Musings on the NOW Conference: Young Feminists Organizing

This post is part of a series discussing the 2012 National Organization for Women (NOW) Conference: Energize! Organize! Stop the War on Women.

After the Mothers and Caregivers Summit were sessions that were “Just for Fun,” so I attended a laughter yoga session run by Ramana Lailah Heyman. The whole point of laughter yoga is to just crack up for no reason at all. It was definitely interesting, and left me feeling invigorated and refreshed for Plenary V: Young Feminists Organizing. I was unable to take notes on this session, since it was Shabbat (the Sabbath) and Orthodox Jews are prohibited to write, but I’ll do my best to share what was said and my impressions of the session.

As a young feminist and member of NOW's Young Feminist Task Force, I really appreciated that time was set aside to talk about young women’s accomplishments. It always frustrates me when older feminists ignore or marginalize my generation. We are the ones who will maintain current feminist wins and fight for further gains, so it’s important that women’s rights advocates understand how vital we are to the future of feminism. I’m glad to see that NOW agrees.

NOW Action VP Erin Matson and NOW President Terry O’Neill introduced the Woman of Courage Award winner, Sandra Fluke. Fluke, a law student at Georgetown, was barred from testifying in front of Congress about no-copay birth control, so she went on to speak only before House Democrats. Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh went on a three-day attack on Fluke, calling her a slut and prostitute and otherwise casting aspersions on her character because she believes the government should insure birth control. (Yeah, I know.) Fluke spoke about her experience within the advocacy world and what it was like being in the national spotlight for being pro-birth control and getting slammed by Limbaugh. By far my highlight of this session was when we made eye contact. I kid you not, I made eye contact WITH SANDRA FLUKE. It was amazing to connect with such an influential feminist that way. Hearing about what Fluke went through in such detail really shocked me, but what struck me the most was how Fluke had the intestinal fortitude and sheer bravery and courage to withstand the insults and criticism that were hurled at her. I don’t know if I could have ever been brave enough to testify in front of Congress, let alone deal with the fire and brimstone that followed. Fluke truly deserves the distinction of Woman of Courage.

After Fluke, Krystal Ball, an MSNBC contributor, political writer, activist, and former congressional candidate, spoke. When Limbaugh slandered Fluke, she was on the frontlines defending the law student and (successfully) turning public opinion against Limbaugh. In addition to discussing this, she also spoke about her fruitless bid for Congress. It's a shame that she was not voted in, since she would be an awesome addition to Congress. I forget if she or Matson credited this unfortunate loss to the country’s backlash against the Democratic party. With the election coming up, it’s important that people vote for pro-woman candidates, otherwise women’s rights are seriously doomed.

She was followed by Tamika Mallory, national executive director of one of the nation’s leading civil rights organizations, National Action Network (NAN). Mallory spoke about her experience as a young woman in a position of power, how her entire life was defined by civil rights advocacy, minority women’s issues, and the importance of activism and getting up and doing something. She was interesting to listen to, and I found her in-depth discussion of (feminist) activism and how successful it can be enlightening. I also appreciated her perspective as a young African-American woman refreshing, since it's unfortunately pretty scarce within the mainstream feminist movement.

I really enjoyed and appreciated this session as a whole. I sincerely hope that young women will continue to advocate for women’s rights like Fluke, Ball, and Mallory.

Musings on the NOW Conference: Mothers and Caregivers - Summit

This post is part of a series discussing the 2012 National Organization for Women (NOW) Conference: Energize! Organize! Stop the War on Women.

Dearest readers, I'm sorry for the long break in posts - my father passed away during the holidays, so between holiday and sitting shiva things have been a little crazy in my house. But have no fear, blogging is back!

Saturday morning was Plenary IV. This plenary session was part of the Mothers and Caregivers Summit. According to the NOW conference website, “This summit…spotlight[s] the work of those who form the backbone of all societies: mothers and caregivers. Because women throughout time have been expected to automatically assume the responsibilities of child rearing and caregiving, the importance of these roles is overlooked and dramatically under-valued in our culture. The Mothers and Caregivers Summit, co-sponsored this year by NOW Foundation and the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), will feature ideas about how mothers’ and caregivers’ contributions can be properly recognized and valued.”  I was unable to take notes on this session, since it was Shabbat (the Sabbath) and Orthodox Jews are prohibited to write, but I’ll do my best to share what was said and my impressions of the session.

They always-awesome NOW Membership VP Allendra Letsome hosted the plenary. She first introduced Charon Asetoyer, the executive director of the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center, who discussed Indigenous women’s health, especially as it pertained to reproductive rights and access to birth control and abortion. After Asetoyer came Jo Paoletti, an associate professor of American Studies at University of Maryland in College Park, who spoke about women’s relationship to fashion, consumerism, and material culture. The next speaker was Miriam Zoila Perez, a birth and abortion doula and founder of Radical Doula, who talked about the intersection of birth activism and social justice. Next came Karren Pope-Onwukwe, a prominent elder law attorney, bar leader and community activist who spoke about women, aging, and their rights. The final speaker was Janice Lynch Schuster, a senior writer for Altarum Institute and its new Center for Elder Care and Advanced Illness, who discussed how women and caregiving.

I found all the speakers extremely illuminating, but I was particularly interested in Asetoyer’s discussion about Native American women’s health, especially reproductive rights and access to birth control and abortion. This was a topic I was completely ignorant about, so I was happy to learn so much about it. What really struck me was Asetoyer’s description of the sheer difficulty a Native woman living on a reservation would have obtaining either birth control or an abortion. As a New Yorker, I know that all I would have to do to get birth control is run to the pharmacy on my corner and pick up a prescription that my doctor happily gave me. In a stark contrast, women on a reservation would have to travel miles and miles in order to get birth control, ignoring the fact that they have children and/or other responsibilities at home.

I really enjoyed listening to Paoletti, even though I’m really not into fashion at all. I am a history geek, though, which is probably why I appreciated her discussion on how children’s clothing has evolved throughout the years through a lens of gender. I found the information she shared about the color pink as it relates to gender really interesting, since it’s something I’ve noticed on a firsthand level (and even written about). My mom once wrote an article about the development of the gender divide on the color pink, and she used Paoletti’s work as part of her research, so it was really cool to hear Paoletti speak in person.

Janice Lynch Schuster also got my attention when she discussed the sandwich generation: typically 40 - 60-year-olds who are caring for parents and children at the same time. I witnessed my mother care for her mother throughout my childhood, especially after my grandmother became ill. Although it was long-distance caregiving, it still took my mother a lot of effort and gave her a lot of strain.

I really enjoyed this session, since it was illuminating and full of information that I wasn’t familiar with beforehand. Since I always like to learn about various feminist and women’s issues, this was right up my alley. One can’t get much more diverse than putting Native American women’s rights, fashion in pop culture, birthing and maternal issues, women and aging, and women’s caregiving responsibilities together!

Musings on the NOW Conference: Improving Employment and Opportunities for Low Wage Workers and Women of Color

This post is part of a series discussing the 2012 National Organization for Women (NOW) Conference: Energize! Organize! Stop the War on Women.

On Saturday morning, I attended a session that was part of the Mothers and Caregivers Summit titled Improving Employment and Opportunities for Low Wage Workers and Women of Color. According to the NOW conference website, “This summit…spotlight[s] the work of those who form the backbone of all societies: mothers and caregivers. Because women throughout time have been expected to automatically assume the responsibilities of child rearing and caregiving, the importance of these roles is overlooked and dramatically under-valued in our culture. The Mothers and Caregivers Summit, co-sponsored this year by NOW Foundation and the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), will feature ideas about how mothers’ and caregivers’ contributions can be properly recognized and valued.” I was unable to take notes on this session, since it was Shabbat (the Sabbath) and Orthodox Jews are prohibited to write, but I’ll do my best to share what was said and my impressions of the session.

This session was moderated by Claudia Williams, a research analyst at IWPR. The other speakers were Jeff Hayes, senior research associate at IWPR; Jane Henrici, study director at IWPR; and Matt Unrath, Wider Opportunity for Women (WOW)’s director of national programs.

The session began by addressing the importance of raising the minimum wage, especially for tipped workers. A couple months ago there was a big push to raise the minimum wage, I remember signing numerous petitions to make this happen. Unfortunately, I don’t believe it ever did, and it’s stagnant at $7.25. This session demonstrated the real need to raise the amount. Tipped workers make a mere $2.13 an hour, which is certainly not enough to support a single person, let alone a family. It’s not right to make a tipped worker, about two-thirds of whom are women, to depend on tips, since some weeks may bring in hundreds while other times very little is earned.

They also discussed the importance of establishing STEM programs for young mothers, especially at the community college level, so that they can get raining for a good job rather than getting stuck at a dead-end, low-paying position with no skills or hopes of advancement. While I don’t remember details, they presented a convincing argument for funneling millions of dollars into establishing these kinds of programs. That is, until they mentioned that a high percentage of women enrolled in already-existing programs of this kind drop out after a year. Personally, if this is the case, I don’t understand the point. Before we take taxpayers’ money and spend it on establishing new programs, we should pinpoint the reasons why women are dropping out of ones that are already around, fix the problems, and bring the graduation rate up. Then, and only then, should new programs be established. Otherwise, the money spent on these women is totally wasted, and could have been better used on a different cause.

Another speaker presented the BEST tables, a measure of the basic needs and assets workers require for economic security throughout a lifetime and across generations. While I understand that a point of reference is necessary for the government to know who needs the most help to stay afloat, I really take issue with the current system. Just because a person has an income that’s relatively high doesn’t mean that they can afford their basic needs. Need shouldn’t be determined by income, but by the difference between income and basic living expenses (rent, food, phone, etc., in addition to more unusual unique expenses, like paying for a nursing home for an immediate family member).

Although I did not necessarily see eye to eye with every point that the speakers presented, this was an interesting session to attend. I really did learn a lot from it about where mothers and caregivers are in term of wages and professions. I certainly hope that the measures they presented will prove to be effective in remedying women’s unfair situation in these matters.