Message from National President

Dear NWPC Members and Friends,

Many of our conversations for the past few months have been framed with some optimism around wins and advances with issues that we care deeply about. After the 2012 proclamation of another Year of the Woman (and some visible evidence that the title was valid when we saw the highest number of women ever elected to the US Senate, and other wins by women in several areas even beyond elected office) we have seen other signs that seem to say the time continues, that this is time for women to expand our efforts.

As NWPC has worked for more than forty-one years to help recruit, train, and elect qualified women to office, and when we began, fewer than 5% of members of Congress were women. After our 2012 Year of the Woman, as of January 2013, the percentage of women in Congress is 18.3%, according to the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University. Progress, absolutely. Enough? No way.
We have seen the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed. That Act reinstates the rule in place prior to Ledbetter, frequently called the paycheck accrual rule, so that the 180-day time limit for filing a charge of discrimination with the EEOC begins to run anew after each discriminatory paycheck is received. Thank you for supporting fair pay and nondiscrimination.

This spring we watched the news of President Obama signing reauthorization of Violence Against Women Act (finally reauthorized, again!) and felt pride that our calls and emails and other means of support to encourage this Congressional Act passage made a difference. Thank you for your efforts.
In January we marked the 40th Anniversary celebration of Roe v. Wade, and while we rejoiced that it happened, we all also felt slightly uncomfortable because we know that it is not won forever, and that it can be taken away unless we remain on vigil. Thank you for staying vigilant, and continuing to speak up.

I have been impressed with NWPC state and local caucuses’ news lately in new projects and new efforts, in finding newer approaches to reaching more women who want to support others to run, or who choose to run for office themselves. You are reaching out in more partnerships and collaborations, and I applaud you for that. You are growing in number but also in method for reaching out, but we must redouble our efforts, because the progress we have made is definitely not enough. The goal of 50/50 by 2020 was adopted by one of our biennial conventions a few years ago, and recently at a large coalition of women’s organizations, someone remembered that slogan and said that it was such a good one, and why shouldn’t we all begin thinking of what kind of results we could see by 2020 if we coalesced our numbers and powers and made the earth move. 50/50 by 2020 is ours, but we will gladly ask others to adopt the NWPC goal, and join in the effort. So again, thank you for what you have been doing, and for what you are still doing, and for what you will continue as we move to the future. We can do this. We can get to 50/50 by 2020.


A book by Sheryl Sandberg, an executive with Facebook, wrote a book that is getting lots of visibility and buzz, Lean In. Local groups have been formed for discussion, online Lean In discussions seem to be growing, and the concept seems to be well received in many circles, although in others, Ms. Sandberg is getting plenty of criticism. One of her statements just jumps out to me. “Thirty years after women became 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, men still hold the vast majority of leadership positions in government and industry....”

This week a group of elected women here in Central Texas who meets quarterly to discuss issues important to women, and they discussed the Lean In concept. This group, established about five years ago by women Trustees of the Board of the community college that employs me, expands throughout our college service area, designated by the Texas Legislature to cover most of eight counties in this region. The total number of elected women, who are from local school district boards, county and city offices such as mayor or councilmember or commissioner, county clerk and other county elected offices, is 191. The area of External Affairs of the college provides staffing for these meetings, and my staff attends these quarterly meetings. What we heard in the discussion and interaction was very much what I have said earlier here—there are lots of areas where we can declare wins, and celebrate laws that are passed (or bad ones that we have helped prevent from passage), and there is a feeling that this is our time, a time for women to achieve and move into our own. This group also felt that while we are seeing momentum, and do feel some success, we should expand efforts, reach further, and they agreed to meet more often, so that all could provide better support for each other!

This August we will have our biennial Convention, and we need each of you to come, and to be prepared to speak up, to help as we define our next steps, and then to step up as we increase our efforts.

In sisterhood,

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NWPC National President's Report - February 2012

PRESIDENT’S REPORT
FEBRUARY 2012
Linda Young, NWPC PresidentI want to first wish you a Happy International Women’s Day. We are stronger when we band together with our sisters, those close by and those far away. Today is an important reminder that while we do the good work within our Nation, we must also recognize the struggles that affect women worldwide and the strength that is so often shown in their survival.
This report is coming a few days late, and while I regret that, I do not regret the frenzy of activity toward the end of February that has consumed my time. For this report, I wanted to not only share what I have been doing to represent you lately, but also to share what I am thinking of as a Six Month Check-Up. In addition to news, I will share a summary of accomplishments of our new administration, so you will know how we all have been using our time on behalf of NWPC. Please know that these are joint accomplishments, positive movement that has resulted from the work of our Executive Committee and our Board members from across the country: your accomplishments for NWPC.
COALITON BUILDING AND PARTNERSHIPS

• Significant participation with the National Council of Women’s Organizations, attending their meetings, participating in messaging, and even having one of our Executive Committee members, Vice President for Communications Pat Lynch, present at one of their meetings.
• Joined as a member of HERvotes, the coalition to address Health and Economic Rights of Women, and to recruit like-minded women to register to vote, and then to vote to protect our rights. (Now 52 organizations, with joint impact of representing millions of women, so watch for the next press release in two weeks that presents our coalition strength in quantified report)
• Participation with Department of Labor briefing on women’s issues. I was briefed by a cluster of leaders in the administration of DOL last week, invited there to hear summaries of DOL programs, regulations and initiatives for women, and also to serve as point to disseminate such information to our membership, and on to our sister organizations. This includes a new push on Equal Pay for Women; and they asked your NWPC President to be the lead on this information sharing.

PUBLIC OUTREACH AND RECOGNITION

• President appointed to the White House Focus Group on Women and the Economy, representing NWPC at White House briefings on the economy.
• Multiple press releases on various issues that impact our NWPC members, and gaining recognition and impact through such press contacts (thank you Pat!)
• I was interviewed for Elle Magazine article on Women in Public Leadership Roles and the Hillary Legacy, article that will be published probably in June publication but we will notify you. (Thank you Pat!)
• Specific examples: Two articles in the Washington Post in less than one week, with one being picked up by AP wire, so that your President and NWPC was not only in the Post, but in news around the world—we even made the Shanghai Press and were in the papers in London!
• NWPC President Linda Young will address the American Association of University Women’s state convention in Texas in April.
• Amazing press conference and participation with HERvotes in Washington DC, March 1, at the National Press Club. As the coalition tried to get the announcement into the Post, NWPC came through, because in one of those two articles in Post last week, I was able to get in the Press Conference time and place, so we delivered for our sisters. (Photo at the conference attached; and big thanks to VP for Education and Training Lisa Kaado for traveling from New Jersey to be in DC for the Conference, and for working that room so well!)
• New partnership with American Association of University Women, with their new national campaign to increase voter registration and voter participation, a campaign they are spending $1.5 million on, targeting 15 states for voter work, and particularly targeting college campuses. Our partnership allows us to co-brand all those wonderful materials, and to work to expand such activities in our regions as well, which is not only partnering, but the potential to expand our College Campuses at the same time. VP for Development Judy Chavis, New Jersey Caucus’s Mary Giovinazzo, VP for Communications Pat Lynch, and NWPC Program Director Bettina Hager and I all working on this one.

PPAC EXPANDED ACTIVITIES

• Increased activity level of our Political Planning and Political Action Committee, with aggressive outputs of Endorsed Candidates, and wonderful new Press Releases for each, ones that also include an audio note that candidates love to use. (Thanks Donna, for your efforts, and for your recruiting support for Press Release development through your committee staff, and thanks Pat, for working these Releases and helping to get the audio notes and all working!)
  
• Meeting with candidates, and support from NWPC when candidates come to DC area. Donna Lent, Bettina and I have each met with candidates we are endorsing, to encourage them and to help them feel more connected with NWPC. VP for Education and Training Lisa Kaado also helped host a DC area reception for long time Caucus friend Senator Barbara Buono.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• NWPC VP- Education and Training Lisa Kaado raised awareness as a Keynote Speaker on a panel at the Middlesex County College on the importance of voting in primaries. The panel, which occurred on February 23rd, was a resounding success and she represented the Caucus with panache.
• To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the ERA passage in Congress NWPC will be participating in a panel discussion, moderated by NWPC Founder Ellie Smeal on the “Grassroots Heroes on the Hill” with VP-Education and Training Lisa Kaado serving to represent NWPC. She will also be in town helping lead an ERA lobby day with young women from the Alice Paul Institute, following the March 13th lobby training she will hold.
• To assist in the passage of the ERA, as a collaborative effort from NWPC-Education and Training and the National Office, NWPC has created a lobby kit to help guide the effort for an increased participation in grassroots advocacy to pass the ERA. This kit will soon be available from our website. (Thank you Lisa!)

DIVERSITY AND OUTREACH

• VP Donna DeBerry has worked to outreach to potential growth markets for NWPC, has participated in a number of Republican Women local, regional, and state meetings and conferences to share NWPC and to recruit from women in the Republican Party who are pro-choice. She arranged for me to speak at the Texas Republican Women conference later in the year, truly an achievement for us to do that, since our organization is multi-partisan. She is working to get us in for NWPC event with the RNC Convention! (Thank you Donna!)
• Donna has recruited a wonderful young woman as a new Caucus member and a member of the Diversity and Outreach Committee, one who is helping with editing and production of branding materials for us all to have in our hands soon. (Thanks Donna, and thanks to our new recruit, Lauren Thompson!)
• Donna is working now with the California committee recently convened to review membership dues, and we appreciate Donna’s efforts to share her thoughts and perceptions that prompted her to volunteer to chair a committee back in November in LA to address the value of National.
• ERA Education Project founder and director Kamala Lopez continues to wow with her video shorts campaign, and she flew to DC to present her program to the NCWO. She is working on a national tour, supported by Citizen Group, a pro-social marketing, design and brand management agency. She will be reaching across the country filming rallies, speaking engagements and promotion of the Project. As an NWPC partner, Kamala’s fundraising comes into our LDERF fund, and we retain 10% of funds raised.

COMMUNICATIONS

• VP for Communications Pat Lynch has done yeowoman’s (coined a new word) task with us for communications, as you have read throughout my report, just remember where all you have already read about Communications. Here I must also commend our own young Wonder Woman Bettina, who has wrangled newsletters each time, and who recruits and manages our interns in the office to produce research for us, and so many things, making the communications efforts work through the office!
• New messaging from your President through Did you know…and why you matter email blasts and call to action when there is a hot issue and we need you to step up and work your networks.
• Pat has worked on a new brochure for us, and you will have that soon, and specialized materials are in the works for particular issues and needs. (Thanks, Pat!)
• Pat has been working with a woman I was lucky to recruit for NWPC, one who worked at a young age for the Ann Richards Campaign, and went on to a very successful career in media to include the Clinton campaign and many others, and lots of successfully elected progressive women! Cynthia Miller is co-owner of Rindy Miller Media, and serves as a political commentator for Fox News; she is incredible with politically savvy wording for our messaging, and is helpful to send the President suggestions for our efforts. (Thank you Pat, and welcome and thanks, Cynthia!)
• Pat has purchased and donated a wonderful new resource for national media lists, so that will help incredibly as we grow and expand our visibility.

I also thank our Secretary Veronica Rivera, who not only takes a mean set of minutes, but also does those reminders to the EC so we all remember what assignments each of us have and what promises we have made, to help us follow through. We are still lacking a Treasurer, but I am committed to finding a volunteer soon. These are very important roles to fill, and NWPC works because we have volunteers working with us. As I recently mentioned in my first Did you know message, YOU are so key to making a difference. The value of the Whole is so much more than the sum of the parts, and in coalition and sisterhood, NWPC will be increasingly a force to be reckoned with. Every one of our members is important, and each of you has a myriad of resources you bring, whether your network, your sphere of influence, your passion and presentation, and dollars you can bring to the table. We continue to stand on the shoulders of those who formed the Caucus and who have come before us. Reaching to clasp arms with our sisters in NWPC, we will increase the impact and fulfill the goals we have set, and have to set new goals.
Thank you for the opportunity to represent you, and for your support!
In sisterhood,

Linda Young
President, NWPC

Message from NWPC National

NWPC NATIONAL WEBSITE

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Women, United we Stand
Bettina Hager

It has come to the attention of politically minded women nationwide that NJ state Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono is being asked to accept an unprecedented seat sharing offer. What the exact political motives behind this insulting insinuation that it takes two women to effectively hold a typically man’s job, it is obvious that there is an effort to undermine the authority and effectiveness of Senator Buono, a rising female political star.

Women comparatively hold so few power positions that it is both difficult and counterproductive to even find two women to pit against each other. It is especially damaging to the image of women because so often these “catfights” don’t truly exist but are merely capitalized by the media who are desperately seeking a juicy story. It can, in effect, create a divide that is baseless yet powerful enough for the careers and reputation of women politicians to be put under the microscope.

The most important thing for women to remember is that united we stand stronger. When the representation held by women in the NJ government is a measly 28% we need to view each other as allies. It is especially offensive considering that the efforts are a political maneuver created by men who, when facing a formidable challenge, feel that women- as interchangeable public figures- can be simply replaced. Even more degrading is the idea that a job, historically held by a string of men, can only effectively be done with the combined efforts of two women.

This blatant disrespect and disregard of women’s political talents and aptitude should be taken as a rallying call. Yesterday’s elections marked the one year countdown to the upcoming 2012 election and two years until the NJ Governor election- where Buono is considered a strong favorite. We must stand by our strong women and let them know that we will not stand for divisive tactics or an insistence on shared power. Lest we forget, women hold up half the sky.