Sacramento Branch Priorities By Kathleen Papst
As we come toward the end of AAUW’s busy year, I have been thinking about the need to continue to move forward with our mission and goals for the 2025-26 year. It isn’t too early to start thinking about planning events for our members and guests to continue the mission of AAUW. It is remarkable how much we get done for women’s equity and education, even with fewer active members in our branch. On that note, here are some highlights on the work being done at the state and national levels.
- AAUW has awarded more than $5 million to 230 fellows and grantees for the upcoming 2025-26 year. These grants significantly help the women selected meet their academic and professional goals. This money is crucial for expenses with important research and education in areas of knowledge that impact women.
- Policy Updates:
National published a letter to senators opposing confirmation of Linda McMahon as the U.S. Secretary of Education. The Senate, however, confirmed her as the new secretary on March 3.
A letter to state and local education agencies urges them to continue investing in DEI accessibility and equity programs in response to U.S. DOE April 3 Directive on Title VI Certifications. The Feb. 14 “Dear Colleague Letter” and the March 1 FAQ document raise concerns and sow confusion. OCR’s (Office of Civil Rights) Dear Colleague Letter broadly asserts that DEI programs are generally legally suspect when, in fact, the opposite is true. More information is available at National AAUW explaining this legislation and its ramifications for equal opportunities for Black and POC students. Federal courts have rejected the right-wing unfounded theories and the Supreme Court has refused to review those decisions further.
- AAUW continues to lead on workplace equity. Pay-equity research was featured in USA Today, and AAUW CEO Gloria Blackwell highlighted AAUW’s work on this issue on a podcast and LinkIn Live.
- Meanwhile, the California AAUW board is also vigorously working on numerous issues to assist state branches to further efforts to advance women’s equity and to keep it on the forefront of our legislators’ minds.
This is the time of year for states to hold their annual conventions. In the past, the convention was held for several days in a hotel and branches would send attendees to represent their branch in workshops and meetings. Times have changed. The California’s Convention was held April 26 on ZOOM. The theme was “Shifting 4 Our Future.” A recording of the event will be posted soon on the state website https://www.aauw-ca.org/2025-annual-event-pivoting-4-our-future/.
California has many webcasts available for members to learn effective ways to be involved in our state legislative issues that affect women’s equity. Some examples are:
-How to Organize an Effective Petition Campaign
-How to Work with the Media
-How to Write a Letter to the Editor vs. an OP-ED Article
- Finally, what can individuals do who wish to become more involved without holding an elected office or chairmanship? Here are some things that I highly encourage our Sacramento members to do to be a part of an effort to push forward women’s equity and inclusion.
Become a member of Two Minute Activist and click on the legislation that AAUW supports or opposes. When you click on the dropdown, you can see what issues are upcoming and an explanation of how it affects women. Please vote to oppose the SAVE ACT (Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility). The wording sounds great, but the administration has pushed forward efforts to block millions of women, seniors, rural voters, and communities of color from voting. Americans already affirm their citizenship when they register to vote. This legislation, which passed in the House of Representatives on April 10, would make citizens provide extra proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, when entering voting stations in order to vote in elections. If your documentation is not sufficient by the standards set forth, you will be forced to leave without voting. PLEASE tell your Senators to OPPOSE The Save Act by signing the opposition letter addressed to your senators.
For our next program year, we are still getting our Program Chairs in place. We will have to pivot and share the responsibility for providing programs for our membership. There is a way to highlight our involvement in AAUW by requesting a “AAUW Advocacy Event and Activity Report Back Form” from the California state website. When a chairperson for an event in the branch plans an upcoming event, they can fill out the information on the event and report to the California board what we are planning and the specifics of the event. This information will be shared by the board to show what the branches are doing to stay involved in the mission of AAUW. I highly encourage anyone willing to chair or co-chair an event for our members to do this and to ask someone to take photos or videos of the event.
And finally:
Please go to the state website and vote for candidates for the 2025 election to fill five positions. Information on the candidates can be found <here>. You should have received your ballot via email.
Please go to the national website and vote for new members for the Board of Directors and the proposed changes to the Bylaws. You should have received your ballot via email.
There are only four women who are applying, but their backgrounds are amazing and their passion for AAUW and its mission is so encouraging. The women are all running unopposed, but as we all know, finding people who want to be involved with our future is worth the effort of a few minutes of your time.
The deadline is MAY 13 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Please click <here> for the April issue of Public Policy News. Please read these two articles – “Public Policy Committee Sets AAUW California 2025 Legislative Agenda” and “Take Action to Help Kids Feel Safe at School”. Also included is the launch of the new Take Action spreadsheet, a clearinghouse for ongoing resistance activity that people can follow and join-in based on their passions and preferences.
