AAUW Sacramento president Nancy McCabe and her granddaughter.

“Well-behaved women rarely make history,” is a quote attributed to Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and

the message on the bumper stickers we gave out at the recent Women Take Back the Night event. Membership Co-Chair Shirley Wheeler, Past-President Cherril Peabody, and I tabled at this event to support young women in their struggle for equality and to make our presence known in the community. There is a lot of truth in this statement and one that I hope resonates with our membership. AAUW has a long and illustrious history of rocking the proverbial boat to improve the lives of women and girls.

From our first study in 1888, “Health Statistics of Women College Graduates,” which challenged the belief that women college graduates’ health was adversely affected by attending college, to the 2015 study, “The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap,” AAUW has been out front putting our dues to work studying and advocating for women’s issues. We can be proud of what our forebears have done, and we need to continue to advocate for our daughters and granddaughters. We can build on the shoulders of the suffragettes and women of our youth who campaigned for equality. Change has been made, but there is always more that can be done.

I enjoy meeting the young women who are committed to making things better for society. During the event, we were approached by two groups of high school girls who have feminist groups at their schools. One group asked if we could come to talk to their group. I will have to wear my t-shirt that says, “Well-behaved women rarely make history.” The bumper stickers were hot movers!