This blog just isn't about what needs to be done. It's also important to look back and see what has been accomplished. AAUW (the American Association of University Women) has done a lot in 2010. Below is a list of some of their successful and on-going efforts. Fortunately, the list is a long one.
Celebrate Action Network Successes in 2010!
As we reach the end of 2010, we take a moment to thank our AAUW Action Network activists for their extraordinary efforts to advance our shared mission this year. Your advocacy and financial support, along with the tens of thousands of others in our nationwide network of e-activists, has helped AAUW influence public policy throughout 2010. In the current economic climate, when so many organizations are cutting back, AAUW remains uniquely positioned to be a strong voice for you in the halls of power. As educated women and men, we continue to be advocates and catalysts for sustainable change, and your contribution today will supercharge our efforts to break through barriers for women and girls tomorrow.
Thanks to your activism and generosity, we can claim some impressive advocacy and programmatic achievements this year. This year, AAUW:
· Made enormous strides toward strengthening and updating the Equal Pay Act by advocating for the Paycheck Fairness Act. Although the bill was ultimately defeated by a procedural vote of 58-41 in the Senate, President Obama personally thanked AAUW and Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Lisa Maatz for AAUW’s leadership in advocating for the bill. We will continue the fight for strong pay equity legislation in the next Congress, and for stronger equal pay enforcement through the Executive Branch.
· Published Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, a comprehensive report on the continued underrepresentation of women in these fields adding to AAUW’s strong research foundations. This report has been so successful that AAUW has already invested in a third printing. You can order a copy by mail for just the cost of shipping at ShopAAUW or download the report here.
· Awarded $3.2 million in Fellowships, Grants, and Awards for the 2010-2011 academic year to support 215 scholars, research projects, and programs promoting education and equity for women and girls. Since 1888, AAUW has provided more than $80 million to 11,000 fellows and grantees around the globe.
· Helped close the book on the Pentagon’s 17 year-old “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which bans LGBT Americans openly serving in the military. This policy, which has caused the discharge of thousands of trained and skilled servicemembers on the basis of their sexual orientation and cost taxpayers millions of dollars, was repealed by a 65-31 vote last Saturday. It is expected that the President will sign the repeal bill this week.
· Encouraged the inclusion of Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s (D-MD) Women’s Health Amendment in the health care reform legislation. This amendment will prevent health insurance providers from discriminating against women, requiring insurance companies to cover additional preventive health care and screenings for women at no additional premium or co-payment cost.
· Successfully advocated for the rescission of a 2005 interpretation of a test designed to measure schools’ athletics compliance with Title IX, the law which forbids sex discrimination in federally funded educational programs. This Bush administration interpretation created a loophole in which a school could use an online survey, even one with extremely poor participation, to satisfactorily demonstrate compliance with the law; in April, the Obama administration closed the loophole.
· Received a five star rating from GreatNonprofits.org, a group dedicated to providing and hosting reviews and ratings of nonprofit organizations, and was included on their list of Top-Rated Women’s Empowerment Nonprofits.
· Hosted a reception honoring Sara Manzano-Diaz, Director of the Women’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor. In attendance were Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement Tina Tchen, and leaders from the women’s community.
· Published the Congressional Voting Record for the 111th Congress, providing information on the positions of each senator and representative on the issues important to the AAUW Action Fund. These positions are identified by tracking the voting and cosponsorship records for each member of congress and are useful tools for our advocates in determining their members’ past actions on important issues.
· Informed AAUW members of the candidates’ positions in many of the closest and most important races in the 2010 midterm elections through the AAUW Action Fund Voter Guides. Candidates’ positions were determined using voting records, public statements, campaign position papers and information posted online by trusted sources, and were provided to our members to help them make informed decisions when voting.
· Brought nearly 500 college women from 48 states, Washington D.C., the Virgin Islands, the West Indies, and Guam together for the 25th AAUW/NASPANational Conference for College Women Student Leaders. Students returned home ready to improve their campuses and their communities.
· Recognized the 2010 Women of Distinction Award recipients at NCCWSL: Patti Solis Doyle, Dr. Dorothy Height, Christina Lagdameo, Marie Tillman, and Nomfundo Walaza.
· Informed recommendations from the White House Middle Class Task Forceand Equal Pay Enforcement Taskforce which included ways to improve pay equity enforcement and work-family balance.
· AAUW Leadership Corps grassroots liaisons have worked with state presidents, branch boards, national members, and staff to strengthen AAUW at every level. From all across the country, the AAUW Leadership Corps is supporting members in their efforts to break through barriers for women and girls!
· Worked with our e-advocates to dramatically grow our voice on Capitol Hill. Through AAUW’s Action Network, which logged over 13,000 new subscribers this year, we sent over 74,000 messages to legislators and the administration this year, influencing them on a host of issues from pay equity and women’s health to hate crimes and Title IX.
· Successfully supported the House passage of the America COMPETES Reauthorization which contained a number of provisions to improve education and training in science, technology, engineering, and math and to reduce barriers that deter women from pursuing academic career goals in these fields.
· Received recognition of our research and advocacy in publications as diverse as Good Housekeeping, The Washington Post, and Time Magazine.
· Successfully fought for the inclusion and passage of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, one of the largest investments in higher education ever, in the health care reform bill.
· Worked with government agencies to create new regulations that help women and girls. In one example, pregnant and parenting students are now considered“high-need students” and federal programs helping them will be considered a priority, thanks to AAUW’s efforts.
· Broke the readership record for the AAUW Dialog Blog with nearly 10,000 readers this year. We also moved the conversation about equity for women and girls into other new media, including Facebook and Twitter.
· Celebrated the one year anniversaries of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, hard-won victories for equal rights that could not have succeeded without the commitment and dedication of AAUW’s e-advocates. The FBI has relied on AAUW’s input in writing and updating its hate crimes statistics collection to include gender-biased motivated crimes.
· Worked to keep members of our communities and the public informed via letters to the editors of local papers on a variety of topics, including pay equity and Title IX. You can see just a few of the published letters in AAUW’sNewsroom.
· Honored the memory and the courage of women who came before us and fought for passage of the 19th Amendment 90 years ago this year, as well as the 90th anniversary of the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau.
· Prevented several attempts to weaken public education by diverting public funds to private or religious schools through voucher funding schemes. AAUW stands firmly by the belief that the country should provide an excellent education for all children, not private school vouchers for a few.
· Celebrated the publication of the book Secrets of Powerful Women this past February. AAUW Director of Public Policy Lisa Maatz was honored to be chosen to write one of the book’s 24 essays on women’s journeys to success. Other contributors included Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Kay Granger (R-TX).
· Launched “In That Moment I Knew”, a series of radio public service announcements highlighting members’ stories and AAUW’s mission and goals.
· Increased support for anti-bullying legislation that would ensure all schools have effective policies in place to prevent and respond to bullying and harassment, as well as educate teachers and administrators about these issues. Informed in part by AAUW testimony and that of other groups, the Department of Education sent a letter to the nation’s schools offering guidance on bullying and harassment and reminding them of their responsibility to prevent bullying under the nation’s civil rights laws.
· Disbursed over $90,000 to five plaintiffs to help with their legal costs in precedent-setting sex discrimination lawsuits, on campus and in the broader workplace.
· Celebrated the 35th anniversary of the AAUW Action Fund Capitol Hill Lobby Corps with 1,200 visits to members of Congress this year alone, and a Capitol Hill reception.
· Launched Elect Her, a comprehensive program to build the pipeline of women running for public office. The campus training, Elect Her — Campus Women Win has doubled the number of trainings to reach 20 campuses in Spring 2011.
· Successfully fought back a dangerous “Personhood Amendment” in Colorado which would have constituted a sweeping ban on abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother was at risk.
In the past year, AAUW and our activists have made great strides on Capitol Hill, on college campuses, and in our branches and communities. We have made our voices heard, but our work is far from over. These tough economic times are a challenge to all of us, but they can be especially devastating to women because of harassment, discrimination, unfair wages, and more. Please make a contribution now, so that AAUW can intensify our crucial work to break through barriers for women and girls in the coming year.
AAUW’s Action Network makes it easy for advocates to influence Congress to act on issues critical for equity for women and girls. Help Action Network grow and be even more of a force in our nation’s capital. Urge your friends and family tojoin AAUW and AAUW’s Action Network today.
The grassroots liaisons in AAUW's new Leadership Corps program will be reaching out to AAUW branch leaders to provide mentoring and assistance. Whether you are a member of an AAUW branch (an officer or not) or a member-at-large interested in becoming involved with other AAUW members, please fill out the online form here to indicate areas of branch programming or administration for which you would like assistance.
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Read the 2009-2011 AAUW Public Policy Program.
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