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Romney's 'Binders' Bind

By Clarence Page, Tribune Media Services on

But to me, Romney's comment did not qualify as a genuine Mitt-ism. It fails to plays into the usual stereotype of an out-of-touch, privileged businessman.

To me, he sounded more like a lot of managers I know who have been grappling for years with a thorny question that now once again happens to be in front of the Supreme Court: How can they take affirmative action to diversify their workplace (or in the current Supreme Court case, college student enrollments) without employing quotas or other "preferences"?

Romney did the right thing, judging by his account. If, instead of referring to "binders full of women," he had used the more conventional terminology, such as "reach out to expand the pool of qualified applicants to include more women," hardly anyone would have blinked.

Romney may have overstated his own initiative in launching the search, according to Jesse Mermell, a Democratic local official in Brookline, Mass., who was executive director of the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus at the time. Her group provided the resumes that Romney called "binders" without his request, she told reporters in a conference call along with Ledbetter.

But Ledbetter, the woman for whom the equal pay legislation was named, raised the central issue. Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, voted against the Ledbetter bill, as did most congressional conservatives. Romney has not clearly stated his position on the law, although he tends to look unkindly on other proposals that expand the right of workers to sue their employers.

 

Bottom line, Obama and Romney presented two distinctly different approaches to the challenge of expanding opportunities for women. Romney offers good role modeling in his outreach for "binders full of women." Obama offers legal protections so employers won't be blind to women's rights.

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E-mail Clarence Page at cpage(at)tribune.com.


(c) 2012 CLARENCE PAGE DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

 

 

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