Tag Archives: Diversity

AAUW, Equity and Inclusion

AAUW, Equity and Inclusion By Charmen Goehring

This past weekend, I attended the California Teacher’s Association’s Equity and Human Rights conference. I was both a presenter and participant.

I was heartened by the more than 500 attendees, all educators with social justice mindsets, eager to do their part to dismantle systemic racism and biases that are hurting our students and, more widely, our nation and world. It felt good to know that I was not alone in this fight and to be validated about the importance of equity and inclusion work.

How does this relate to AAUW? In education, most teachers (73.4 percent in California) are female, yet most administrators and those in spaces where decisions are made are male — like the halls of government. We know that women bring a more collaborative, inclusive manner to discussions, whether in a school, board room, the floor of Congress or on the Supreme Court bench. Therefore, having more women in those spaces is beneficial for all, especially women and girls. To this end, AAUW has programs like Tech Trek, Gov Trek, Start $mart and Work $mart, and the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL), all geared toward helping young women gain the skills and confidence to enter male-dominated spaces and thrive.

But we need to do more. Women of color have largely been left out of the conversation, in

Charmen Goehring

general and in AAUW. The women’s rights movement did not include them and until the late 1950s, neither did AAUW.

One glance around any AAUW meeting anywhere will show the effects of that exclusion — after 142 years of storied existence, AAUW is still predominantly an older, white woman organization. We have missed out on the passion, creativity and ideas of all those women who have the same concerns and interests but look different than us. We continue today to work on similar goals separately, despite knowing that “stronger together” isn’t a theme for nothing!

Lest you think I am advocating that we run out and find women of color to join us, I am not. I strongly believe that we each, and as a branch, have work to do first. When others join us, we want them to feel welcome and like they belong. And, for that to happen, we must examine our own biases (we all have them) and learn about the ways that our financial, educational and cultural systems have marginalized those who do not look like us. It’s the only way we can make lasting change that will ensure “equity for all”, which is, after all, our AAUW mission.

Some suggested resources:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/- online Implicit Association Test

Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald, explains the science behind implicit biases that we all have

“The Color of Law “by Richard Rothstein — our Equity book group is reading this now, about the blatant racism built into housing policies in the US from the turn of the 20^th century (some linger today)

https://www.ted.com/talks/ibram_x_kendi_the_difference_between_being_not_racist_and_antiracist?language=en – Ted Talk by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, who is amazing

Living Our Mission of Equity/Scholarship

Living Our Mission of Equity By Charmen Goehring

We hope you will join us in a monthly equity conversation looking at our own biases and what 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 generally meet the first Wednesday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. on Zoom. This is a joint CHAR/Sacramento activity and open to all.

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

We will discuss the second half (page 122 through the end) of our current book, “How to Be An Antiracist”. by Dr. Ibram Kendi at 7 p.m. on Feb. 1. If you have questions and to RSVP, please email Charmen at charminme@yahoo.com.

Scholarship Application Time By Cathy Locke

Women attending UC Davis are now eligible for AAUW Sacramento scholarships.

The branch board on Dec. 5 approved the scholarship committee’s recommendation to add UC Davis to the list of colleges that scholarship recipients may attend. Previously, we have had to turn away otherwise qualified applicants who were transferring from a Los Rios Community College campus to UC Davis. Because UCD is a public university with a major presence in the Sacramento region, it is a logical option for community college transfer students.

The branch is offering $3,000 scholarships for the 2023-24 academic year to women age 25 and older who are pursuing their first baccalaureate degree at American River College, Cosumnes River College, Folsom Lake College, Sacramento City College, California State University, Sacramento, or UC Davis. Students must be Sacramento County residents at the time of application. The number of scholarships will depend on available funds and the number of qualified applicants. The deadline for applications is March 1, 2023.

Our scholarship program is listed on the financial aid office websites for the various campuses. Information also is provided to mentoring organizations, student services centers and community groups, including Women’s Empowerment and Saint John’s Program for Real Change. We encourage branch members to assist in outreach efforts by passing along information to other organizations and individuals that might be interested in the scholarship program.

Academic and other criteria for applicants are available at https://sacramento-ca.aauw.net/programs/scholarships. Applications may be completed and supplemental materials submitted using the link on the webpage.

Prospective applicants may direct questions about the program or application process to the Scholarship Committee at aauwsacramentoscholarships@gmail.com.

Thanks to the generous support of our members, families and friends, we are assisting five women who were each awarded $3,000 scholarships for the current academic year.

Living Our Mission of Equity

Living Our Mission of Equity Book Discussion By Charmen Goehring

We hope you will join us in a monthly equity conversation looking at our own biases, and what 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 will meet the first Wednesday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. on Zoom. This is a joint CHAR/Sacramento activity.

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

We will be discussing the first half (pages 1-123) of our current book, “Waking Up White” by Debby Irving, at 7 p.m. Nov. 2. If you have questions and to RSVP, please email Charmen at charminme@yahoo.com.

Living Our Mission of Equity – Book Discussion

Living Our Mission of Equity By Charmen Goehring

We hope you will join us in a monthly equity conversation, looking at our own biases and what 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 will meet the second Wednesday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. on Zoom. This is a joint CHAR/Sacramento activity.

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

We will be discussing the second half of our latest book, “Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning”, by Cathy Park Hong, on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m., from pages 110 to the end. If you have questions and to RSVP, please email Charmen at charminme@yahoo.com.

Education and Social Change Focuses of November Program

Education and Social Change Focuses of November Program By Kim Rutledge

The November AAUW Sacramento branch program will focus on our organization’s efforts to improve educational opportunities for women and girls. We will first hear from this year’s AAUW Sacramento Branch scholarship recipients, who will tell us about their education and career ambitions. We also expect to hear from the women our branch sent to the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL).

The program also will include a talk by new branch member Jennifer Krebsbach, who recently completed the eight-week AAUW National Social Change Ambassador Program. She will discuss how she first learned about AAUW and incorporated National’s research into her thesis. She will also give an overview of what she learned in the ambassador program, starting with defining and exemplifying social change. She will go in depth to explain intersectionality and unconscious bias. The goal will be to identify how we as a branch can use these ideas to help us identify areas that can change at the local level, the work we can do as a group and also as an individual.

There will be a bit of lecture, some individual activities, and a discussion time to brainstorm action items toward diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The meeting will take place on Thursday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. via Zoom. The Zoom link will be sent to all who register prior to the event by clicking on Eventbrite.