A shocking, to some, study [pdf] came out last month in the Journal of Applied Psychology concluding that men who hold sexist ideals make more money than anyone else. So what does this mean to us working girls and the good guys out there?

For one it says that the workforce is still rewarding men for outdated attitudes. It is an indicator that the outdated model our workforce operates under rewards those who play the game according to the rules. This report also proves that wage gaps are not just an outcome for women’s poor decisions. You know, taking time off to care for children or other such frivolous things that signal to supervisors that you aren’t serious about your job. It puts a nail in the coffin of meritocracy. Yes, we should all continue to work our hardest, but never again should we allow someone (paging Senator McCain) tell us that hard work and being the best is the way that people rise to the top.

But most importantly this report tells us that legislation like the Equal Pay Act will only take us so far in the quest for equality and fairness.

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In 2002 a woman named Martha Burk burst into our living rooms and challenged everyone to decide if private country/golf clubs that exclude women were discriminatory. Many responded with a quick no. They are private! was the largest chorus in the responses. Of course, our 15-second media didn’t allow for much discussion of why Burk thought that these clubs were discriminatory.

For her stance, Burk was harassed and threatened - The FBI were called out to ensure her safety when she protested outside the Augusta National Golf Club for not allowing women to be members during the 2003 Masters. Her suggestion that Tiger Woods should be taking a stand upset a lot of golf fans on top of criticizing one of golf’s most revered tournaments. I fielded a press call as a board member of a local NOW chapter with this quote:

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