Tag Archives: Equity

Sacramento AAUW Public Policy Update

Sacramento AAUW Public Policy Update By Arlene Cullum

In early January, we experienced some of the darkest days in our nation’s history. One can only hope that our country will heal over time after the inauguration and we will have the opportunity to reflect positively on our path.

Days after the crisis, you received an email from Kimberly Churches, our national AAUW chief executive officer, who reassured the organization that AAUW is “proud (to) join in solidarity with leading gender justice and equity organizations … to hold responsible individuals accountable for their actions.”  The hope is that the unified message will inspire those in power to action.

On Jan. 11, the Sacramento AAUW Public Policy Committee processed the events in DC and then received a Federal Update from Karen Humphrey.  She informed us that the Department of Education may be initiating an Office of Gender Equity, and our new Secretary of Education may be putting sexual harassment and gender equity back on the table.

Arlene Cullum then provided a presentation on the Maternal Health Public Policy Update.  She outlined the opportunities to impact prematurity, the costs of prematurity, and the high unintended pregnancy rate in California and the United States (up to 48-50 percent).  Multiple federal maternal health bills were introduced in the House and Senate last year, and the themes of voluntary state expansion of postpartum care to one year, data collection and perinatal collaboratives, and impacting disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality were discussed.

The committee also reviewed a form and process to submit public policy requests to the board.

Reminder: A webinar on “How To Speak To Your Legislator” training will be held on March 22, 2021 at 7 p.m.  Please sign up on the California AAUW website under upcoming trainings.  The State AAUW Lobby Day will be held on March 24, 2021.  There is still time to sign up!

Gender Pay Gap

2069? 2369? 2451?
WHEN WILL THE GENDER PAY GAP BE CLOSED?
By Ginny Hatfield, AAUW California Public Policy Committee

How long will it take? What can we do to make it happen sooner rather than later? These are questions that AAUW has been grappling with for decades.  As we mark Equal Pay Day on March 31, perhaps there is hope that we can make progress in decreasing the gender pay gap in 2021, given a new administration that is committed to social justice and leveling the growing disparity between the haves and have nots.  We also now have women in the highest echelons of national leadership, and as we all know, when women are in charge, things get done!

According to the 2020 update to AAUW’s “The Simple Truth”, it will take white women until the year 2069 to achieve parity with men based on the projected earnings ratio compiled between 1988 and 2019. For women of color the numbers are even worse. Black women will have to wait until the year 2369 – 350 years – as their earnings ratio has advanced only a mere 7 percent from 1988 to 2019.  And Latinas find themselves in a worse scenario as their earnings ratio has increased only 4 percent, from 51 percent to 55 percent, during this time period, projecting their year of parity to 2451! (AAUW, The Simple Truth 2020 update)

The reasons for these disparities in the gender wage gap are known – and understanding what’s causing the problem is the first step to meeting it head on.  Members are urged to read the summary of “The Simple Truth” update on our National website, which lays out the problem, its causes and solutions.  https://www.aauw.org/app/uploads/2020/10/SimpleTruth_1.8.pdf

AAUW is leading the charge to effectuate change, and you are part of the solution with the work your branches undertake on behalf of women and girls. The more we educate ourselves and others about the scope of this gender wage gap with programs like Start Smart, Work Smart, NCCWSL, etc., the more we chip away at the disparity.  What is your branch doing to make a difference in the gender pay gap? Let us know what creative ideas you have come up with to spread the word in these days of social distancing. We’ll share them on the web (send to publicpolicy@aauw-ca.org).

Mission of Equity, Branch Birthdays, Book Groups, Printable Newsletter Articles 

Living Our Mission of Equity

We invite you to 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. We are reading the book “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo and discussing what we have read, along with exploring other issues related to race and equity. We meet the second Wednesday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. 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 chapters 14 through 17 (last chapters) on Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. If you have questions and to RSVP, please email Charmen at charminme@yahoo.com.

Branch Birthdays, Book Groups, and Printable Newsletter Articles

  • Click here for Branch Birthdays for February
  • Click here for Book Group books for February
  • Click here for Printable Newsletter Articles

Living Our Mission of Equity

Living Our Mission of Equity By Charmen Goehring

We invite you to join us in a monthly equity conversation looking at our own biases and what

Charmen Goehring

actions we can take to attract diversity to our branch and become better people in the process. We are reading the book  “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo and discussing what we have read along with exploring other issues related to race and equity. We meet the second Wednesday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. on Zoom.

The Zoom meeting code is 737 420 3780 or you can join using this link, which you can find here.

We will discuss the chapters 8, 9, and 10 on Dec. 9 at 7pm. If you have questions and to RSVP, please email Charmen. Contact information can be found in the AAUW Sacramento Branch Membership Directory & Handbook.