weekend representative elect of

colorado elected by his fellow freshman republicans talks about joining congress , important issues and how he expects congress to operate sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> the 114th congress cavils and this tuesday. watch live coverage. track the gop led congress and have your say. 's best access on c-span. >> deborah rhode professor of law at stanford university and author of "what women want" talks about issues facing women today. she spoke at kepler's books in menlo park.

this is 50 minutes. >> this grabbed our attention and has a great title the subject. we were intrigued. we are so pleased that she said yes. she has written an important book on an important subject personally having come of age post title new line i am astonished and dismayed at the lack of progress. women continue to lag behind their male counterparts. please welcome deborah rhode [applauding]

>> i am enormously pleased to be here and even more pleased that you are here. 90 percent of life is showing up. it matters what you show up for. do you need me to start over? no? good enough? so let me begin with a new yorker cartoon in which a woman informs her skeptical husband, yes, harold, i do speak for all women. this is not a claim that a contemporary feminist will readily make. women do not speak for foreign voice on political issues, but we must be prepared to generalize the interest of women as a group the goal was equality

between the sexes. "what women want" seeks to jump start a conversation about that agenda and bring together a a broad array of research about what holds women back. the book -- and i will not dwell on it now, although i am happy to answer questions i will say a few words about what it was like to be a female loss to and faculty member i never had a course taught by or about women. there were no women organizations and it was noticeably absent. things could have been worse. at harvard there were ladies days in which professors did

not call on women except for those particular days when the subject matter was specially adapted for their benefit, hypothetical problems involving mixing and cooking. it's striking how little of this was striking to me then. sexual discrimination was everywhere except the curricula. i i entered law teaching at stanford in 1979 and was for many years only one of two women on the faculty. the dean said it would type me as a woman. i responded with what i hope would be irony. what, after all were my alternatives. of course i missed his.,

academic credibility. he suggested negotiable instruments. we compromised on contracts. it was a lonely life although my colleagues were essentially clueless about what it was like to feel the pressure and isolation of being one of two women on faculty. some cannot even manage to keep our names straight even though there was no similar resemblance. i was never sure whether to correct the colleagues who occasionally called the barbara. these might not have been so hurtful if i had i had known at the time that they were typical byproducts of tokenism.

before the supreme court in the late 1990s many lawyers next up the names of justice o'connor and kingsburg so often they were once presented with t-shirts saying i am ruth, not sandra and i am sandra, not ruth. the alumni threw a party at the local country club and hired a stripper. none of the women present could quite believe it was happening, but the dean appreciated the thought behind the invitation and well fortified behind curbing the embraced a guest it was that moment i i saw -- decided the hell with

contracts, the law school needed a course on gender. women are moving up, barriers are coming down. examples of blatant discrimination are rare. at the same time, this progress has created its own difficulties. the central problem is what i i call the no problem problem, the lack of consensus that there is a serious problem. on virtually every measure of social status financial

well-being and physical safety women feel worse than men, sexual violence remains common and reproductive rights are by no means secure. they pay a price in the world outside it. these issues are not cultural priorities. part of the problem is the image of the feminist movement which keeps many women from identifying as feminists or actively supporting a feminist agenda when dictionary definitions for feminists are given between, between two thirds to four fifths of women consider themselves feminists. the figure drops to a quarter to a half. around gender issues. these negative associations associations are a function of how the media framed activism. caricatures often

perpetuated the image. if hairy legs on the feminist movement one reason for that is the mainstream publications continually featured those descriptions. another reason is many don't feel worse off than men. does this mean that the movement is stalled? it is one of the main questions i ask and i got a mixed response. some felt that we were stuck in getting pushed back --

fighting on reproductive issues. the president the president for the center of reproductive rights noted that compared to what we had in the 1970s we seemed to be hibernating. others took the view that women's issues were front and center in political campaigns, and the fact that we are here is some measure of change. what are the issues that should motivate women to seek change? let me throw open before opening questions to you a few areas where i think we are ripe for progress. certainly employment comes to mind. the labor force remains gender segregated and stratified with women

overrepresented at the bottom and underrepresented at the top. as we approach the 50th anniversary of equal pay legislation, legislation, we remain a considerable distance from accomplishing its promise. the figure has not substantially changed since 2,001. it would take another half-century to achieve equal pay rates for full-time workers. one reason one reason is women are clustered and low earning occupations and lower paying sectors within those occupations. in law 86 percent of paralegals and only 33 percent of lawyers and 16 percent of partners. in academia women account for the majority of college graduates but only a quarter of college professors. management, one third of mba

students, but less than a fourth of fortune 500 ceos. similarly situated, women often earn less than men. even after controlling for a broad range of factors such as education, training, and family characteristics, most research finds a gender gap in learning persists around 10 percent. at every educational level and in every occupational field women have lower earnings. even female dishwashers are in significantly less than males what accounts for the? despite recent progress racial and ethnic minorities lack the presumption of

confidence. confidence. they need to work harder to achieve the same result. a telling case study involves orchestra additions. women's representation dramatically increased. most of the traits that women attribute to leaders are masculine, dominance authority, assertiveness. to many this this is not attractive traits in women. female employees risk seeming to feminine or not feminine enough either not tough enough to make the hard calls or overly strident and aggressive.

jill abramson, the editor dismissed from the new york times is a textbook case. part of the problem may be internally driven. as sheryl as sheryl sandberg has famously put it, women do not lean in. the problem may reflect the mismatch between qualities associated with and the qualities associated with women. in studies where people seem a man seated at the head of the table for a meeting they typically assume he is the leader and did not make the same assumptions when a woman is in the same seat. an illustration of the problem gave participants a case study about a leading venture capitalist with outstanding networking skills. half of the participants were told the participant

was howard and the other heidi. they rated equally competent but found howard more likable, genuine, and kind and heidi more aggressive, self-promoting, and power-hungry. women often do not realize they are the victim of discrimination. no specific proof at the time she filed her lawsuit yet the record ultimately revealed ample evidence of gender stereotype. female accountants were faulted for being curt or acting like one of the boys. hopkins herself was characterized as someone who overcompensated by acting macho and overbearing. several male accountants had

been similarly described as abrasive, overbearing, and cocky. even individuals with convincing evidence of bias are often reluctant to challenge it. one study found one third of those who reported experiencing unfair treatment did nothing. many individuals are deterred by the high financial and psychological cost of legal action and the low probability of winning judgment. plaintiffs judgment. plaintiffs are putting their professional lives on trial. a paranoid kid with a persecution complex. a senior partner told american lawyer magazine

that she was like the proverbial ugly girl. everyone says everyone says she has a great personality although it turns out she did not regressive government and corporate policy hold women back. the united states has the least family-friendly policies in the developed world standing alone with only seven other countries and not guaranteeing paid maternity leave. in some professions only 1/5the united states has the least family-friendly policies in the developed world standing alone with only seven other countries and not guaranteeing paid maternity leave. in some professions only 1/5 one fifth of individuals are satisfied with the allocation of time between personal and professional lives. as one young attorney responded to a bar survey about her quality of life this is not a life. another noted that her sweat shop schedule makes it difficult to have a, much less a family. for working class and lower

class employees the problems arise from mandatory overtime, lack of proportional pay and the absence of personal or sick leave time. two thirds of low income workers are not entitled to flexible workers american strategies concerning childcare childcare, part-time work, and flexible schedules are far less progressive than europe. many many of these arrangements like quality, affordability, and flexibility. by the regulatory structures or market conditions encourage well-trained service providers. this nation requires licensing to be a manicurist, but only one doesn't require training.

although fathers share of domestic obligations has increased dramatically mothers continue to show their disproportionate burdens in the home and pay a price in the world outside of it. especially pronounced among those who opt out of the labor force. about one quarter of women are stay-at-home mothers. women also spend over twice as much time on care of children and over three times as much. yet women will never be equal outside the home until men are equal inside of it. the solutions are obvious but elusive. women need legislation and

workplace initiative. they need to challenge cultural norms that penalize behavior in women. women need greater protection of reproductive rights. one quarter one quarter of family planning incidents reported incidence of severe violence annually against providers. activists target doctors homes for harassment and other groups use media campaigns. george tiller the nation's leading abortionist was gunned down while attending church. 1/3 to 1/5 of professional

women cannot obtain the abortions they desire. they have succeeded in providing a broad array of restrictive statutes to make it more costly and less accessible. more than half states have trap laws which seek to force clinic closures by imposing expensive requirements such as demanding women receive counseling and establishing a timeframe between which they obtain the procedure, sometimes as long as 72 hours. these increased the expense and difficulty for women who do not live close to a provider. many states have informed consent procedures that specify information which must be given. one government survey found almost 90 percent of centers

gave out false information concerning the link between abortion, breast cancer, infertility. funding creates another obstacle. women cannot obtain abortions because of lack of resources. although women certainly differ on the morality most can unite around the goal of making it safe and unnecessary. nearly one third will have an abortion and between 65 65 to 70 percent believe the courts should not overturn roe v wade. those who share that commitment need to mobilize and ensure safe choices are available. resources need to be targeted to ensure women, women, particularly poor and adolescent women have adequate access.

more resources need to go into supporting the one in seven women who are poor. only about one quarter of women living in poverty receive lesser benefits now, and they are only 50 percent of the poverty line. the famine cost is substantial. millions suffer from shortages in food and housing and many women are trapped in violent relationships. raising the minimum wage would help especially since women are two thirds of minimum-wage workers. expanded education and employment options are critical. ronald reagan once famously quipped we fought a war on poverty, and poverty one. domestic violence calls for more effective enforcement strategies.

25 percent of women have experienced such violence. the united the united states has the highest rate of spousal homicide in the united -- in the world. the common the common response is, why does she not just leave? the answer to often is there is nowhere to go. shelters for victims come nowhere close to meeting the need. some need. some turned away as many as 5,000 women per year. those who are refused assistance often have nowhere to go. one domestic violence advocate reported being asked if she knew a safe

bridge women could sleep under. the recent scandal involving ray rice speaks volumes about the cultural attitudes that must change. an estimated 75 75 to 95 percent of those who are subject to domestic violence report related problems at work which include assaults and stocking, yet a common response is to penalize the woman or terminate employment which compounds are economic problems and reinforces dependence upon abusers. a recent case involves a san diego teacher who was fired from a religious school because her ex husband could put staff and students at danger. they did promise to continue to pray for her and her family. half of victims report losing a job after domestic violence yet only a small a small number of states have laws protecting them from

discrimination. we need better strategies. the same is true of rape. almost one in five women has experienced an attempted or completed rape. the the united states has the second highest reported rate of rape in the world over the last quarter century more than half 1 million uniformed men and women have experienced rape or attempted rape, and reports continue to rise sharply despite military assurances it has no tolerance or zero-tolerance. women serving in the us military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier killed by enemy fire. only only about one third of attempted rapes and rapes are reported and other research indicates only been fewer percent of sexual assaults will result in

conviction. eight toronto police officer told the group of college women if they wanted to avoid sexual assault they should avoid dressing like sluts. despite recent reform efforts it is the victim conduct as well as the assailants that is on trial. your perception and the moral character of the complainant has traditionally been the most important factor. a a textbook illustration figured in a recent highly publicized amherst student account of her rape in which a sexual assault counselor told her pressing charges would be useless. he is about to graduate. there is not much we can do. are you sure it was rape? it might have been a bad hook up. you should forgive and forget.

in a similar case she was told not to worry because she met the rapist and he did not seem like the type of person to do something like that. what we need is more coverage of those stories. the adverse blessedly prompted a comprehensive review. a documentary some of you may have seen has led to new rules. we need an independent prosecutor in the military to handle sex abuse cases and increased emphasis on violence prevention and education. children begin absorbing traditional assumptions about the legitimacy of male aggression.

we need to alter those assumptions and encourage victims to come forward with a different message. finally let me say a brief word about appearance by us. this is one on which the women's movement has made the least progress. in some respects such as the rise of eating disorders and cosmetic surgery the problem has grown worse. worse. almost half of american women are dissatisfied with their bodies. after money, women's appearance is their greatest source of dissatisfaction. beauty may be only skin deep, but deep but the cost of its pursuit goes much deeper. if if you recognize how much. seldom do we realize the price we pay.

although the significance of attractiveness comes as no surprise, surprise the extent of its advantage is less obvious. less attractive individuals are less likely to be viewed as smart, happy, interesting, likable successful, or well-adjusted excuse judgment about competence. less favorable evaluations. less less attractive teachers get less favorable course evaluations from students. less attractive students receive lower ratings and intelligence from student -- teachers. penalties are obvious in

fields like law and higher education where appearance bears no demonstrable relevance to job performance 60% of overweight overweight women report experience of employment discrimination. somewhat important to the self-image. the most important factor. half of young women report they would rather be hit by a truck than the fat and two thirds would rather be mean or stupid. the cost of this cultural preoccupation is substantial it encourages evaluation in terms of attractiveness rather than character

competence, hard work or achievement. it speaks volumes about our preoccupation with attractiveness. sarah palin's campaign paid more for her makeup specialist that her foreign-policy advisor. expected to conform yet condemn this vein and narcissistic attempts to do so. yet whatever their position on these issues they can unite around shared values. in the world women want appearance can be a source of pleasure and not paying. one way to move ourselves forward is to get more women into positions. women are over half of the voters they account for

over 18 percent of congress quarter of state legislators 10 percent of governors and 12 percent of mayors in major cities. almost half of states have yet to elect a woman to the president. it would take close to 100 100 years to equalize men and women's representation in congress. from a global perspective the united states ranks 78 and women's representation in political office, below slovakia, bangladesh, and saudi arabia. the problem is not performance. research consistently finds that when women run for office they are just as electable in terms of fundraising and success in campaign. the main difference is that women are less likely to run for office and are more likely to address women's

issues. but, issues. but, of course, it matters who women are in politics. as examples like sarah palin reminds us, putting women in positions of power is not the same as empowering women one of my favorite new yorker cartoons features a board room filled with about a dozen men seated around the table and one woman. that is a great. well, we need men to make that. we also need to change the dynamic of women in politics they have to target votes and dollars at political candidates, both male and female who are willing to advance women's issues. we also need a strong women's movement.

cross national research finds the presence of a woman's movement is a better a better predictor of women's rights policies than women's representation in politics. william allen wright advised women to raise more help and fewer dahlias. it remains good advice. thank you. [applauding] >> i'm curious who do you gain your inspiration from influences your work, your role models?

>> my initial role model was simone de beauvoir. an early account of woman subordination and can still remember the moment i read that book. probably about your age in a university library and suddenly began seeing the world differently. in terms of contemporary figures in the woman's movement the one who stands out for me is gloria steinem a feminist and practice as well as principal. at an early.she was extremely conscious of the need to make the woman's movement inclusive and to reach out to women of color and lower income groups. i recall that she came to speak when i was a student

and brought a woman of color to stand with her and speak at the podium. and flow looked out at the person who had answered the question. are you my alternative. the same sense of humor and i think she has been a wonderful role model. views of women as unattractive, strident man haters.

>> i appreciate what you lived through tremendously. do you see there is bit of a a two or three speed female economy occurring? >> at two or three speed? >> i find this is a big concept to discuss briefly. even within this suburb their are people who are probably a member of the building over here, the youth league whatever it is that is essentially about housekeeping. whereas there is a watermark or in silicon valley woman executive and entrepreneur organization and then someone like me part of the global economy. i feel their are three speeds occurring.

none of us can speak for all women. on some of the policy issues work-family issues, real productive rights you can get a consensus around basic issues. and that is really the.this book helps to drive home. it is now we not we all think or march to the beat of a single drummer. i do think that we no from public polling and

experience in other countries what policies really serve to advance the interest of most women. >> as hillary clinton famously said human rights are women rights and women's rights are human rights. talking about the policy agenda around the globe, it would be far broader than the one i just sketched out briefly tonight. >> thank you. >> i will try to articulate my question. it probably will not come out right. with that caveat the

well-known or well documented differences between women psychologically more relational to some extent biologically wired differently. i'm still struggling with a provocative question that the title of your book raises which is what do women want. it seems to me that it is almost an artificial goal. what do women really want? i am genuinely trying to understand. >> let me start by disagreeing with your assumption that all of these

differences we see in terms of empathy or relational values are biologically hardwired. there is a cottage industry of research that tries to tease out how much is nature and how much is nurture, and experts are very much divided. their is enormous variation over time and culture in the roles that men and women have performed. if it were biologically hardwired, you would not see that. we start socializing boys and girls very differently at early ages. filled with barbies and fairy princesses, and the boys i'll is filled with trucks and tanks very hard to no how much of that response to biological differences and cultural

patterns. patterns. even having said that, we can acknowledge their are certain differences between men and women but they ought not to have the same differences in outcomes that i mentioned at the beginning differences in economic security, physical security, basic rights and entitlement to equal pay equal opportunity. i think that think that it is those issues that the book is trying to get women to unite around, and it does not require us to take a position on how much of a difference we see how much is biologicall

to go and raise families and that was really costing them in terms of the chance to become a partner because at the same time you hire a man and a woman at the same level very qualified and great business calls on a trajectory would be common for the first three, four or five

years and the woman goes to have a family and -- so unless women just stop having children and stop taking time to raise children we just can't figure out how to bring the trajectory back together because the time is taken out. so how would you say from a policy standpoint and a legal standpoint or when an employer can do how do you deal with that? >> well i think there are a number of ways to deal with it. one is buying courage in men to do their fair share in the house and not penalizing men who are primary caretakers as we now do. most of the study show even as we punish women who take time off for reduced schedules to accommodate family obligations we are even more punitive towards men who do that.

until we change that fact it's going to be women who end up paying the predominant price who have different burdens of responsibilities. we also need to make it a lot easier for women to re-enter the workplace after they have taken those leads. we make the exit ramps really simple. we make the re-entry point is really difficult and a lot of companies are now coming to realize that is not a very cost-effective use of the talent pool and what we really need to do is figure out ways to retool and retrain women who want to re-enter the workforce and give them the capacity to do so. we know forbids the women who take substantial time off want to return to full-time work eventually and yet two-thirds are unable to do that. that's a failure of our policy choices and our organizational that really needs to be addressed.