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Becka Wall, Program Assistant

Becka Wall is the Program Assistant for the Communications Department. Prior to joining the Center, Becka interned at organizations such as The White House Project, Media Matters for America, the Newseum and the National Council for Research on Women. She graduated cum laude from American University with a degree in Communications focusing on the relationship between Media & Government in May 2011. In her spare time, Becka enjoys volunteering around DC, blogging about women's rights and baking up a storm.

My Take

Women in Garbage: Fair Pay, Politics, and the Pawnee Sanitation Department

Posted by Becka Wall, Program Assistant | Posted on: January 30, 2013 at 10:57 am

Given the fact that the anniversary of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was yesterday, it seems only fitting that this past week’s episode of NBC’s Parks & Recreation focused on gender equality in the workplace.

For those unfamiliar with the show, Parks & Recreation (or Parks & Rec, as it is known lovingly among its fan base) is about Leslie Knope, a mid-level government employee in a small town in Indiana. She is dedicated to her job and the town she grew up in, and many feminists and TV fans have lauded the show as an example of a great feminist character. And for good reason – Leslie is dedicated, passionate, and very human (she has an absolutely adorable relationship with her fiancée, Ben, and a deep love of waffles and whipped cream that I can 100% relate to). Leslie has grown from simply a government employee to a City Council Member, and she aspires to climb the ranks all the way to President. Plus, the show is just absolutely hilarious.

This week, the episode opened with the ladies of the Pawnee, Indiana Parks Department in a meeting with the first female city councilmember. She lamented about the fact that her male counterparts used to keep a calendar of her menstrual cycles – something that sounds beefed up for the sake of comedy, but actually hits closer to hope than you might think: In October, CNN posted (and quickly took down) a story saying that hormones can make female voters vote more liberally because it makes them “feel sexier.”

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Real Dead Girls vs. Fake Dead Girls

Posted by | Posted on: January 25, 2013 at 01:18 pm

Becka and Danielle discovered one morning last week in the NWLC kitchen over coffee and yogurt that they shared a sense of confusion over a major news story – Manti Te’o – and why his saga was dominating the news cycle, so, being members of the Communications team, they decided to hash it out the only way they knew how – by blogging about it.

Manti Te'o on field in 2010 (Photo credit: Neon Tommy)
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o on field in 2010
Photo Credit: Neon Tommy

Danielle: So, let’s start out with a refresher on this Manti Te’o business and how it is that the story of a Notre Dame football player’s fake dead girlfriend came to be national news.

Te’o’s a linebacker on the University of Notre Dame football team and had a pretty spectacular senior season, capped off with an appearance in the BCS National Championship Game. He was nominated for the Heisman Trophy, and sports media spent a lot of time talking about Te’o’s on-field success while battling two losses: his grandmother and his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, who supposedly died within 48 hours of each other. His story was, obviously, extremely inspirational: Young man leads his team to championship game while dealing with great personal loss.

Becka: This had an inevitable book/movie deal written all over it. But there’s one problem: Kekua doesn’t exist. Sports blog Deadspin broke the news on January 16 and it feels like we’ve been hearing about this non-stop since! I heard about the news on Twitter first and then saw it reported as “Breaking News” on CNN and on the front page of the Washington Post. I’ve never been much of a sports fan, so the whole thing just baffles me – I don’t understand the fascination (and worship) of sports fans and their sports stars, but Danielle, I know you’re a major sports lover, so – what are your thoughts?

Danielle: As a sports fan, the coverage really frustrates me. The media blowup over this situation seems excessive. I really don’t care that much that Te’o was scammed or was in on some scam. If it was some sort of a point-shaving scam or something that actually had bearing on Notre Dame’s on-field play, fine. But part of this story is fake – so why has it been dominating headlines? Why was Te’o on Katie Couric’s show yesterday? Did we really need him to go on-air to hash out how he was fooled into believing he had an online girlfriend?

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All Women Deserve our Respect

Posted by Becka Wall, Program Assistant | Posted on: January 16, 2013 at 11:24 am

I had the great fortune of ringing in the New Year in India, thanks to my wonderful family who loves to travel. In addition to rediscovering how delicious and picturesque Indian food is, I also had a chance to be in the country during protests related to a violent gang rape, talk to people, and think about how important it is that respect for women be a part of every culture.


Channa masala and a samosa. Yum!
Channa masala and a samosa. Yum!

Immediately after stepping off the plane in Delhi, we were bombarded with news coverage, discussion, advertisements and even tourism signs addressing the story (honestly – the first sign my sister and I saw upon stepping out of baggage claim was one that said “Welcome to India! :) Many different kinds of bears live in India. :( Not strict enough rape laws.” What an interesting way to greet tourists…).

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A Grant for the Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media Is a Grant for Little Girls Everywhere

Posted by Becka Wall, Program Assistant | Posted on: December 10, 2012 at 12:14 pm

C.J. Cregg from The West Wing is the (fictional) person I credit most with inspiring me with passion and drive to get into the field of communications (after my mother, of course, who taught me that you could balance a career and family at the same time. Hi, Mom!). When I was 11 and watching the show with my parents, her grace under pressure and command of a press briefing room made me think, “I WANT TO DO THAT”.

As I got older and learned more about feminism, I thought about how important it was that I had that female role model to inspire me to go into a field that I knew so little about when I was younger, and today I’m starting out my career advocating for causes I so passionately believe in. So when I heard that the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media received a $1.2 million grant from Google to help analyze female portrayals in children’s media, my initial instinct was to let out a cheer.

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We Could all Learn Something from Capuchin Monkeys

Posted by Becka Wall, Program Assistant | Posted on: December 05, 2012 at 05:34 pm

Scientists recently did an experiment regarding equal pay with Capuchin monkeys, and the results were interesting - and obvious. The Capuchin who had been underpaid with a piece of cucumber instead of with a grape for performing exactly the same task repeatedly threw it at the experimenter in protest.

Go, Capuchin monkeys!

As an article by Kasey Edwards in Daily Life notes, the monkey’s demand for equal pay for equal work appeared to be a natural instinct, but it is difficult for women to negotiate their wages when they don’t know if they are being paid less for the same work.

Unlike grapes and cucumbers distributed in clear plastic containers in full view of the monkeys, paychecks for humans come in sealed envelopes, and most employers either explicitly prohibit discussions of pay or discourage employees from disclosing wages to their coworkers. It’s difficult to challenge unfair pay practices when a female worker has no idea what her male coworker sitting across the hall is making.

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