Tara Ransfer, who has two children, has been working for 13 years at the same restaurant, where she started out making $2.38 per hour plus tips. Over the years Ransfer has worked there, she has made her way up to $3.51 per hour plus tips.
At Monday's kick-off event for Women's History Month, Ransfer spoke to students about the working conditions for women alongside fellow panelist Rebekah Jordan, executive director of Worker's Interfaith Network.
Ransfer said she decided a few years ago that she did not see herself continuing the waitress career track.
"I saw my life - it had no purpose," Ransfer said. "I stress the importance of education to my children. I want to set an example for my children."
Ransfer said she is currently a sophomore at Southwest Tennessee Community College and will be a junior education major at The University of Memphis in fall.
Walking into the panel discussion, some students weren't sure what to expect.
"I don't really know much about women's rights," said junior finance major Kyle Cartwright.
The Center for Research on Women at The U of M co-sponsored Monday's event with Memphis Reads. A short film titled Fast Food Women was shown prior to the panel discussion.
Men are not as likely as women to take a minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant that pays little and provides no benefits, Jordan said.
Not only is the small paycheck hard to live on, but women sometimes have children who need the money from that paycheck. According to Jordan, the median wage for a fast food worker is $7.75 per hour and the average fast food worker clocks in 25 hours per week, giving the employee a total of $9,700 for the year.
CROW, a 25-year-old organization, is sponsoring events to commemorate Women's History Month throughout March.
"We felt it was really important for students on campus to take a little time this month and realize some of the enormous contributions from women throughout history," said Rebecca Terrell, assistant director of CROW.
Terrell said the goal of these events is to inform the students and community about women's rights
"In Her Own Words: Inspirational Speeches from the Women's Rights Movement" is the next event Terrell highlighted for students to attend, which will be held March 18 from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. in the Ned R. McWherter Library Rotunda. Excerpts of speeches made by women during their struggle for equal rights will be reenacted by The U of M's Department of Theatre and Dance.
"We're trying to let students know about speeches given by women in history in support of women's struggle for women's rights," Terrell said. "We want students to know this didn't happen with people sitting around not making noise. Women really fought for these rights to become equal players in the system."
Women's Rights Awareness week is March 16 through March 20, which CROW will be sponsoring with The University's Amnesty International chapter.
"The purpose of this week is to highlight the strive that has been made in the United States and around the world for women's rights," said Amnesty International U of M Chapter President Terrance Stevenson . "There are issues that still must be done to improve women's rights, and we want to make people more aware of the rights that are already there."
Events for Women's Rights Awareness week are still being planned, but Stevenson said students should look for information on Facebook and posters as well as The University of Memphis homepage. The events will most likely have a "more global focus," Terrell said.
These month-long events, including the Women's Rights Awareness week, is just what CROW is hoping to do to educate students on the social inequalities women have changed and have left to change.
"Being a student here clearly is an opportunity to learn what's going to help them in their future, and this is just another opportunity for them to learn more about the world they live in, about issues people working with equal rights have to deal with," she said.
Some students at Monday's film and panel discussion said they wonder what the future will look like for women.
"We live in a male dominated world, and I don't know when it will change," sophomore finance major Monique McClain said. "I don't know if we'll have a woman president."
