Celebrating Black History: AAUW’s Dorothy Ferebee

The accomplishments of AAUW women never cease to amaze me, and Dorothy Celeste Boulding Ferebee is no exception. Ferebee, a physician, health care advocate, and AAUW board member, tirelessly worked to ensure access to health care for underserved communities.

Ferebee, a child of former slaves, was born in 1898 in Norfolk, Virginia. She graduated from Simmons College in 1924 and subsequently earned her medical degree from Tufts University. Although she graduated in the top five of her class, she met with discrimination when she applied for positions at “white” hospitals. Frustrated by the lack of opportunities available to black female physicians in Massachusetts, Ferebee moved to Washington, D.C. She became an obstetrician serving the African American community at Freedman’s Hospital, which is now Howard University Hospital.

Ferebee left her mark on Washington in many ways. In 1925, concerned about the lack of access to public health and family services in the black community, she established Southeast Neighborhood House. This group of physicians provided medical care and other community services, including a day care facility to meet the needs of working mothers. By this act alone, Ferebee was clearly ahead of her time; remember, this was 1925.

During the Great Depression, Ferebee volunteered her time as medical director of the Mississippi Health Project, a program sponsored by the first African American sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Black physicians provided medical care to the residents of Mississippi, a state with notoriously limited access to doctors and hospitals for its black residents.

Within AAUW, Ferebee was a member of the AAUW Washington (DC) Branch. She also served as chair of the Social and Economic Issues Committee. Importantly, in 1969, she was nominated to become implementation chair for AAUW’s Human Use of Urban Space study. She was an especially fitting pick for the job since this fledgling program was created to come up with solutions to community problems left in the wake of urban renewal. No doubt public health concerns and a lack of access to basic medical services were challenges that AAUW leaders felt confident Ferebee could handle.

In addition to her AAUW service, Ferebee succeeded Mary McLeod Bethune as president of the National Council of Negro Women, was president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and served as vice president of the Girl Scouts. But to be honest, the complete list of her accomplishments and contributions is too lengthy to mention in its entirety.

In a quote from Ferebee’s obituary in the Washington Star dated September 17, 1980, the writer accurately said that Ferebee “was the sort of person who enlarges other people’s ideas of what can be done by those enterprising enough to want to.”

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This Valentine’s Day, End Violence Against Women

As Eve Ensler says, I’m “over it.”

I’m over the public safety warnings from my university alerting the community of another violent crime.

I’m over the headlines about another woman becoming the 1 in 3 worldwide to be raped or beaten in her lifetime.

I’m over the jokes, the slut-shaming, and the blaming.

I’m over Congress dragging its feet on passing a bill that would ensure protection for the 1 in 4 women who experience violence at the hands of an intimate partner.

I’m over violence against women.

Each day there are new stories of harassment, stalking, and violence, and with these stories emerge new victims who join the 1 billion other women who will be violated in their lifetimes.

Although Valentine’s Day is traditionally considered a day to celebrate love, today is also for remembering women who have suffered physical, emotional, and social pain due to violence. Rather than spending the day enjoying boxes of chocolates and card and flower deliveries, Ensler, author and playwright of The Vagina Monologues, invites women around the globe to walk, dance, rise, and demand an end to violence against women.

As part of her One Billion Rising campaign, Ensler aims to raise consciousness about the global problem of violence against women. By encouraging women and men to join in solidarity, Ensler hopes to change the cultural and political ways we address violence.

While the dancing is slated for just one day, spreading awareness does not end today. One way to keep the movement going is to join AAUW in urging Congress to reauthorize the  Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). For me and millions of my college peers, reauthorization of VAWA is particularly important. One in 5 women will experience sexual assault while in college. Since policies from the Campus SaVE Act are included in the Senate-passed VAWA reauthorization, we could see better and stronger policies from colleges detailing their handling of claims of sexual assault and violence. We could also see prevention activities at every school and better reporting on more types of incidents on campuses. But that only happens if the House includes these provisions in their bill as well.

By dancing for One Billion Rising and supporting the reauthorization of VAWA, women can re-energize awareness about violence against women and ignite change. This Valentine’s Day, forget the chocolate and the roses. Get up and dance, or contact your representatives in Congress. Tell them you are over violence against women.

This post was written by National Student Advisory Council member and AAUW Public Policy Intern Bethany Imondi, whose SAC membership is sponsored by Dagmar E. McGill in memory of Happy Fernandez and Helen F. Faust.

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What You Might Not Know about Fat Tuesday

New Orleans, the host city for our 2013 convention this June, is perhaps most widely known for one thing: Mardi Gras. Some may dismiss tonight’s events in the Big Easy as simply colorful beads, loud music, and revelry lasting into the early morning hours. Those who do are sorely mistaken. Beyond a night of letting loose, Mardi Gras represents a centuries-old festival with rich traditions celebrated the world over.

Mardi Gras has roots as far back as the Roman Empire, when the weeklong festival of Lupercalia in February honored the Roman fertility god Lupercus. Celebrants indulged in rich food, drink, and revelry and hoped for healthy families and a good harvest. It’s believed that early Christians in Rome adopted this celebration in an effort to make converting to their new faith a little easier. Given that the festival fell before the penitent Lenten period, it was reinterpreted as a time to feast before the long fast.

As Christianity spread across Europe and into the New World, so did the festival. Unique celebrations of Mardi Gras are still found today in much of Europe, including some particularly distinctive ones in Germany and Great Britain. In the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world it is celebrated under a different name — Carnival — with the world’s largest annual celebration in Rio de Janeiro.

The French became particularly enamored with the holiday, lending it its popular name: Mardi Gras translates to Fat Tuesday. The first U.S. Mardi Gras celebration was held in a French colony in 1703 in modern-day Mobile, Alabama. The celebration quickly became popular among the rest of the French colonies in North America, including Louisiana.

New Orleans, perhaps more than any other place on earth, adopted Mardi Gras as its own. Here, a rich blend of new and old traditions flourished. Today’s celebrations include the popular colorful parades with elaborate floats, sponsored by an elite group of krewes. Perhaps less well-known are the glamorous masquerade balls with fabulous costumes. For other people, Mardi Gras is a quiet celebration at home, as families gather with friends over a king cake. There are perhaps as many different ways to celebrate Mardi Gras as there are people who celebrate it.

New Orleans doesn’t stop having fun after the beads have been swept away, the ball gowns have all been packed up in storage, or the last slice of cake has been eaten. It’s a year-round attitude that permeates the very soul of the city: Laissez les bons temps rouler, as the locals say. This mix of diverse cultures, rich traditions, and a deep appreciation for life’s beauties is something you really have to see in person to fully appreciate.

Mardi Gras isn’t the only chance to see New Orleans at its best. AAUW will hold a celebration of our own in the Big Easy this June: the 2013 National Convention. In the spirit of tonight’s festivities, we all come from different backgrounds but share a common passion for women’s equity. We look forward to celebrating that passion with you and charting a path forward together. Join us as we gather to honor our accomplishments, reflect on new challenges, and discuss our next steps in the path toward equity for women and girls. While you’re there, reconnect with old friends or make new ones as you soak in the city’s unique zest and joie de vivre. Register for convention today to take advantage of our early-bird rate.

This post was written by AAUW Member Leadership Programs Associate Ryan Burwinkel.

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Obama Administration Modifies Health Care for Women

Last week, the Obama administration proposed new regulations for determining which religiously affiliated employers and nonprofit organizations would have to provide no-cost contraceptive coverage in their insurance plans. Under the adjusted policy, churches and other houses of worship are still exempt from having to provide this coverage, and other religious entities (such as charities or universities) would not have to issue plans that directly provide birth control coverage. Employees at those organizations would instead, as the Washington Post put it, receive a “stand-alone, private insurance policy that would provide contraceptive coverage at no cost.”

This decision protects women’s ability to access contraception without co-pay. AAUW is pleased that the administration resisted efforts to exempt for-profit companies from providing this critical health insurance coverage. The decision will lead to real benefits, including fewer unintended pregnancies and a better quality of life for women. If you’d like to learn more about whether your insurance plan covers these services, a health advocacy group has prepared an easy-to-use tip sheet.

However, we are concerned that another regulation, also announced last week, could limit women’s ability to access this care. The proposal would exempt student health plans self-funded by colleges from benefits mandated by the Affordable Care Act.

This proposal would affect only about 30 institutions — mostly major private and public research universities — that self-fund their student health insurance plans, but this loophole could inspire other schools to begin self-funding their plans to remove contraceptive coverage, which AAUW would strongly oppose. As one consumer group put it, “Without federal protections and only minimal state oversight, self-funded plans are free to discriminate based on preexisting conditions, offer limited coverage with low annual limits on benefits, and commit a number of consumer abuses that the ACA was designed to eliminate.”

Although these are modifications to existing policies, they’ll have a big impact on women across the country. Subscribe to AAUW’s Washington Update to keep up to date on these developments and what they mean for women and girls.

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Why Is Stalking Romantic in Our Favorite Movies?

An eighth-grader barrages his babysitter with romantic overtures in person and via text even after she tells him it makes her uncomfortable.

A high school boy follows a classmate’s every move and sneaks into her room at night to watch her sleep.

Seven brothers kidnap seven women and bring them to a secluded cabin to live as man and wife.

Ah, romance. Oh wait — did you think these scenarios sounded more creepy than lovey-dovey? Illegal, even? Crazy, Stupid, Love.; Twilight; and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers are all conventional romances. Yet, stripped of the attractive actors and swelling music, these movies reveal some deeply troubling behavior.

Stalking is sometimes taken seriously —  some films show that the law can’t always help and that being stalked is intrusive, terrifying, and likely to escalate to bodily harm. But far more often, this behavior is instead implied to be a normal and even preferred part of courtship. It’s romantic! And it’s shockingly ubiquitous.

Whether stalking is explicitly mentioned and laughed off like in There’s Something about Mary or more obfuscated in something like Vertigo or Eight Days a Week, the message is clear. If someone is following you across the state and watching your every move (The Graduate) or filming you without your consent (American Beauty), it’s probably just because he loves you. And you’re assumed to reciprocate. Which might be a problem if you’re an adult human who wants some agency in whom you date.

While it’s deeply troubling that this trope makes what is actually a very scary issue for women in real life seem silly and insignificant, the stalking-as-romance theme also supports a larger stereotype about how women and men function in love. This picture of romance values men as the pursuers and women as the pursued. The love-struck hero admires the beautiful woman from afar — it’s a classic example of the voyeurism and passivity that feminist film theory is based on. Implied is that the most desirable relationships are the ones in which a woman is prey and a man is predator.

Why is this model of love represented over and over? It’s not always the way relationships happen, and it’s not always desirable (and is even more unrealistic for anyone who isn’t hetero). Some real-life women had the audacity to call a guy up and ask for a date. Some leaned in for the first kiss. For others, it was a mutual seduction. Not all women are with their partners because they’ve been worn down. Is there something unromantic about a woman finding someone she wants and going for it?

Obviously, for some couples, the man-pursues-woman model actually happened. But it’s not happenstance that, over and over, so many couples prefer to characterize their relationship this way. And it’s not a coincidence that art imitates this ideal. Sometimes, that means romanticizing situations that should be alarming (and criminal). And other times, it makes those of us who aren’t passive women feel like our relationships don’t live up to the cultural hype. But surely we can start busting these myths about the ways that women and men should behave in love. And, trust us, the results deserve just as much windswept hair and swelling strings.

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“The Devil Wears Prada” of Wall Street

The National Conference for College Women Student Leaders is proud to announce Nina Godiwalla as one of our keynote speakers for the 2013 conference! Nina Godiwalla is a second-generation Indian American and Texan who has definitely left her mark on the business world. She is the best-selling author of Suits: A Woman on Wall Street, an insider’s perspective on working for Fortune 500 company Morgan Stanley. Her book has been described as the Devil Wears Prada of investment banking. Godiwalla is also the CEO and founder of MindWorks, a company that provides leadership and stress management training to corporations and other professional organizations.

What inspires me most about Godiwalla is her ability to realize that the sky’s the limit. In her Persian-Indian community, many of her peers growing up were satisfied by pursuing what made their parents happy. Godiwalla, on the other hand, was driven to follow her own path: She made her way from Houston to New York City to indulge in the fast-paced, challenging, and competitive world of banking.

As an African American woman, I am truly inspired by stories of minority women stepping outside of boundaries and barriers that would stop us and achieving in the way that our passion drives us, not just in the way that will satisfy our parents. Looking at all that Godiwalla has done makes me feel more confident in pursuing my dreams. In addition, coming from a community much like Godiwalla’s, I hope that I can fulfill not only my parents’ dreams but leave someone else inspired the way Godiwalla has done for me.

We look forward to hearing more of Godiwalla’s story at NCCWSL and learning tips that we can all use about leadership and valuing diversity. What would you like to ask her about her leadership story?

This post was written by AAUW Leadership Programs Intern Nzinga Shury.

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An AAUW Success Story: The Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a shining example of what AAUW lobbying efforts can help accomplish. Passed after seven years of hard work by AAUW staff and the AAUW Action Fund Capitol Hill Lobby Corps, the legislation continues to be held up 20 years later as a lobbying success story.

“Often when I am telling folks about Lobby Corps I use FMLA as an example of our tenacity,” said Lobby Corps member Kitty Richardson. “It was definitely a case of here today, here tomorrow. We’re not going away, and we are supporting [the legislation] for the long term.”

The act, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on February 5, 1993, allows qualified employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year to care for a new baby or recently adopted child, tend to a seriously ill family member, or overcome their own serious health problems. About 62 percent of workers qualify for FMLA.

AAUW’s work on FMLA began in 1986 with an official endorsement of national family and medical leave legislation. AAUW delegates then adopted family and medical leave as an action priority at our 1987 National Convention. An AAUW brief from April 1998, Family Leave: A Solution to Work and Family Conflicts, told the story of a Delaware woman who lost her job because she needed time off to care for her ill son. The article said, “Women who have no parental leave face especially heavy income losses.”

In 1989, AAUW and other national women’s groups presented President George H.W. Bush and leaders of the 101st Congress with a “women’s agenda” focused on family, workplace, and health issues. The women’s agenda called for a family and medical leave act establishing a national policy of leave to enable working women and men to fulfill their family responsibilities without sacrificing job security.

AAUW Lobby Corps member Marcy Leverenz lobbied for AAUW on FMLA in the late 1980s. She said that when they started they had to make legislators understand the big picture — that people all over the United States needed the ability to take time off for caregiving.

“Through our lobbying efforts, this need became more of an empirical message rather than an anecdotal message,” Leverenz said. “It initially wasn’t looked on as a problem to be solved.”

Also in 1989, AAUW delegates again adopted family and medical leave as an action priority with thousands of AAUW members visiting the offices of nearly every senator and representative that June. And the results proved positive: The Outlook issue published after the lobby day said that the “coalition of national groups working for family leave … credited AAUW with greatly advancing the issue in Congress.”

The issue stayed at the top of AAUW’s policy agenda throughout the early 1990s. A February 1991 briefing said that AAUW “is fully committed to the establishment of a national family policy that helps American families balance work and family responsibilities.” When FMLA finally became law in 1993, Lobby Corps members said they reacted with joy — and relief.

“I really feel like without us out there nagging, it wouldn’t have gotten through,” said Lobby Corps member Nancy MacKenzie.

Part of the reason Lobby Corps had success was because they could provide personal stories to get legislators on board.

“We are effective because we aren’t paid to lobby,” MacKenzie said. “Therefore we only lobby on things that we personally believe in. It’s not a job to us. It’s something we care about.”

Since FMLA passed in 1993, AAUW has worked to expand the legislation to cover more of the nation’s workforce. Although those lobbying efforts have been unsuccessful overall, some Lobby Corps members have had the thrill of seeing their own families benefit from FMLA. “One thing that touched me was that at the time we started lobbying this bill, my son was rather young,” MacKenzie said. “In the meantime, he got married and had children and made use of FMLA when his wife was pregnant. And I thought, you know, I’m one of the ones who got it passed. And I let him know it, too.”

This post was written by AAUW Political Media Coordinator Elizabeth Owens.

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Brighter Stories of Women in India

Recently, India has garnered international attention with the devastating news of the rape (and later death) of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi. Despite the Indian government’s flawed sexual assault and harassment laws, there are organizations, communities, and companies out there that are making a difference in the lives of Indian women. One such organization is the Jaipur Rugs Foundation, whose work I had the privilege of seeing firsthand on my recent travels to India.

I arrived in Delhi on December 28, just a week after the terrible incident. During my travels, I visited a number of organizations. The first was the Jaipur Rugs Foundation, a nonprofit branch of Jaipur Rugs, a company that manufactures rugs produced by women in rural India.

The Jaipur Rugs Foundation visit was twofold. The first day I visited a rural village in northern Jaipur, where we saw women of the village working in their homes on huge weaving mills to produce the rugs Americans see every day at stores like Kmart and Crate and Barrel. We visited the classrooms that the foundation had established in the villages for women to learn basic literacy skills such as counting money. I saw two of the most prominent women weavers in the village, who were able to send both of their children to private school on their 1,000 rupee ($100) monthly salary. The next day I sat down with the founder and CEO of the organization, N. K. Chaudhary, and heard his thoughts on the importance of women’s empowerment and social responsibility.

Student Advisory Council member Taaj Reaves with children in India

When Chaudhary first began Jaipur Rugs, he worked as an artisan with rural villagers. He noticed that the women were much more efficient than the men at work and formed the cornerstone of every household — making sure the children were in school and their bellies full. At the same time, he also saw many women being taken advantage of because they could not count, read, or write. Hence, a core value of the Jaipur Rugs Foundation is women’s empowerment through education in rural communities that provides women with financial independence and self-esteem. Because India is still a very patriarchal society, I questioned Chaudhary about how the men in rural villages typically view the newfound independence of their wives and daughters. He responded that the men see it as economic independence for the family. A dollar earned is still a dollar earned — and one more that can contribute to a family that is living below the poverty line.

It is true that there are many places in the world where discriminatory policies make it more beneficial to be a man than a woman, but there will always be people out there who want to change that. People like Chaudhary and all of the women working on behalf of the Jaipur Rugs Foundation make me believe that change is possible. This semester I will be working toward women’s development as an intern with the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, and I look forward to supporting and contributing to those who are making positive change for the progress of women.

AAUW also works to support change through International Project Grants, which fund community-based projects focused on empowering women and girls.

This post was written Taaj Reaves, whose participation in the National Student Advisory Council is sponsored by Loryann Eis of AAUW of Illinois.

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Public Policy Good Times at Convention

Laissez les bons temps rouler: Let the good times roll.

As we prepare to descend upon New Orleans for the AAUW National Convention in June, I hope we all take that Mardi Gras motto to heart. I know I certainly will. As the new associate director of field operations here at AAUW, I couldn’t be more excited about bringing the “public policy good times” to the Big Easy.

Yes, you read that right — public policy good times. From a panel on pay equity to workshops that explore advocacy techniques and insider intel on how Washington, D.C., really works, “good times” is definitely the best description for what the Public Policy and Government Relations Department will offer at the AAUW National Convention.

Throughout my first couple of weeks here, I have heard nothing but amazing things about you — our thousands of AAUW members and supporters. And I’m looking forward to the opportunity to meet you when we descend on New Orleans for this exciting convention. And besides the local cuisine, I’m looking forward even more to delivering to you some public policy good times.

Want to influence key decision makers in new and better ways? Interested in moving along fair pay legislation in your state legislature? Looking to increase the number of members taking action on issues you’re working on? That is exactly how the AAUW policy team plans on letting the good times roll.

Will you join us in New Orleans? Here’s hoping I get to share some good times with you!

This post was written by AAUW Associate Director of Field Operations Samantha Galing.

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Fighting “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: Woman of Distinction Katie Miller

Courageous. Inspirational. Groundbreaking. These are just some of the words that come to mind when I think about Katie Miller, one of our 2013 NCCWSL Women of Distinction. Miller’s story is truly inspiring and gives me the courage to lead no matter what barriers stand in the way.

Ranked eighth in her class of more than 1,000 cadets, Miller was a model student at the U.S. Military Academy. But under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that prohibited gay men and women from serving the country openly and freely, Miller felt she was living untruthfully. She could not keep quiet and had to speak out. The truth came out in 2010, when she announced her resignation from West Point — and her sexuality — on live television.

Reading Miller’s story is eye-opening. Being gay in the military then was a controversial issue and continues to be even after the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell”; but Miller saw no other way to live than to be honest. She showed her bravery by looking past the criticism — and, at the time, the apparent end of her promising military career — and coming out.

Following her resignation and announcement, Miller joined the founding board of OutServe, a then-underground network of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) service members. She then advocated for the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

A recent graduate from Yale University, Miller continues to thrive as an advocate for LGBT service members. Now the policy and government affairs chair for OutServe-SLDN (OutServe merged in 2012 with the Service Members Legal Defense Network), Miller has become the youngest board member of a major LGBT organization. She also recently joined the LGBT Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress as their special assistant and plans on returning to the military soon.

All that Miller has done inspires me to go against the grain: Speak out, stand up, and make a difference. She has led gallantly and candidly and encourages me to lead with the same vision. Whether your passion lies within the LGBT community or elsewhere, Miller’s leadership can truly motivate anyone to take a stand and make a new way for tomorrow.

I look forward to hearing the words of strength and leadership that Miller will deliver at NCCWSL 2013! Will you be there?

This post was written by AAUW Leadership Programs Intern Nzinga Shury.

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