Category Archives: AAUW Mission

Book Groups Update by Sharon Anderson

Book Group Update by Sharon Anderson

December Book Groups

If you wish to see what others are reading, or get ideas for your book group or yourself, please refer to the “books” page under “Activities” on our branch website (https://sacramento-ca.aauw.net/bookgroups/).

Each book group has its own tab, by book group number. (These book group numbers correlate with page 9 of the branch Membership Directory.) On each list, the meeting days, times and coordinator are listed.

Book Group 1: Group party on Dec.11. Coordinator is Susana Mullen

Book Group 3: The group does not meet in Dec. Coordinator is Julia Maclay

Book Group 4: Small Things Like These by Claire Keagan, on Dec.10. Coordinator is Pat Morehead

Book Group 5: The group does not meet in Dec. Coordinator is Fran Clarke

Book Group 8: (Reads Women Writers only) The group does not meet in Dec. Coordinator is Diana Squire

Book Group 10: Group party on Dec. 27. Coordinator is Sandi Schoenman

Book Group 12: Theo of Golden by Allen Levi, on Dec. 6. Coordinator is Linda Cook

Living Our Mission of Equity By Charmen Goehring

We hope you will join us in a monthly equity conversation where we look at our own biases, seek actions we can take to attract diversity to our branch and become better people in the process. Each month, we read a section of our selected book then meet to discuss what we have learned, along with exploring other issues related to race and equity. We meet the first Wednesday of each month from 7 to 8 PM on Zoom.

The Zoom meeting code is 737 420 3780 or you can join using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7374203780

We will discuss our current book, The Wall Between, by Anne Braden, on December 3 at 7 p.m. We will discuss Chapters 16 to the end. We will also be deciding our next book. If you have questions and to RSVP, please email Charmen at charminme@yahoo.com.

Your Alma Mater and AAUW

Your Alma Mater and AAUW By Hedda Smithson & Gloria Yost

Eligibility for branch membership required each of us to have an associate or higher degree from an accredited educational institution. Did you know your alma mater can also become an AAUW Member?

Just for fun I looked for mine: BA from Grinnell College – not a member – but MA from CSUS is! UC Davis is a member. Montana State, Ohio State, UC Santa Cruz, and Mills College are not.

Want to look up your alma mater? Here is a link: AAUW College/University Directory. The next time they ask you for money you could encourage them to join!

C/U membership is $250, includes two free national memberships for named faculty/staff (as representatives), and unlimited free student affiliation for undergrads/graduate students.

We are delighted to announce that CSUS has renewed their membership. One of our new members, Shannon Datwyler, has agreed to be one of the named faculty members. Our governing documents allow her local and state dues to be waived.

What is in it for AAUW Sacramento? Exposure to AAUW for students and staff. Some of us had not heard of AAUW until our 30s, 40s or later!!

What is in it for students of CSUS? Opportunities for empowerment:

Local Scholarships offered by AAUW Sacramento
Work Smart & Start Smart Salary Negotiation workshops
Fellowships & Grants
Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative
Legal Advocacy Fund
AAUW Webinars
Scholarships to attend the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL)

E-student affiliates receive electronic copies of AAUW’s publications and research.

Questions? Email connect@aauw.org.

But WAIT! There’s more!! Who won’t say that ONE OF US might need some negotiating skills? Check out the Webinar Schedule: AAUW.

Public Policy News

December Public Policy News By Kathy Papst

I want to begin by thanking the members who supported Public Policy by attending the October presentation on Redistricting, Gerrymandering, and Prop. 50. It was an eye-opener to learn about the Constitution and The Bill of Rights, and how they led to where we are today.

Unfortunately, I will not be attending the December Holiday Luncheon. In my absence I will share the debut of my Public Policy information board. Members and guests will be able to see what is currently happening with California legislation and the goals for California AAUW. Public Policy is the heartbeat of branch goals and activities. I hope that our newer members get involved with working on a committee or other ways of supporting this important part of AAUW goals.

The next time that I see you it will be 2026. So, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all!

2025 Legislative Session Ends with Some Big Wins and Tough Losses for AAUW California

By Amy Hom and Missy Maceyko, Co-chairs AAUW California Public Policy

The 2025 legislative session has closed in California.

Kathy Van Osten, AAUW California’s Legislative Advocate, summarized the session this way: “In 2025, 917 bills were sent to the Governor, of which he signed 794 bills and vetoed 123 bills. The 2025 Legislative Session was tumultuous as policymakers worked to address the impacts of ravaging urban wildfires in Los Angeles, to pass a State Budget that closed a $12 billion deficit, and to address a multitude of impacts created by the violent upheaval of federal funding and policies that have or will decimate services for Californians, that threaten existing or future projects in the State, and that threaten our educational institutions.”

With these issues in mind, AAUW California put together our 2025 Legislative Agenda, taking a support position on 26 bills, and for the first time in our recent history, taking an opposition position on 7 bills. With the blessing of the Public Policy Committee and the AAUW California Board, we were proud to advance this agenda, which confronted some of the most pressing issues that we face as a state, and a nation, around gender equity and social justice. We were also proud to take strong opposition positions this year, given the large number of bills introduced at the start of the session that were antithetical to AAUW California’s values and Public Policy Priorities.

While our A-priority support bills did not fare well this session, we are happy to report that we had a great deal of success with the rest of our support-bills as well as with stopping the opposition bills from advancing.

First the bad news: Our A-priority support bills were vetoed or gutted.

SB 771 was vetoed. This A-priority bill, authored by Senator Henry Stern and sponsored by AAUW California, would have held social media companies liable if their algorithms aid or abet individual users who are breaking the law and intimidating or threatening others in online spaces. The Governor vetoed the bill, indicating that current civil rights laws have not been tested in the courts with respect to algorithms’ complicity in hate crimes, and that until existing law is deemed insufficient by the courts, SB 771 is premature.
SB 418 was vetoed. This A-priority bill, authored by Senator Caroline Menjivar, would have prohibited a health service provider from denying coverage for services based upon race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex, including sexual preference or gender identity, intersex traits, and pregnancy. The Governor vetoed the bill, citing a concern that the bill’s requirement to cover prescribed hormone therapy without utilization management (UM) is likely to drive up the cost of health care.
AB 1098 was gutted and amended. This A-priority bill, authored by Assemblymember Mike Fong, would have prohibited a postsecondary educational institution from discriminating against a student based on their current, potential, or past pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions. According to the author’s office, the bill had run into significant opposition from the public universities, and they chose not to continue to move the bill this year. Instead, the bill language was gutted and replaced with language that establishes the Office of the Interagency Council on Education within the Governor’s Operations Agency. The amended bill was signed into law.

Now, the good news: Of our fourteen support bills that made it to the Governor’s desk, eleven were signed into law. Below are some important wins:

AB 621 – signed into law! This B-priority bill, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, heightens penalties for companies whose platforms distribute deepfake pornography.
SB 669 – signed into law! This B-priority bill, authored by Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire, authorizes up to five rural hospitals throughout the state to partner with licensed birth centers to provide perinatal services in rural communities.
AB 260 – signed into law! Authored by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, this bill protects access to medication abortion.
SB 627- signed into law! Authored by Senator Scott Wiener, this bill bans law enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings during their duties. This is the first such law enacted in the nation!

And of the seven bills that AAUW California opposed, four have become 2-year bills and three have died:

AB 579 is dead! This A-priority bill, authored by Assemblymember Leticia Castillo, would have stated categorically that parents’ refusal to acknowledge a child’s gender identity can never be considered a form of abuse or neglect, and therefore cannot be considered in a custody dispute.
AB 25 is dead! Authored by Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, this bill would have required an elections official to verify the citizenship of voters and authorized the official to require a person to provide documentation of citizenship for that purpose.
AB 1012 is dead! Authored by Assemblymember Bill Essayli, this bill would have prohibited the provision of Medi-Cal to people without legal immigration status.

To see the full results of the 2025 Legislative Agenda, please go to the Bill Tracking Report. The November issue of Public Policy News includes a Legislative Agenda Scorecard.

Recap of October Program

Recap of October Program By Vicki Kloock

OCTOBER’S SPOTLIGHT ON GERRYMANDERING AND REDISTRICTING was held at the Sierra 2 Community Center on Saturday, October 18th. The program began with a short history of the Constitution and the development of the two-party system to represent different political views; one stressing the power of the federal government and one stressing the importance of states’ rights. Then we learned how gerrymandering was developed and named, followed by redistricting.

In an ideal world, redistricting would result in representational districts that have been fairly updated to reflect any population shifts which may have occurred since the last Census. Unfortunately, districts are often redrawn with a bias, the effects of which end up disenfranchising entire communities of voters. When districts are redrawn unfairly, it is known as gerrymandering, The presenters demonstrated how gerrymandering has been used and abused over the years. With the use of modern data analysis, minority groups can have their voting power diluted. Did you know that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned racial gerrymandering? While gerrymandering for racial reasons is no longer legal, gerrymandering for partisan politics is.

The presenters then moved on to explain California Proposition 50 which will be voted on November 4th. They discussed what a ‘yes’ vote would mean and what a ‘no’ vote would mean not only for the upcoming elections but the future of voting rights in our country. Whatever you do, please vote!

****COMING ATTRACTIONS****

December 13, 2025: Winter Luncheon / Author’s Luncheon, North Ridge CC.
January 31, 2026: Capital Counties Inter-Branch Council Luncheon, North Ridge CC.
February 28, 2026: Dr. Erika Cameron, Provost & Sr. Vice-President for Academic Affairs at California State University – Sacramento will speak to us at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center. We will also be featuring our scholarship winners.
March 21, 2026: Another Public Policy presentation at the Sacramento Dharma Center.
April 18, 2026: NEW! The California State AAUW Annual Event will take place on Zoom. We need volunteers to open their homes for “watch parties”. Please call Kathleen Deaver or send email if you can accommodate 4 or more people.
May 9, 2026: A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion presentation as well as the celebration of our member awards will take place at the Rancho Cordova City Hall.

For a snapshot of all monthly programs for the 2025-26 year, click <here>.

Social Justice

Seeking Understanding By Lisa Howard

Kathy Papst and Carole Cline presented a fantastic overview of the history of our Constitution and voting rights at October’s meeting. The Social Justice committee would like to build on this momentum and ask each member to take a moment to reflect and complete the sentences below:
1 “At the founding of the United States, some of the country’s most important political values were (Insert your answer here).”
2. “After .50 years of U.S. history, I would describe the country’s ‘track record’ of following through on those values and ideals as (Insert your answer here).”
3. “Right now, an outside observer would likely look at our politics and say we value (Insert your answer here).”
4. “When it comes to the United States as a country over the next decade or the next century, I want to see (Insert your answer here).”

Send your answers to Lisa Howard; her email address is in the Membership Directory . The committee will consolidate and share back responses with the organization in a future newsletter.

AAUW Funds By Karen Burley

As we head into the last months of 2025, please consider a gift to the AAUW
Fund. Women and girls can reach their full potential when the barriers holding them back are broken down. Help AAUW smash the obstacles that hold women back.

It is easy to give online where you will be able to choose which fund you would like to support. AAUW has three targeted funds:

The Greatest Needs Fund (9110) allows AAUW to pay its bills as well as stay nimble to respond to issues and needs as they arise.
The Public Policy General Fund (4514) aims to increase the number of advocates across the country and provide timely, accurate and actionable information about our key issues such as Title IX, student debt and pay equity.
The Defend Higher Education Fund (4513) elevates the critical higher education issues impacting women and provides strategic resources to students.

You can access the AAUW Fund donation information online <here>.

If you choose to send a check to AAUW, please make sure you write “AAUW Sacramento” in the memo line and include a cover letter specifying that you are in the AAUW Sacramento branch and where you would like your donation to be designated.

If you are planning to give by way of an IRA Distribution (or a Required Minimum Distribution), contact your account custodian to request a “Qualified Charitable Distribution.” The check, accompanied by your name and address information, must be sent directly from your financial institution to AAUW. Provide the recipient information below to your custodian, along with AAUW’s Tax ID #52-6037388. Before sending, please also notify AAUW by sending an
email to planned-giving@aauw.org so they can keep an eye out for your gift and be sure to include the amount, your name, address and the designation of your gift (for example: Greatest Needs), and the financial institution sending your gift. Please direct your check, drawn on your IRA account and made payable to AAUW, to:

AAUW
Attn: Planned Giving-IRA Distribution
1310 L St. NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20005

You can learn more about Planned Giving <here>.

One other consideration for those of you who love this organization and want to see AAUW continue to fight for equity for all into the future, you can become a Legacy Circle member. This is a gift that you leave from your estate and there is no minimum amount. There are many ways to set this up; contact Charmen Goehring for more information. We have about 140 Legacy Circle members in California, including a number in this branch, and we welcome more! As Judy Horan says, “Live, Love, Leave a Legacy!”

If you have any other questions, please reach out to Karen Burley, whose contact information can be found in the Membership Directory. Thank you for your consideration as we move into the season of giving!

October Program

Spotlight on Redistricting and Gerrymandering

Sacramento Branch of AAUW Presents

“Understanding California Proposition 50”

Saturday, October 18th, 12:15pm – 3pm

Sierra 2 Center, 2791 24^th Street, Room 10

Proposition 50 is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on the Nov. 4, 2025, statewide special election ballot in California put forward in response to the 2025 Texas redistricting. The measure would temporarily replace the congressional district maps drawn by the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission with new maps drawn by the state Legislature.

Our own Public Policy experts Kathy Papst and Carole Cline will present a program to help us understand the difference between redistricting and gerrymandering, and to interpret what 2025 California Proposition 50 (Temporary Changes to Congressional District Maps in Response to Texas’ Partisan Redistricting) would mean for us. This is a proposed California Constitutional Amendment that we will be voting on very soon – Nov. 4th.

This meeting will be held at the Sierra 2 Community Center, Room 10. The Sierra 2 Center is a former Curtis Park school that is now a thriving community hub. It is located on 24^th Street, but street parking is for only two hours. Sierra 2 has two parking lots – both free – one that you enter on the south side of the building (from 4^th Street) and one on the north side, which you enter before the school. The South parking lot has 40 spots, and you can enter the building right beside Room 10. Carpooling could be helpful in making sure you get a spot in this one. The other parking lot requires a short walk to the sidewalk on 24^th Street and walk south to the school entrance. Then turn right and walk to the end of the hallway. You can find a map of the Sierra 2 Center <here>.

Public Policy News and Actions

Branch Public Policy

By Kathy Papst

Public Policy is an important part of the mission of AAUW. When I joined AAUW 15 years ago, I had just moved from Southern California to Sacramento. I didn’t know anyone in town. When I attended my first Showcase in September, I was excited that the branch offered book discussion groups. I missed my discussion group that I was in for 11 years, and I immediately joined one in our branch. There were all sorts of fun interest groups and I loved attending Happy Hour! I attended some of the programs, which I enjoyed, but only because it was a way to go out to lunch and meet and visit with other women. I really didn’t make a connection between the programs and our stated mission of equity for women and girls.

As I continue as a member of this branch and now being on the board of directors, I have spent some time thinking about what we are attempting to do for women’s equity and how important the work of this organization has been over more than 140 years in this country and abroad. I have learned more of what the state and national organizations offer to its members and ways to become informed and involved with activities that can make a difference in people’s lives.

I encourage our members to attend programs and also to suggest topics that interest you or that you feel need to be spotlighted. Please encourage members of your book group or other interest group to attend a program. I think that they might be surprised at what is presented.

Our next program for Public Policy is “Spotlight on: What is Gerrymandering, Redistricting and Ballot Proposition 50. The date is Saturday, Oct. 18^, at noon at the Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community, Room 10. The address is 2791 24^th Street in Curtis Park. The center has plenty of parking available.

With this program, my co-presenter Carole Cline and I will explain the history of voting districts and how the process is done, as well as who are the people on the committees in charge of redrawing the voter distribution. We also will look at how these changes affect voter registration and election turnout. We will have some interactive activities and give you some information to take home to refresh your memory before Election Day on Nov. 4.

Make sure to check your email for any updated information to the programs, as stated in eBlasts.

CA State Public Policy News

By Missy Maceyko and Amy Hom, Co-chairs, AAUW California Public Policy

The Public Policy team has several items for you to take urgent action at the state and national levels:

1) Action on AAUW California co-sponsored bill SB 771 “Social Media Platforms Endangering Californians”

SB 771 has now reached the Governor’s desk, and he has until Sept. 30 to sign it. Please reach out to his office to encourage him to sign the bill. You can do this by submitting a comment via email or fax via Resistbot (click HERE) or by calling the Governor’s office phone (916-445-2841). If you choose to call the Governor’s office, please use the Resistbot script to guide your call.

You can also share the Resistbot petition by reposting the attached image (below) on your own social media and inviting others to visit the site linked below or “text SIGN PCJNIY to 50409.” You can also repost our existing posts on Bluesky (HERE).

For your reference, AAUW California’s Lobby Day talking points on SB 771 can be found HERE and full bill text can be found HERE.

Shareable Resistbot link: https://resist.bot/petitions/PCJNIY

2) Action on U.S. Department of Labor Attempt to Roll Back Anti-Discrimination Protections

AAUW National is asking for us to act to challenge the U.S. Department of Labor’s attempt to roll back anti-discrimination protections. These rule changes will impact the United States’ 36 million federal contract workers, which accounts for nearly one in five U.S. workers. Many of these workers are women and people of color who are vulnerable to discrimination.

We are asking you to leave a public comment to challenge the proposed rule changes.

Note that while AAUW has provided a template letter (HERE) to guide your comments, you must personalize your comments for them to be counted. This means that you can use the template as inspiration, but you cannot simply copy and paste the content. As such, we suggest that you personalize your comments by reading through the AAUW template linked above then drafting a short 3-5 sentence response of your own that includes the following information:

A note you are a member of AAUW California and that anti-discrimination is part of our public policy priorities;
Statement indicating that discrimination continues to be a problem in the workplace; and
Provide a specific example of your own personal knowledge of or experience with discrimination in the workplace. This can be your own experience, others’ that you know, or something pulled from existing reliable news or media reports.

After your comments are ready, you can drop your statement into the comment window at regulations.gov directly by clicking HERE or you can comment via AAUW’s action alert center by clicking HERE.

3) Join the Los Angeles LGBT Center to Support Equity Legislation (including AAUW California’s priority bill SB 418 “Ensure Equal Access to Care for All”)

California continues to work to protect LGBTQ+ dignity, privacy, and health, which is critically important for meeting wider goals of gender equity. We invite you to join the Los Angeles LGBT Center in their push for a slate of eight important pieces of equity legislation, which includes advancing AAUW California’s ongoing support for SB 418. You can reach out in support of these bills via the LGBT Center’s platform by clicking HERE.

4) Learn about Proposition 50 ahead of the special election on Nov. 4

AAUW California’s focus will be on providing information about and emphasizing the positive impacts of Proposition 50. Please note that we are NOT making a formal recommendation or endorsement. Rather, as a trusted resource, we are providing non-partisan and information-centric information with focus on:

California impacts
AAUW California Public Policy Priorities
Combating misinformation
The importance of saving democracy for Californians

We have two resources to get you started:

Newsletter Article “Investing in Our Democratic Future: Non-Partisan Voter Education Around Proposition 50 in California” – AAUW CA Prop 50 NL Article.docx – Google Docs
Messaging Guide to follow for postcards and campaigns – AAUW CA-Prop 50 Messaging Guide – Google Docs

Thank you for fighting with us to advance gender equity and social justice.

Public Policy News

PUBLIC POLICY NEWS By Kathy Papst

Welcome to the 2025-26 year for the Sacramento Branch of AAUW.
I am excited to continue as director of Public Policy. I hope that everyone had a great summer and that you are set to begin a new year exploring our mission of equity for women and girls through research, education and philanthropy.

Last year, under the leadership from Program Vice Presidents Hedda Smithson and Barbara Smith, we presented programs of “Lights, Camera, Action!” the Right for Freedom To . . . on reproductive freedom, Title IX, pay equity, voting rights, and civil rights/DEI. These programs were very informative, and spurred discussion and encouraged actively getting involved. Thank you Hedda and Barbara for all your work and dedication to programs.

I will present a public policy program in October focusing on school choice. I will also present the March program, which will highlight another avenue of the future of our educational system. I will have more information on that later in the year.

This year I will have a display of PUBLIC POLICY NEWS at all of our programs, with informational pamphlets and a look into the research on aspects of public policy from AAUW fellowship and grant recipients. Please take a look when you attend these events. I will be available for questions before and after the program.

AAUW CA Public Policy News will resume with the October newsletter.

If there is a public policy topic that you would like to know more about as it pertains to the AAUW mission, please reach out to me. My contact information can be found in the Membership Directory.

I look forward to a productive year of exploration on the AAUW mission for equity for women and girls.

AAUW California Updates

AAUW California Update

From Amy Hom and Missy Maceyko, Co-chairs, AAUW California Public Policy Committee: Please click HERE for the May issue of Public Policy News. There is an article about Lobby Days 2025 – “AAUW California Mobilizes to Advance Priority Legislation”. AIso in this issue we announce the launch of our Trans Allyship Guide and provide some actions you can take to be a trans ally.

From Lata Murti, Co-chairs, AAUW California State Board Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: There is now a DEI Statement on the AAUW California website’s home page! You can access it HERE. AAUW California continues to stand strong in our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

If you missed AAUW California’s 2025 Annual Event, Pivoting 4 Our Future, you can find a recording of it HERE. A copy of the agenda and a summary of the 4 pivots can be found HERE. Note that the discussions in the breakout rooms were not recorded.

National AAUW Update

National AAUW has released its 2025 Strategy. You can find it HERE. Also, AAUW has announced two new targeted funds we can give to now– the Public Policy Fund (4337) and the Defend Higher Education Fund (4513), as well as the Greatest Needs Fund. You can find these HERE.

March Program – Equal Rights for All

Lights! Camera! Action!

Equal Rights for All By Lisa Howard

Saturday, March 15, 2025

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM at Roberts Family Development Center

766 Darina Avenue, Sacramento

Please join us for our March branch meeting where we will explore the concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion using the AAUW Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Toolkit.

The meeting will be held in the inspiring meeting space at the Roberts Family Development Center (RFDC) in Del Paso where we met last March. RFDC provides services to the Greater Sacramento area that meet the individual needs of each family member. Their services provide a holistic approach, focusing on Pre K-12^th grade academic support and enrichment, parent education and engagement, and community involvement and advocacy.

DEI has been under attack this year, but do we really know what the concept means? AAUW has invested in building program materials to help members explore challenging topics such as DEI to ensure we are a welcoming place to new members. We will also take an opportunity to check in on the DEI action activity from the February newsletter and see how we each did.

Here are the details:

• Address: 766 Darina Ave, Sacramento, CA 95815
• Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Register on Eventbrite <here> no later than Thursday, March 13 at noon.
• Bring and wear your name tag. Don’t have one or forgot yours? We will have one for you.
• You can find out more about the toolkit by clicking on AAUW DEI Toolkit.

Hope to see you there!

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Corner

As an organization, AAUW strives to remove barriers for women. As educated white women of means, much of the AAUW membership has lived through a hopeful and dynamic phase of history. With such a noble mission, it is easy to assume that all women had the same experiences that we have, which is not true.

Women of color within our generations experienced the shared history quite differently. Young women today face less economic stability and often less reproductive freedom than most of our current membership. In support of attracting members to the mission, diversity is first about taking steps to understand the context that people may bring. For 2025, I will be sharing a recommended reading each month that can be used to guide a learning journey for those interested in exploring our diversity.

Our recommended reading for March is Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, which explores how the concept of caste has impacted how we relate to each other. The book is an excellent opportunity to reflect on experiences from the perspective of other people and holds up a mirror to the society in which we live. Don’t have time for a whole book? Check out Origin , the 2023 movie
about the writing of the book. As you read, take the opportunity to reflect on how you have experienced and observed the power of caste in your life.