This year marks the 90^th anniversary of the 19^th amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote in the United States. In 1971 the Congress designated the date as “Women’s Equality Day.”

It is a significant milestone, but it evokes conflicting emotions. On the one hand, the hardships and sacrifices made by our foremothers in order to bring about passage of the 19^th amendment are inspirational, even guilt-inducing. One cannot help but admire the determination and physical courage it took to stand against the forces of polite society and law enforcement that were brought to bear against the suffragists. Who among us would be willing to be imprisoned, beaten, tortured and force-fed in support of a cause, no matter how worthwhile? Those brave women deserve our recognition and respect.

On the hand, it is discouraging to realize that 90 years have gone by since that historic event in 1920, and despite remarkable advances in the lives of women in the U.S., equal pay protection remains an increasingly elusive goal. Women make up over half the workforce in the country, yet, according to new data from the Bureau of labor statistics, the gap between men’s and women’s median earnings widened between 2007 and 2008.

To illustrate the impact of the gender wage discrepancy AAUW has published several pieces of research on the subject. The most recent works are Gains in Learning, Gaps in Earning and Behind the Pay Gap. Each year, AAUW and coalition partners across the country publicly recognize pay inequities on Equal Pay Day that will next occur on Tuesday, April 12, 2011.

The good news is that AAUW members have the opportunity to act now to redress the gender pay disparity. The Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182) would provide women with more tools than they currently possess to obtain fair pay in the workplace. It is imperative that the U.S. Senate acts on this bill when Congress reconvenes in September, but certainly before the end of the Congressional session in December.

Even though Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow are supporters of the legislation, they need to know that it is important to the voters of Michigan. Further, if you have family, friends or acquaintances in states where Senators have not yet realized the need to pass this legislation, an informative phone call or e-mail message to constituents in those states might prove to be beneficial to the passage of the bill.

Yes, we have come a long way in the last 90 years, but there is still a great deal waiting to be accomplished. Let’s make passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act a priority for AAUW members in Michigan, and throughout the U.S. Future generations will thank us for our actions, just as we show appreciation for the fortitude of our suffragist foremothers by remembering Women’s Equality Day.

Barbara Bonsignore

AAUW of MI Public Policy Director

August 25, 2010

Posted under Equity in the News

Coming Soon!  Social Media training for any AAUW of Michigan member interested in moving our mission forward via social media venues such as facebook and twitter.  Please contact Kathy Shaw (ksbanf@aol.com) if you are interested in how social media can create visibility and help us recruit members within our communities.  Keep watching here for announcements of when and where the trainings will take place.  AAUW of Michigan received an Impact Grant from AAUW and we will be using that grant to fund trainings around the state between now and next spring.  Janet Watkins will be doing the face-to-face training and I’ll be there to ask lots of questions and take notes!  Please join us…we are excited.

Kathy Shaw

AAUW of Michigan

Posted under AAUW of Michigan

Posted under Photo Gallery

Posted under Photo Gallery

Photo highlights from AAUW of Michigan 2010 Leadership Conference held in Livonia, Michigan.  AAUW Government Relations & Public Policy Director, Lisa Maatz, talked about what’s new at National, membership recruitment and using social media to advance the mission.

A panel discussion of the experts discussed topics including the Wage Project, NCCWSL and College/University Partnerships.

Posted under Photo Gallery

July 2, 2010

This message is a call to action for supporters of public education who are being asked to contact Senator Carl Levin’s office to show opposition to vouchers.  See the contact information below.

AAUW has a long history of opposition to vouchers in public education. In the 2009-2011 AAUW Public Policy Program the Public Policy Principles for Action specify that, “AAUW believes that quality public education is the foundation of a democratic society.” In the Biennial Action Priorities the text reads, “To support a strong system of public education that promotes gender fairness, equity, and diversity, AAUW advocates opposition to the use of public funds for nonpublic elementary and secondary education.”

I was recently informed, by Kathleen Straus, President of the Michigan State Board of Education, who had been in consultation with Roberta Stanley, Director of Federal Affairs at the National School Boards Association (NSBA) in Washingto, D.C., that there is a provision in the Department of Defense budget bill that would provide VOUCHERS for special education students who are dependents of service personnel. The provision would put the Senate on record supporting vouchers, and could potentially set a dangerous precedent.

The strategy in dealing with the bill seems to be to let the provision pass in the Senate, then work to remove it in conference committee. However, there is no assurance that the proposed strategy will work.

I have been in communication with Lecia Imbery, AAUW Public Policy Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator, who assured me that her office is working with Roberta Stanley at NSBA and trying to get the voucher provision removed from the bill. She suggested that phone calls or personal contacts from Michigan constituents would be helpful to national AAUW efforts. Please contact Senator Levin’s office and request that the voucher provisions be removed from the bill.

Senator Car Levin

269 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C., 20510

Phone (202) 224-6221

Fax: (202) 224-1388

www.levin.senate.gov

Thank you for your participation on this important issue.

Barbara Bonsignore

AAUW of Michigan Public Policy Director

2665 Steamboat Springs Drive

Rochester Hills, MI 48309

E-mail: bjbaauw1@aol.com

Posted under Education

AAUW of Michigan has received numerous awards for its work to advance women and girls.  We are pleased and honored to accept these acknowledgments on behalf of our branches and members.

Posted under AAUW of Michigan, Awards, Photo Gallery

“The End of Men?”

Author Hanna Rosin’s recent Atlantic Magazine cover story examines the impact the changing workplace is having on men, as women make gains under the shifting economic landscape.  Are women more suited and better able to perform in the postindustrial economy?  And, how do organizations like AAUW adapt its advocacy and programs without appearing/sounding or being anti-male?

Katha Pollitt of THE NATION, reassures male readers that Rosin’s article is not about the “extinction of men, Women on Topbut about men’s declining economic ability to dominate women and various sociocultural consequences.”

Yes, the world is a changin’ and former rules of engagement and division of labor continue to evolve and fall in favor of new ones.  Hopefully, what will emerge is something more balanced and equitable.  

What are your thoughts?  Join the conversation!

Janet Watkins

Posted under AAUW of Michigan, Equity in the News, Women and Work

On Tuesday, February 9, 2010, AAUW of MI State President, Kathy Shaw, asked me to represent the organization at a nonpartisan symposium at Wayne State University in Detroit. The symposium was co-hosted by the Wayne State University Law School and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

 

The keynote speaker for the event was Retired U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice, Marilyn Kelly, who is a graduate of Wayne Law, Class of 1971, introduced Justice O’Connor.

 

The Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman to serve as a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. She was nominated by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed unanimously by the Senate in 1981. During her 25 years on the Court, Associate Justice O’Connor ruled on numerous landmark cases before her retirement on January 31, 2006. Shortly thereafter she established the Sandra Day O’Connor Project on the State of the Judiciary at the Georgetown University Law Center. The project focuses on the election/selection of an impartial judiciary, making her the perfect keynote speaker for the symposium. Her remarks were cogent, pithy and to the point. She began by expressing her appreciation of the fact that the Michigan Supreme Court Justice is a woman. During her speech she made reference to the recent Supreme Court ruling involving the Citizens United v. FEC case. She explained that the ruling overturned one made during her time on the Court. She directed the audience participants, who were mainly students from Wayne State University, to look up her written opinion on the matter in order to understand where she stands on the matter.

 

She even managed to insert a timely “Who dat?” into her remarks, following the triumph, two days earlier, of the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl. The quip drew an appreciative laugh from the audience. As the moderator said at the conclusion of her speech, “ I have heard Justice O’Connor speak on many occasions, but I never expected to hear “Who dat?” in one of them.

 

Michigan is among a growing number of states examining the issue of judicial independence, particularly with respect to the election/selection of its Supreme Court justices. The concept of judicial independence encompasses the idea that individual judges and the judicial branch as a whole should work free of political pressure.

 

The input for the symposium agenda was gathered from representatives of professional organizations, political parties, academia and the business community. Based on this feedback, speakers from around the country provided perspectives on this important subject. Funding for the event came from Wayne State University Law School and a grant from the Joyce Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing effective public policy on a range of issues, including election law and voting rights.

 

Loretta M. Ames, President of ABOTA – Michigan Chapter, explained in her introductory remarks that the focus of the discussion at the symposium would be projected to reforms in 2020 rather than referencing the current makeup of the court, in an effort to look toward future improvements in the court system.

 

Among the prestigious speakers at the symposium were James J. Sample, Associate Professor at Hofstra University, and Robert A. Sedler of the Wayne Law faculty. Professor Sedler is an expert in Constitutional Law and Conflict of Laws.

 

Rich Robinson, Executive Director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network talked about public financing and other campaign reforms. He provided each audience participant with a copy of the Citizen’s Guide to Michigan Campaign Finance – 2008.

 

The final major speaker for the day was the Honorable Rebecca Love Kourlis, former Colorado Supreme Court Justice. She left the Colorado Supreme Court in 2006 to establish the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS), where she serves as Executive Director. IAALS is a national non-partisan organization dedicated to improving the process and culture of the U.S. civil justice system. Her subject matter focused on judicial performance evaluations and voter information. She is involved in an official program that collects data on judges, from the people who appear before them. The people in the courtroom are asked to respond to questions that ask if the judges are prepared, respectful, attentive, and timely in their rulings. The information is made available to every voter in the District through a variety of vehicles, including a website and a “Blue Book” that contains the data. Colorado judges have been assessed on their judicial performance since 1987, and the practice has met with positive responses from the judges themselves. Half think it has been beneficial to their judgments, while one quarter think it has enhanced their performance.

 

The League of Women Voters of Michigan was one of the co-sponsors of the event and past State President, Pat Donath, was charged with talking about Next Steps To An Independent Judiciary in Michgan. She distributed response sheets indicating that a study commission will be formed following the symposium, to focus on the issues raised.

 

If there are AAUW of MI members interested in serving as a member of the study commission, or if a member would like to be kept informed about the issues, please contact Kathy Shaw at: ksbanf@aol.com.

 

Barbara Bonsignore

AAUW of MI Public Policy Director

February 13, 2010

Posted under Networking

 

On October 16, 2009 and again on October 22, 2009 I had the opportunity to participate in two important programs on the subject of race in Michigan.  I am going to share some of my observations with AAUW members by means of the AAUW of Michigan state website blog.

 

James Baldwin wrote:  Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.

 

It seems to me that statement is a succinct description of the efforts of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion to work toward creating a more inclusive social fabric in Southeast Michigan.  On October 16, 2009 at the Wayne State University Law School a Mock Trial on Race and Housing was held.  All the elements of a courtroom were present, including a judge (Judge Victoria Roberts), a jury, a plaintiff and attorneys for the plaintiff as well as for the defense.

 

The plaintiff, Marvin Miller, alleged that the Federal Housing Administration’s mortgage insurance practices prevented him from purchasing homes in 1949 and 1960.  He alleged that in 1949, the FHA’s continued endorsement of racially restrictive covenants prevented him from purchasing a home in an all-white neighborhood and that is 1960, the FHA’s practice of “redlining” – refusing to insure mortgages in certain areas based on their racial composition, again prevented him from purchasing a home.

 

Despite impressive arguments on the part of the defense, representing the position of the FHA, the jury brought back a verdict in favor of the plaintiff.  They awarded him a fictitious sum of $250,000 as compensation for the long-term loss of homeowner equity he was denied when he was rejected from obtaining an FHA insured loan to purchase a home.

 

In the afternoon, following the announcement of the verdict, a Race & Housing Conference was held at the McGregor Center on the Wayne State University campus.  I attended the workshop entitled “Fair Housing, the History of Detroit Communities and Urban Renewal.”  Handouts that illustrated the consistent, pervasive use of discriminatory practices were shocking in their blatant use of language.  In a description of public schools, for example, that are “like a select private academy” there “can be no mixing of children of different color …  the colony here has been permanently restricted as to race  …  the entire school district is reserved exclusively for Caucasians.”

 

For more information about the Mock Trial, or to follow the locations for the traveling exhibit about segregation in Metro Detroit, go to (www.miroundtable.org).  There will be another chance to participate in a Michigan Roundtable event on February 12, 2010 at Cooley Law School where there will be Part II of the Mock Trial.  Mark your calendar and plan to attend.

 

On October 22, 2009 I attended a Race Relations & Diversity Task Force presentation at The Community House in Birmingham entitled Recognizing Privilege:  Confronting Racism in the 21^st Century.  The speakers were from the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance Anti-Racism Team, and they talked about the ways white society benefits from Institutional Racism both consciously and unconsciously.

 

Several handouts were provided on the subject of white privilege.  One of them was titled

 

Being a Strong White Ally

 

What people of color want from white allies

 

Respect

Find out about us.  Don’t make assumptions.

Don’t take over.  Stand by our sides.

Provide information.  Don’t assume you know what’s best for me.

Take risks.  Make mistakes.

Understanding.  Talk to other white people.

Teach your children about racism.  Interrupt racist jokes and comments.

Speak up.  Be supportive.

Don’t be afraid of my anger.

Put your body on the line.

 

One of the suggested books that deals with the subject of racism is: Between Barack and a Hard Place:  Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama by Tim Wise.  In his book, Mr. Wise talks about “enlightened exceptionalism.”  The term describes the way in which white people “allow for and even celebrate the achievements of individual persons of color, but only because those individuals generally are seen as different from a less appealing, even pathological black or brown rule.”

 

Future programs sponsored by the Race Relations & Diversity Task Force include:

       Five Women, Five Journeys – How Different Are We?

Tuesday evening, November 17, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at The Community House.  A panel of women from different faith traditions – Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Baha’i, and Hindu – will reflect on the changing roles and expectations of women and discuss their own personal stories.  There is no admission fee for this program.

 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration 2010

Monday, January 18, 2010 at 8:00 a.m.

Keynote speaker:  Judge Denise Langford-Morris. Tickets are $25.00.  It is a plated breakfast and reservations are required by January 8, 2010.

 

Barbara Bonsignore

November 13, 2009

Posted under Social Justice