Not really. Laws in the US default to women as caregivers.
- Women get maternity, men don't
- Women get default custody of child in divorce, men don't
- Women get to adopt easier than men
- Domestic violence on men is ignored/laughed upon, presumably because men are not caregivers but violators by default
- Women don't have mandatory military conscription, men do (presumably because men have to be fighters and women have to be caregivers by default)
Well, by definition, its only "maternity" when the mother gets it, but the federal requirement for unpaid, job-protected family leave in FMLA applies equally to parents of both genders, as does (for one example) the California state requirements for job-protected unpaid family (CFRA) and paid family leave (PFL)
> Women get default custody of child in divorce, men don't
There is no legally-specified default custody in divorce; women get custody in divorce more often because they are more likely to request it. Men get custody more often when it is contested between the parties.
> Women get to adopt easier than men
AFAIK, that's true for single women vs. single men in practice, but not an example of a default in the law, since its a result of the practices of private adoption agencies, not a result of a difference in legal requirements.
> Domestic violence on men is ignored/laughed upon, presumably because men are not caregivers but violators by default
Again, to the extent that's true, that's not an example of the law treating them differently; as a matter of law, domestic violence is equally prohibited when a male is the victim.
> Women don't have mandatory military conscription, men do
Well, no, since the draft ended and the all-volunteer force was established, no one has had mandatory military conscription in the US. Men are required to register in preparation for any potential change in that policy, though, so while overstated, this seems to be the single valid example of a legal preference in the direction you suggest on your list.
> There is no legally-specified default custody in divorce; women get custody in divorce more often because they are more likely to request it. Men get custody more often when it is contested between the parties.
> Again, to the extent that's true, that's not an example of the law treating them differently; as a matter of law, domestic violence is equally prohibited when a male is the victim.
You are onto something. The laws seem to treat men and women the same.
So why is there a need for an organizations like "Women who code"? The law, on paper, treats both men and women the same right?
If your answer is that the laws are unfair towards a particular gender, then you yourself contradict the above mentioned points.
else if your answer is that "in practice" women get treated unfairly despite equal on-paper laws, that is exactly what I meant by "US laws default to women as caregivers". Men get treated unfairly in domestic and family issues.
Written law and law as it is enforced and practiced is very very different when it comes to gender issues.
> So why is there a need for an organizations like "Women who code"? The law, on paper, treats both men and women the same right?
There are many social reasons that the situations women face in the programming might be different than those faced by men that have nothing to do with differences in law, either on their face or in practical application.
> If your answer is that the laws are unfair towards a particular gender
But its not, so that's okay.
> else if your answer is that "in practice" women get treated unfairly despite equal on-paper laws
But my answer is not that they in practice get treated unfairly in the execution of the law, either.
That's quite sexist claim.