Monday 13 April 2009

Gold Digger

As a budding young capitalist, whilst my school friends were dreaming of being doctors and lawyers, I dreamt of the day I would marry rich and live the content life of a kept woman. I must have done something bad in my life time as this is not what fate had in store for me at all. Not only am I nowhere near married but I am a fully signed up member of the rat race - working crazy hours to fund my non-designer lifestyle.

So it amuses (actually more irks) me that this week the Financial Times is carrying a piece on how women are paid substantially less than their male peers. I don't know why they do this same piece year in year out like it's some cutting edge piece of journalism but it grates me every time. I can't help but look at the rest of my otherwise all male team and wonder whether they earn more than I do simply by being male. This little seed of doubt is enough to drive my ambitious self crazy - good thing I am also blessed with the memory of a goldfish so will not think about this now until they write about it again.

Even more amusing, my new found hero is the Swedish Marie Douglas-David. Not happy with divorcing her much older husband for an arranged settlement of $43m, she is taking him to court to bump this up to $100m as currently it is not enough to finance her weekly spend which "include $4,500 for clothes, $1,000 for hair and skin treatments, $1,500 for restaurants and entertainment, $8,000 for travel, $700 for limousine services, $2,209 for an assistant, $1,570 for horse care and $600 for flowers".

4 comments:

  1. I want a glass of the moxie Marie is drinking! Remember hearing this report on some news show. Oddly enough,I am currently working on a presentation about women who do make it to the top in their fields - like what makes them different? Got interested after reading a piece of research involving talented women who thrive. Enjoyed your post - though I highly suspect your brain has more going for it than swimming around in a bowl all day.

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  2. The men should watch out. We are getting more organized. More women than men get degrees in America with higher grades. We will catch and pass them. The girls are already getting better grades in grade school. (google it)

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  3. Thank you for stopping by my blog! I was pondering your post again and how my life turned out... I was putting anti itch cream on my kid's behind this morning. Nice vivid picture for you!!!

    I think he has the spring kids illness of hand & foot. I'm taking him to a doc to see.

    I agree - maybe the staff is clean at home!

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  4. Funny - I thought I would marry a rich man when I was a little girl and live a life of luxery! It didn't quite work out that way...to say the least!

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