One of GLA's issue priorities is advocating for increased access to political leadership and power for women and for people of color. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap 2007 Report, the United States ranks 69th in the world for women's political empowerment.
A new initiative from the Women's Media Center brings the sexism directed at women in the public eye into stark relief. Check out this YouTube video on the "Sexism Might Sell, But I'm not Buying It" site. The campaign calls upon national news outlets to stop using sexist commentary as a punchline.
As one speaker in the video states-- women make up more than 50% of the U.S. population. We have every right to demand that our issues, our campaigns for public office, and our ability to lead be taken seriously.
Showing posts with label Political Leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Political Leadership. Show all posts
Monday, June 16, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
NY Times Articles on Women Running for Office
On Sunday May 18 the New York Times had a few articles examining the Clinton campaign and the impact it will doubtlessly have on the future for women and politics. While GLA does not endorse any candidate or political party, we advocate for women and people of color to fully engage in civic life through voting, volunteering, and running for offices of their own.
Here are two items to consider:
THE HILLARY LESSON
Published: May 18, 2008
New York Times
By PEGGY ORENSTEIN
Berkeley ’s Fourth Street is my town’s version of a strip mall: there is little you might need there, but much to want: hand-crafted Japanese paper; diaphanous Stevie Nicks-inspired frocks; wooden toys imported from Europe. One recent morning, as my 4-year-old daughter and I strolled to our favorite diner, she pointed to a bumper sticker plastered on a mailbox. A yellow, viraginous caricature of Hillary Clinton leered out from a black background. Big block letters proclaimed, “The wicked witch of the East is alive and living in New York.”
For the complete article click here: The Hillary Lesson
She Just Might Be President Someday
By KATE ZERNIKE
Published: May 18, 2008
If not her, who?
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton may or may not become the first female president of the United States, but if fate and voters deny her the role, another woman will surely see if the mantle fits.
That woman will come from the South, or west of the Mississippi. She will be a Democrat who has won in a red state, or a Republican who has emerged from the private sector to run for governor. She will have executive experience, and have served in a job like attorney general, where she will have proven herself to be “a fighter” (a caring one, of course).
She will be young enough to qualify as postfeminist (in the way Senator Barack Obama has come off as postracial), unencumbered by the battles of the past. She will be married with children, but not young children. She will be emphasizing her experience, and wearing, yes, pantsuits.
Oh, and she may not exist.
For the complete article click here: She Might Just Be President Someday
Here are two items to consider:
THE HILLARY LESSON
Published: May 18, 2008
New York Times
By PEGGY ORENSTEIN
Berkeley ’s Fourth Street is my town’s version of a strip mall: there is little you might need there, but much to want: hand-crafted Japanese paper; diaphanous Stevie Nicks-inspired frocks; wooden toys imported from Europe. One recent morning, as my 4-year-old daughter and I strolled to our favorite diner, she pointed to a bumper sticker plastered on a mailbox. A yellow, viraginous caricature of Hillary Clinton leered out from a black background. Big block letters proclaimed, “The wicked witch of the East is alive and living in New York.”
For the complete article click here: The Hillary Lesson
She Just Might Be President Someday
By KATE ZERNIKE
Published: May 18, 2008
If not her, who?
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton may or may not become the first female president of the United States, but if fate and voters deny her the role, another woman will surely see if the mantle fits.
That woman will come from the South, or west of the Mississippi. She will be a Democrat who has won in a red state, or a Republican who has emerged from the private sector to run for governor. She will have executive experience, and have served in a job like attorney general, where she will have proven herself to be “a fighter” (a caring one, of course).
She will be young enough to qualify as postfeminist (in the way Senator Barack Obama has come off as postracial), unencumbered by the battles of the past. She will be married with children, but not young children. She will be emphasizing her experience, and wearing, yes, pantsuits.
Oh, and she may not exist.
For the complete article click here: She Might Just Be President Someday
Persimmon Electoral Math
If the 56 YWCAs in the Great Lakes Region register and mobilize every staff member, board member, and program participant or client whose life we touch, we will see over half a million voters go to the polls in November.
Many YWCAs have carried out great voter engagement initiatives without dedicated staff or financial resources. To summarize what one local staff person said about her YWCA's voter engagement initiatives recently, "We had a cake to celebrate election day and let our residents know that we would help them get to the polls. It's not rocket science."
For advocates who want to know everything there is to know about voter engagement, GLA is hosting "Voter Engagement Academy" at it's June Staff Leadership Institute in Madison. Visit the Staff Leadership Institute page to learn more.
For those who are looking for a few basic ideas to get you started, the Western States Center has compiled an outstanding guide that is broken down into easy activities that can work with a range of audiences from organizing a "Meet the Candidates" event to holding a "Mock Election" to highlight how the process works and how easily disenfranchised groups can be shut out of the political process.
Building Grassroots Power - Western States Center's 195-page curriculum, Building Grassroots Power: An Introduction to Electoral Politics, is designed to support the eletoral organizing efforts of groups with 501(C)(3) or 501(C)(4) tax-exempt status.
Many YWCAs have carried out great voter engagement initiatives without dedicated staff or financial resources. To summarize what one local staff person said about her YWCA's voter engagement initiatives recently, "We had a cake to celebrate election day and let our residents know that we would help them get to the polls. It's not rocket science."
For advocates who want to know everything there is to know about voter engagement, GLA is hosting "Voter Engagement Academy" at it's June Staff Leadership Institute in Madison. Visit the Staff Leadership Institute page to learn more.
For those who are looking for a few basic ideas to get you started, the Western States Center has compiled an outstanding guide that is broken down into easy activities that can work with a range of audiences from organizing a "Meet the Candidates" event to holding a "Mock Election" to highlight how the process works and how easily disenfranchised groups can be shut out of the political process.
Building Grassroots Power - Western States Center's 195-page curriculum, Building Grassroots Power: An Introduction to Electoral Politics, is designed to support the eletoral organizing efforts of groups with 501(C)(3) or 501(C)(4) tax-exempt status.
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