Politics

When Is Enough, Enough?

Posted on by Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat

We had our July enewsletter planned. In fact, yesterday, I sat with a copy of it for my review. I read it three times, and while I very much wanted to share the good work that Washington Area Women’s Foundation has been engaged in—and there is so much good work happening—I was struggling to sign-off on the beautifully prepared and celebratory newsletter that sat before me. And then I woke to more violence and bad news this morning.

My heart is heavy. I feel immobilized. Tears flowed on several occasions yesterday. I wanted to turn away from the screen and social media, but I couldn’t. Another video, another senseless murder, another life lost, another family destroyed. Have you heard the heart wrenching, bring-you-to-your-knees sobs of Alton Sterling’s 15-year-old son during a news conference, as he cried, “I want my daddy…”? Did you watch Diamond Reynolds as she stood in front of the Minnesota Governor’s mansion demanding justice, not only for her boyfriend Philando Castile, but also for every family that has sadly come before her? “This is much bigger than me,” she said. I challenge anyone to watch either of those videos and not be rocked to your core.

Think racism is a thing of the past? Think again. As a white woman, I will never know what it feels like to live in constant fear that my actions or my words or my simply being could end my life. I’m the mother of two teenage girls. I’ve never had to sit them down and explain to them how they are supposed to “be” in this world. When my 16-year-old started driving, I feared for her safety as a new driver, but I never feared for her life in the event of a traffic stop. Privilege. I am privileged. My girls are privileged. We live a privileged life.

All day, my Facebook feed was filled with friends and colleagues who are grieving. They are tired. They are angry. They’re feeling hopeless. They are in pain. I want to wrap my arms around all of them and offer words of comfort, but what would those words be? Everything will be ok? Justice will be served? We’re going to make this right? Ha – those aren’t words. Those are lies, and I won’t lie to my friends and colleagues. Instead, I promised to find my words at a time when I was at a loss for words.

And so here’s my start. At what point do we say enough is enough? At what point are we willing to look deep within ourselves and face our own prejudices and biases head on and call them out for what they are? At what point do we collectively decide that the racialized structures we inhabit have to go? If not now, when? In 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Here we are, 52 years later, a long way from racial justice.

Don’t take my word for it, though. Instead, listen to the stories of six beautiful women in DC who bravely shared their experiences. “Too few hold the power. Too many are powerless… There’s a different standard for everything… You think we don’t see it?”

I see it. My eyes are wide open. The question is: What do we do now?

 

Every Day is Election Day: Catching up with Rebecca Sive

Posted on by Jessica Zetzman

Around this time last year, we hosted a Brown Bag Lunch with Rebecca Sive, author of Every Day is Election Day: A Woman’s Guide to Winning Any Office, from the PTA to the White House. Since that event, Rebecca has been touring the country talking about her book and meeting with women at all levels of leadership. We were lucky enough to catch-up with Rebecca by phone recently for an update on what she has learned through these conversations with women across the country. 

What are some of the top things that you have learned in the last year traveling around the country talking to people about your book?

I think the thing that stood out to me the most is that — across race, ethnic, age and geographic lines — there are women everywhere who want to be politically active. That was very interesting to me, not to mention heartwarming. Going into the book tour, I thought perhaps women’s sentiments would differ from place to place, but they didn’t. Everywhere across our country, there are women who are very clear that being a public office holder is very important to them.  And there are also, for instance, women who have already been the PTA president or a member of the school board, who have now decided that the next step is the state legislature or some other higher office. That was wonderful to see and hear about. They were not a homogeneous group, either, but a heterogeneous group of women who care deeply about their communities and making them better.

Related to this was the eagerness I saw to learn how to run and win: “How do I go about running for office? What are the steps I can take to do that, to seek the leadership position I want?”

Something else that I think is important, and that I saw reaffirmed — throughout my book tour — was how important it is for women to acknowledge that while they are seeking an office or political leadership in order to, in most cases, make advances on a particular issue, it is also necessary for them to understand and acknowledge that they are seeking power; that it is okay to seek power, and that to seek power to do good is the best. I find women are still sometimes hesitant to talk about this aspect of public leadership. So many women start their public careers by saying, “Well I really want to work on this issue.” Regularly, I found myself reminding my audiences that, in order for them to be effective on issues they care about, they would have to seek influence and power, wholeheartedly. Actually, this truth needs to be underscored for all of us!

Another key lesson that came up during my book tour is this: women who seek leadership positions really need sponsors (as well as tools like Every Day Is Election Day). To me, sponsors are people who open doors and bring you into the room. They say, for instance, “I understand you want to be in the state legislature; so, I’m going to invite you to be my guest at this important event — or speech or meeting — so that you can meet some of the people that can help make that happen for you.” Mentors are great, but sponsors are indispensable.

What do you see as the benefits that women get from running for any kind of office?

I feel strongly that when women put themselves out there and run for office, they are saying to their community: “This issue matters, and this office matters.” They are saying that it shouldn’t be just anybody who is the PTA president, or the school board president, or in the legislature; that it really matters who sits in those decision making chairs on a daily basis.

Yes, of course, there are also personal qualities that women will gain. For instance, they will learn to speak with confidence; no doubt, their self esteem will grow; but running for office is really about civic engagement. It is part of engaging successfully on behalf other people. That’s the big gain, the most important one gain.

Here is one story to illustrate this truth.  Earlier this month, I went to a county fair in a rural, agricultural area of Michigan. At the fair, I talked to a woman who was running for state representative. She had a classic women’s leadership story to tell me: she had been an accountant, and then a teacher, who was very involved in her community, but she just got fed-up with some things. Since she had retired as a teacher, she said to herself: “Okay, I’m going to run for the state legislature and work to make things better.” So, there she was at the fair. It was 90 degrees out; the humidity was 100%, but she was there shaking hands and talking to as many people as she could, telling them that she wanted to go to Lansing and fight for them. She embodied the notion that: “I understand that, if I am in public office, I can make a positive difference for others.  It’s not so much about me, it is about the world around me.”

In fact, since I visited with The Women’s Foundation last year, I encountered this same story –over and over: women who were clear that their search for political leadership and power wasn’t about them; it was about the potential to make a difference.

When you look at issues of sex and race discrimination, when you look at the systemic barriers to advancement, breaking those barriers down requires a group effort. That’s why The Women’s Foundation exists; that’s why donors give to you; and I think that’s why women who are effective politically are effective: they understand they are mobilizing a group of people; that they are agents of change.

Why is this work important to you?

I have been organizing women, helping and leading women’s causes my whole adult life. This work of mine has never ceased being really important to me because I just see so much power within women to do good. This isn’t to say that we’re all perfect, or that we don’t all have our faults, because we all do. But, it is to say that there is so much opportunity for women to build institutions, like The Foundation, to run for office, to be activists, to make this world better. So, over the course of time, I have just tried to figure-out ways to mobilize women to do that. And, if, sometimes, they don’t realize they have the power to make change, well, then, that motivates me, too.

Think about Women’s Equality Day; think about how hard and how long the suffragists fought to reach that day. That organizing went on for almost 100 years.  So, if we get tired now, well we’ll just take a look at them and keep on going. In this context, I want to say to you that I think we are now at the most important time for women political activists since suffrage. That’s because, for the first time in American history, women are being considered — and running — from the presidency on down. We are in a moment we haven’t experienced before. This is a wonderful (and important) time for all of us to mobilize to advance women’s political leadership.  Thanks to the Women’s Foundation for the work you’re doing to make this happen.

Women’s Political Participation and Representation in the Washington Region

Posted on by Claudia Williams

This month, on August 26th, we will celebrate Women’s Equality Day, designated as such by Congress in 1971 to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote.  As we approach the day to celebrate this milestone in women’s history, we see there is both much to celebrate, and much work to be done around women and civic and political engagement.

First, the good news: women are making it out the polls in record numbers. Today, women are actively voting, running for office and creatively using their individual and collective power to bring about social and community change. The Census Bureau reports that since 1996, the number of citizens who have reported voting has increased in every presidential election. As in the country as a whole, in our region women are the majority of voters, and both register and vote at a slightly higher number and proportion than men, particularly in the District of Columbia.

 Chart Voting by sex in Nov 2012

Source: The Women’s Foundation compilation of data from the Bureau of the Census, 2012

In the November 2012 election, slightly under three-quarters of DC women voted (71 percent) in comparison with 64 percent of men. This was more than ten percentage points higher than the national voting rates for women (59 percent) and  about ten percentage points higher for men (54 percent) in that election. Voting in Maryland and Virginia had lower rates than DC, closer to the national average; still, women’s civic participation was higher than men’s.

The same pattern holds for voter registration: Seventy-seven percent of DC women were registered to vote in 2012, in comparison with 72 percent of men, which was also higher than the national rates of 67 percent of women and 63 percent of men. In Virginia, 71 percent of women registered to vote compared to 66 percent in Maryland.

Now for the challenging news: While women may make up the majority of voters, there is a significant under-representation of women in political office. Today, women’s representation at the state and national levels falls short of the 51 percent needed to reflect their proportion in the population. For example, women only make up 18.5 percent of the US Congress: they hold just 99 of 535 full-voting Congressional seats, which is up from 90 in 2010.

The District of Columbia has one non-voting Congressional seat, which has been held by Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton for twelve terms. In Maryland, women hold two of the 10 Congressional seats: Senator Barbara Mikulski and Representative Donna Edwards. Thirty percent of the state legislature is made up of women and Maryland ranks 9th among states for the proportion of women in the state legislature.

Virginia holds 13 Congressional seats, none of which are currently filled by women.

The proportion of women in Virginia’s  state legislature decreased from 19 percent in 2010 to 17 percent in 2014. Virginia ranks 40th among states for the proportion of women in the state legislature. The governors of both Maryland and Virginia are men, and neither state has ever elected a woman governor.

Equal political representation for women at the national, state and local levels is critical as it increases the likelihood that laws and policies will reflect the needs and interests of women and their families. Last year, we hosted a brown bag lunch with Rebecca Sive, author of Every Day is Election Day: A Woman’s Guide to Winning Any Office, from the PTA to the White House, to discuss this important topic. We encourage you to read highlights from the conversation and tweet your thoughts using #UseThe19th.

In the 43 years since Women’s Equality Day was designated, we have made impressive strides in the number of women who turn up at the polls to make their voices heard; however, women still are not sufficiently represented in political office – a place where, more than just having a voice, they have a platform and the power to make critical change for women, their families and the communities in which they live.  We may be celebrating Women’s Equality Day this month, but equality in political office still remains far too aspirational. What can you do to raise your voice and be heard?

 

Women’s History Month Q&A – March 19, 2014

Posted on by Jessica Zetzman

Q: Who was the first woman of color and the first Asian American woman elected to Congress?

A: Patsy Mink, a third generation Japanese American, represented Hawaii in the U.S. House 12 times.  With her election in 1965, Mink became the first woman of color to join the ranks of Congress. In 1972, she became the first Asian American to seek the Democratic nomination for President, running as an anti-war candidate.  The Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act was named after Mink.

Women’s History Month Q&A – March 14, 2014

Posted on by Jessica Zetzman

Q: Who is the longest serving woman in the history of the United States Congress?

A: Maryland’s own, Senator Barbara Mikulski. Senator Mikulski has served in the Senate since 1987, and before that served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987.  It was her re-election in 2010 that allowed her to surpass one of our earlier Women’s History Month Q&A answers, Margaret Chase Smith, as the longest-serving female senator.

 

Celebrate Women’s History Month at the National Archives

Posted on by Jessica Zetzman

Record of RightsMany of Washington, DC’s museums proudly display the highlights of American history from Judy Garland’s red slippers to the command module of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. But a new permanent exhibit at the National Archives not only gives us an in-depth look at our country’s complicated past with civil rights, but also asks us to consider how we can play a part in shaping our nation’s future.

When you first walk into the dimly lit Records of Rights exhibit at the National Archives, your eyes are drawn directly to the centerpiece of the room, the Magna Carta. When visiting for the first time, I was struck by how the weight of such an important document fills the room. From the screens next to the Magna Carta that allow you to explore its history, to a large interactive table where archive goers are encouraged to sift through historical documents and tag them with their reactions, it is clear that this exhibit aims to draw you in. But it is the images on the walls when you first enter that give the impression that perhaps this exhibit will be more than just a parade of historical documents; the entry is lined with what appear to be frames from a painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. However, when the viewer changes their perspective the images change with them: they are holograms. Revealed images start to depict things such as African American soldiers, women’s suffragettes, and immigrant laborers.

These are the real focus of the new Records of Rights exhibit, the recently constructed Rubenstein Gallery that aims to “illustrate how Americans throughout our history have debated issues such as citizenship, free speech, voting rights, and equal opportunity.” The exhibit highlights the struggles of three specific sectors of society: immigrant populations, African Americans and women. On my visit, I focused my energies on the section depicting women, called, “Remembering the Ladies,” a title pulled from a quote from First Lady Abigail Adams as she urged her husband, President John Adams, to “remember the ladies” as they drew up a new code of laws for the new United States of America. The exhibit showed the absurdities of laws and practices that were once commonplace and reminded me that the power of one person and one word (a penciled mark-up adding the word “sex” to the Civil Rights Bill of 1964) can alter the course of history.

Considering how moved I was by the exhibit, I was surprised that there could be any opposition to its depiction of civil rights throughout America’s history. Yet, when the gallery first opened, the New York Times ran a rather critical article that suggested that an exhibit discussing America’s tumultuous past with extending liberties justly should not be so prominently featured at the National Archives.  Expressing his criticism, the author, Edward Rothstein, stated, “This is a peculiar way for an institution that is a reflection of the government itself, to see the nature of its origins, the character of its achievements, and the promise of its ideas,” and asked, “What is a visiting class of students to think, except that the United States has been uniquely hypocritical and surpassingly unjust?”

However, after seeing it for myself, I believe the Records of Rights exhibit is exactly the kind of frank and unsparing journey that our students need to understand and appreciate how their own rights and liberties have been shaped to this day. This look at our country’s history – and its fraught relationship with implementing the “rights of free men” that Mr. Rothstein extols – shows that the “promise of [this country’s] ideas” has historically only been guaranteed for some – often those writing the ideas – and reminds students that if we forget this truth, we run the risk of repeating it. Facing these tough issues in America’s history is exactly what we want a visiting class of students to do; a trip to the Archives is not meant to be a glamorous whitewashing of our nation’s story, but rather a teaching experience that sparks debate.  If we don’t show these struggles in our National Archives, what students will learn is revisionist history, that the “hard parts” of delivering these rights to our citizens can be brushed under the rug. Taking responsibility for our history is not a sign of weakness, but rather a way to ensure the strength of our nation in the future. Women are teachable

In this day and age we take it for granted that a woman can grow up to become a doctor or business owner, that she can build her own credit and buy her own home (a right the exhibit reminds wasn’t granted until the 1970’s), and that women don’t need to be taught how to use job related equipment by “referring to them like kitchen gadgets” as one booklet in the exhibit urged new managers of women to do (à la this gem). It took the concentrated efforts of thousands of people to see where inequality existed and try to overcome those stereotypes. The honesty of the Records of Rights exhibit is less about how America is imperfect, and more about how America has overcome many obstacles in its journey to form a more perfect union: when faced with a problem, individuals as part of a larger American society, helped push us forward.

Rothstein also lamented that in the exhibit, “we aren’t being asked to think: We are being drilled, unrelentingly, in injustice,” and later, “The exhibition notes that Americans have “debated issues” like these, but there is no debate — only compassion opposing intolerance.” Yet, I believe the Records of Rights exhibit does an exceptional job of showing us how Americans have debated these issues; only because of our privilege of hindsight can we look back and see that the rights we fought for were really just “compassion opposing intolerance.” For instance, a letter from Alice H. Wadsworth, the female President of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, to U.S. House of Representatives member Charles E. Fuller, states that giving women the right to vote would be “an endorsement of nagging as a national policy.” Other documents in the exhibit also depict how the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was opposed by key woman suffragists for fear it would wipe away gains made through gender specific labor legislation. Eleanor Roosevelt opposed the ERA. The Record of Rights’ nuanced and comprehensive portrayal of our history reminds us that there were multiple sides to these issues, and these debates were very real for our citizens, even among women. In many ways, it is exactly the job of The Archives, as our nation’s keeper of historical records, to show us the totality of this debate.

wartime cartoon childcareMoreover, this exhibit reveals that some of the struggles of bygone eras are struggles we still face today. For instance, I couldn’t help but note that political cartoons from the 1940s joked about the lack of childcare for women in the workforce during the wartime effort, a very real issue that we are still working to address today. In many cases, we still haven’t learned from our past.

When leaving the exhibit, I felt equal parts exhilarated and sobered. We as a nation have come together to recognize and right injustice time and time again, something that propels us forward and makes us stronger. But there are many things we still need to improve, and reminding ourselves of this is the only way we will know that we have the ability to change things. The exhibit highlighted individuals  – whether it be a woman writing the state railway commission asking for a chance to work for a living wage, or famous suffragists calling for the 19th Amendment to be passed; these remind us that no matter who or where we are, we can play a role in changing history.

Women’s History Month Q&A – March 6, 2014

Posted on by Jessica Zetzman

Q: Who was the first female Supreme Court Justice?

A: Sandra Day O’Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan in 1981, making her the first female Supreme Court Justice.

In response to an editorial in The New York Times which mentioned the “nine old men” of the Court,Sandra Day O’Connor, the self-styled FWOTSC (First Woman On The Supreme Court), sent a letter to the editor stating:

“Is no Washington name exempt from shorthand? One, maybe. The Chief Magistrate responsible for executing the laws is sometimes called the POTUS [President of the United States].

The nine men who interpret them are often the SCOTUS [Supreme Court of the United States].
The people who enact them are still, for better or worse, Congress.

According to the information available to me, and which I had assumed was generally available, for over two years now SCOTUS has not consisted of nine men. If you have any contradictory information, I would be grateful if you would forward it as I am sure the POTUS, the SCOTUS and the undersigned (the FWOTSC) would be most interested in seeing it.”

Women’s History Month Q&A – March 5, 2014

Posted on by Jessica Zetzman

Q: Who was the first woman nominated for president by a major political party?

A: Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman nominated for president by a major party. At the Republican Convention, she placed fifth and lost the nomination to Sen. Barry Goldwater.

Margaret Chase Smith entered politics when she succeeded her late husband in the House of Representatives in 1940. After four terms in the House, she won election to the United States Senate in 1948. In so doing, she became the first woman elected to both houses of Congress.

In 1964, Senator Smith ran in several Republican presidential primaries. She took her candidacy all the way to the Republican National Convention in San Francisco, where she became the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the presidency by either of the two major parties. In the final balloting, Smith refused to withdraw and so wound up coming in second to the Republican nominee, Senator Barry Goldwater.

During her career, Senator Smith served four terms in the Senate and thirty-two years in Congress.

The Year in Review: Top Legislation Impacting Women in 2013

Posted on by Jessica Zetzman

It seems that women have been the center of many policy debates this year, both nationally and locally. We’ve been keeping an eye on important legislation affecting women and their families in 2013 and have put together a list of the top bills, policies and legislation of the year, plus a few to keep tabs on in 2014:

1. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cuts:

In November of this year, automatic cuts to SNAP took effect as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) expired. The cuts amounted to $29 a month for a family of three and reduced SNAP benefits to an average of less than $1.40 per person per meal in 2014.

Keep an eye on this in 2014: Additional cuts could be coming in 2014. Cuts to SNAP are included in the Farm Bill, but the number varies depending on version. Though the conference committee tasked with reconciling the House and Senate versions of the bill won’t have an agreement by the end of 2013, it is likely the bill will pass in some form in early 2014.

2. Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013:

This bill was signed into law in March and expands protections for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault. Among other things, it helps create a national prevention hotline, funds shelters, facilitates the prosecution of perpetrators, provides a temporary visa and pathway to legalization for undocumented immigrants who are the victims of domestic abuse and greatly expands the housing rights of domestic violence survivors.

3. Raising the minimum wage to $11.50/hr in DC, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County:

Just in time to make our 2013 roundup, these three local governments all passed bills to raise the minimum wage in their respective jurisdictions. This is a huge step and very important for our region, but as the Foundation’s President Nicky Goren wrote in her Huffington Post article earlier this month, this increase is just a start. Still, there has been a lot of activism around raising the minimum wage lately, including President Obama supporting a bill to raise the federal minimum wage. We’ll be watching this issue in the new year.

4. Long-term unemployment insurance runs out December 28:

Recent statistics show that women are roughly 45% of the long-term unemployed. Right now, the length of time a person can collect unemployment benefits varies significantly by state, but it can be as long as 73 weeks in some places. Come December 28, 2013, 26 weeks will be the maximum length a person will be able to collect the benefit. At that time, anyone who has been on unemployment longer than 26 weeks will be completely cut-off (that number will likely be 1.3 million Americans). The Urban Institute has created a great resource for learning more about this important issue, here.

5. Sequester and Shutdown:

2013 saw both The Sequester and The Shutdown, with the Washington region being heavily impacted by both. The Sequester caused cuts to social services, furloughs for government workers, and serious hits to the Head Start program. The Shutdown nearly crippled the Head Start program altogether in November and caused many local non-profits and families to struggle as they went without funding and paychecks for 16 days. Sequestration has been devastating for housing assistance programs, causing significant shortfalls in housing vouchers for low-income families.

6. Affordable Care Act came online:

Though the rollout has had its issues, the Affordable Care Act officially came online this past year, and the implications for women and their families are huge. Already, almost 1.5 million people have enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. All the women and children included in that figure will get free preventative care such as mammograms, screenings for cervical cancer and other services, along with coverage for other medical issues at reasonable prices and no co-pay for most birth control.

To watch in the coming year:

1. Immigration Reform:

This bill didn’t make it through Congress this year, but the implications of comprehensive immigration reform for families could be huge. It is estimated that there are between 11 and 20 million undocumented immigrants in America, many of them living away from families for years or decades. Many undocumented immigrants forgo public assistance they could legally obtain for fear they will be deported. There is a lot of momentum for this bill, and we’ll be watching what happens in 2014.

2. Strong Start for America’s Children Act:

On November 13, the Strong Start for America’s Children Act was introduced in the House and Senate. This legislation would provide universal access to high-quality pre-kindergarten for low-income children and expand child care for infants and toddlers through a federal-state partnership.  This bill has bipartisan support and would be a huge early care and education win if it passes. A summary on the bill from the National Women’s Law Center is here.

 3. The Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act (the FAMILY Act):

This bill was introduced in December of this year. While the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (widely known as FMLA) currently requires employers to provide leave for qualified medical and family reasons, it only requires unpaid leave. The new bill that has been introduced would provide federal family leave insurance that would provide workers with up to 12 weeks of partial income for qualified leave. This is certainly something that could be a huge boost for women and their families, and we’ll be watching it closely in 2014.

Was this review helpful? Did we miss something? Let us know in the comments section!

The Year in Review: Top Blog Posts for 2013

Posted on by Jessica Zetzman

Where has the year gone?! We can barely believe that 2014 is just around the corner, and though we’re already looking forward to the great things the future holds for Washington Area Women’s Foundation, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take this chance to look back at the incredible year we’ve had in 2013. We launched a new two generation grantmaking strategy for middle school girls and their mothers, saw incredible success stories from our grantee partners, blew past our annual Leadership Luncheon fundraising goal and much more! We chronicled these and more on our blog, and have rounded up some of our favorite blog posts from 2013:

1. New Grantmaking for Girls: A Two Generation Strategy: Foundation President Nicky Goren announced exciting new funding for innovative programs that work with both middle school aged girls and their mothers or female caregivers to establish economic security across generations.

2, 3, and 4. The March on Washington: In Marching Great Distances: My Family’s Past and Future, and the March on Washington, We March On: Diversity, Unity & the March on Washington, and “I Still Have a Dream:” 50 Years Later, March on Washington Remains Relevant our staff provide diverse perspectives on their experience marching with the Foundation and commemorating the 50th anniversary of The March on Washington.

5. Leaning in isn’t an option for all women: In March, Sheryl Sandberg made quite a splash with her book “Lean In,” in which she advises women to assert themselves in the workplace and beyond. On our blog, we looked at the complexity of “leaning in” for low-income women dealing with many other mitigating factors.

6. Sharon Williams Luncheon Remarks: On October 23, Sharon Williams spoke at The Women’s Foundation’s 2013 Leadership Luncheon. Her remarks inspired those in attendance and were posted on our blog shortly after the luncheon. After speaking, Sharon received a Visionary Award for her commitment to improving the lives of women and their families.

7. Why can the restaurant industry be so difficult for women? Spoiler alert: Top Chef Masters got it wrong: In this post, Jessica Zetzman responds to remarks made on Top Chef Masters to Chef Jennifer Jasinski and shares the real reason the restaurant industry is tough for women.

8. Miss Utah Equal Pay Flub Should Be a Call to Action: Following the media buzz after Miss Utah’s flubbed response at the Miss USA Pageant to a question about pay inequity and women’s rights, Foundation President Nicky Goren reflects on the incident’s indication of the lackluster state of the women’s rights movement.

9. No Joke: The Impact of the Sequester is Devastating Vulnerable Families: In June, we looked at the ways the sequester was affecting families in our region and across the US.

10. Changing GED Could Mean Greater Barriers for Area Women: Following an informative panel put together by grantee partner Academy of Hope, we looked at the upcoming changes to the GED slated to take effect this coming January and how they will impact women in our region.