Shoulda Put 3 Rings On It

“They brought me binders full of women,” said Mitt Romney during last Tuesday's Presidential Debate. The result? A social media frenzy and outbreak of "DIY Binder Costumes for Women" sites and pins (from Pinterest). But, who was actually, whole-heartedly offended by Mitt's slip?

I was not. I stand firm in my lack of offense  not because I am your stereotypical Republican born-and-bred-vote-that-way-til-I'm-dead TCU student or because I let my silly crush on the Romney-Ryan team cloud my judgment, but because as a well-educated, politically-versed, level-headed woman, I am not so easily phased. The reality of the American workplace is inequality. I get that. I work every morning in the TCU Athletic Ticket office surrounded by men. We watch SportsCenter during our lunch breaks, we talk NCAA football all day long. I am the lowly, female student worker, but I do not and will not complain. This is reality of this field...and of many more fields. The American workplace is dominated by men, except with maybe a few departmental exceptions (I will go out on a limb and say that the MAC makeup counter is predominately female-based). And while I realize that women statistically make less on the dollar than men and that almost everything I would like to do with my degree, I will have to compete with the boys, I'm not throwing a fit. I appreciate the context in which "binders full of women" was used. I appreciate the efforts Romney was making to say to Americans "Hey, this whole thing is really unfair and we all know it. So instead of just saying 'oh well, I guess women are not qualified', I am going to FIND the women that are qualified because equality and diversity matter to me".

But regardless of my opinions, the social world went up in flames over this. I read article after article, news reports and biased media sites alike, and The Washington Post produced my favorite recap with a video, tweet excerpts and links. A personal favorite tweet: If you like it then you shoulda put three rings on it. #bindersfullofwomen
  (click that link to see the rest of the Washington Post story).

So feel free, Mitt, to put my resume in a binder any day...if that means I will actually be considered for a position that I am, in fact, qualified for. A girl will do what she has to do when it comes to playing with the big boys in the sandbox.