And we are finally getting it NOW!

Click here for a great video:   What AAUW does  Be proud!

The gender pay gap won’t close until 2119 at the current rate of change.
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Empowering women since 1881

May,  2021

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A Few Thoughts from, Beverly   

Welcome the Merry Month of May. “The Merry Month of May” is a poem by Thomas Dekker (c. 1572–1632), an English Elizabethan dramatist and pamphleteer. “The Merry Month of May” is a part of Dekker’s play, The Shoemaker’s Holiday, first performed in 1599.

O the month of May, the merry month of May,
So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green!
O, and then did I unto my true love say:
“Sweet Peg, thou shalt be my summer’s queen!

Now the nightingale, the pretty nightingale,
The sweetest singer in all the forest’s choir,
Entreats thee, sweet Peggy, to hear thy true love’s tale;
Lo, yonder she sitteth, her breast against a brier.

But O, I spy the cuckoo, the cuckoo, the cuckoo;
See where she sitteth: come away, my joy;
Come away, I prithee: I do not like the cuckoo
Should sing where my Peggy and I kiss and toy.”

O the month of May, the merry month of May,
So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green!
And then did I unto my true love say:
“Sweet Peg, thou shalt be my summer’s queen!”

The month of May has a few important days: May 4^th Teacher Appreciation Day, May 5^th Cinco de May, May 6^th Nurses Day and National Day of Prayer, May 9^th Mother’s Day, May 15^th Armed Forces Day and May 31^st Memorial Day. Plus we also have members with birthdays: Joan Pylman May 9^th, Edna Ethington May 14^th and Christine Taxier May 26^th. Happiest Birthday wishes and hope you can celebrate in some special manner.

If you have not already voted, please vote by May 15^th for AAUW National Elections. We are voting on a proposed amendment related to membership rules in the National Bylaws. We all need to vote, and no one has the right to complain if they failed to cast their vote to register their opinion.

A BIG Congratulations to Norma Williamson for being awarded one of CA AAUW grants for $500.00. Norma in conjunction with Gail Ross created a branch project “A Legacy of the Women’s Suffrage Movement.”

May we all look forward to Sweet Memories in 2021 by being well and healthy, staying home and being safe.

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Please welcome and support your new officers.  Remember that their job is to lead and encourage other members.  Please offer to help them when they ask.

Reminder to members:  As is written in your directory, the AAUW mail/email list is to be used for AAUW business only.  If you wish to share something personal with selected members, please verify with the members first, if they want to be included.  Members who find themselves receiving email they do not want should feel free to ask to be removed.  We’re all friends here.

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Meeting & Program, Karen, Nancy & Mary Ann

La Palma Cerritos AAUW General Meeting
Thursday, May 20th
Zoom Meeting
6:30 Social
Meeting at 7:PM

Our General Meeting May 20^th will be our two Academic Awards recipients: Lurvin Flores from Honduras interested in a business degree and Haya Chehada an immigrant from Syria interested in an accounting degree.
The recipients will discuss their goals and backgrounds.

Download our Brochure

Important information about upcoming AAUW NATIONAL ELECTIONS You should vote on.

This spring, AAUW members will be asked to vote on amendments to the Public Policy Priorities and bylaws, in addition to electing members to the national board of directors. Here you’ll find all the information you need on the proposed bylaws and Public Policy Priorities changes. The comment period is now closed. Voting will begin in April. Here are some questions and answers from members about open membership in AAUW. Thank you to National AAUW Board Member Cherie Sorkin for compiling them for us.  This amendment failed to receive enough votes 5/17/21. Public Policy Priorities were approved as were officers.

1. AAUW has been this way for a long time. Why do we need to change now?

• Our continued relevance will be enhanced by eliminating barriers that limit who can participate in our mission of advancing equity for women and girls.
• Many corporate and foundation funders are unwilling or prohibited from funding organizations that have barriers to participation in the work of the organization. Corporate and foundation funding is essential for national nonprofits these days.  AAUW’s membership dues support only a small percentage of our work.
• As part of the country’s overall reckoning with systemic racism and inequality, much of which disproportionately affects women, it is time to recognize that our self-imposed barriers to participation are actually harmful, even if they once were understood to serve as a well-intentioned incentive to specific achievement.

2.. Won’t dropping the degree requirement end what is unique about our organization and our like-minded nature?

• Our mission isn’t changing and AAUW will continue to be unique in its breadth of programming, research, policy and advocacy, fellowships & grants, and grassroots membership.
• Having a degree does not make someone “like-minded”—We are like-minded in our support for advancing equity for women and girls.
• Having a degree does not make someone a better advocate for women or a better symbol of womanpower. Think Eleanor Roosevelt, Lilly Ledbetter, Malala, Greta Thunburg.
• Women without degrees can certainly be just as passionate about advancing equity for women and girls as women with degrees.

3. Don’t we need to honor the legacy of our founding mothers by retaining the degree requirement?

• Life was different 140 years ago when only a very few women were able to go to college or find meaningful employment after graduation. Today, women outpace men in earning degrees at all levels. Women also make up (pre-COVID) close to ½ of the total workforce in the U.S. But economic disparities and discrimination against women persist widely, despite our levels of education and participation in the workforce.
• AAUW can and should take pride in its past and present success in helping women attain higher education. The fully endowed Fellowships and Grants Fund will allow AAUW to be a leader in this area in perpetuity. Education is important and does make a difference. But it alone doesn’t guarantee equal treatment or opportunities for women, something our founders cared about deeply.  The battle to be fought is not just about education, but about equal treatment.

4. If the degree requirement is dropped, will branch membership increase?

• A rush of younger members to join branches is unlikely due to the age of most of our current branch members. However, more women in older age ranges may be interested in joining once the barrier is removed. We all undoubtedly have friends who are “just as smart,” just as interested in equality for women” not to mention “just as much fun” who can’t be members because of the current degree requirement. Many of us have been embarrassed by encouraging friends to join, only to find out they aren’t eligible because they don’t have a degree.
• Our degree requirement has shut out women with diverse backgrounds and perspectives – who may inject new energy into the mission. Younger women, in particular, view the fact that we have a barrier to entry that disproportionately affects women of color and women of lower economic status as contrary to our mission, elitist and discriminatory. Support from young women as members or donors or advocates for our mission is important to our long-term survival as a membership organization.

5. I’m proud of having attained my degree. Since college education is more accessible now, why do we need to drop the requirement?

• Getting a degree was a badge of honor for many of us, building our confidence and honing our intellectual skills, and also helping to prepare us for work outside the home. For some it was also a badge of honor that meant we could join AAUW, an organization that helped keep us intellectually stimulated while we were still at home raising children.  But, degrees are not the “badge of honor” they once were and many careers are now open to women without degrees.  Skyrocketing educational costs, childcare, elder care, transportation, working multiple jobs and language barriers are significant issues for women today that make it hard for women to get a degree.  Also going to college today has burdened women with two-thirds of the national college debt. Cost is a barrier many of us didn’t have “back then.”

6. Won’t we have to change our name if we drop the degree requirement?

• First of all, we’ve had a variety of names during our 180-year history.
• Today, AAUW is well-respected and high profile, particularly in its advocacy and research. We would not want to lose this position of recognition.  Many other organizations use only initials and didn’t formally change their names when one of the original words in the name became out of favor or inappropriate.  Think NAACP or YWCA.  Changing our name is not the issue to focus on. Opening our membership to a broader group that will work in support of the mission is the issue.
• Also, the full name has not been applicable for a while. “American” – we have worked internationally for over 100 years. “Association” – members dues now only comprise 15-20% of revenues. “University” – in 2005, membership was extended to people with associate degrees. “W” – in 1987, membership was open to men.

Tech Trek, Celia and Edna

All four of our girls and their moms completed the student and parent agreements sent them by California AAUW Tech Trek and have been sent registration materials for the virtual camp that they will attend in July.  They are in the process of completing those forms, all done electronically.  As they complete the various forms, the AAUW-CA Tech Trek Coordinator informs each branch sending girls of their progress.

AAUW Fund, Esther, Thea

You can…
Create Change,
Advance Equity,
Empower Women and Girls,
By helping to raise money for AAUW Fund.

The La Palma-Cerritos branch of AAUW created our own memorial fund in July 2017, called the Alberta Brose Memorial Fund, to go to women who return to school just as she did.  We currently have completed our goal.  This was a short time, two year fund with a goal of $5000 for completion by June 30, 2019. The branch got CA State and National recognition for completion. Final donation has gone to AAUW Fund for Career Development Grants for graduate students returning to school after 5+  year absence.

Elsie Carbajal  is the recipient of our own Alberta Brose Memorial Fund.  We are proud!

Career Development Grants

Name: Elsie Carbajal
Award Year: 2018-19
Award: Career Development Grant
Institution: Brandman University
Location: Irvine, California
Discipline: Education
Degree and Specialization: M.A., Education leadership

Elsie Carbajal is a seasoned special education teacher who is passionate about meeting the diverse needs of public school students with special needs. Her goal is to strategically reform outdated practices that limit the growth and progress of the unique population she services. She plans to obtain her master’s in education leadership to collaborate with stakeholders and make informed decisions to enhance student outcomes in and out of school.

Sponsors:
4431 – Alberta Brose Memorial Fund
1262 – Laguna Beach (CA) Branch/Laguna Hills (CA) Branch
1285 – San Diego County (CA) Branch/Marilyn George Poluzzi
1298 – Los Angeles (CA) Branch/Dallas Shenk
1484 – San Clemente-Capistrano Bay (CA) Branch
4105 – Redlands (CA) Branch/Bernice Black Johndrew
1491 – Somerset Hills (NJ) Branch—Science and Technology

Public Policy, Sondra & Norma

Support Single Mother College Students!
By Norma Velia Williamson

If the United States wants to maintain its competitive edge in economics and our democratic way of life, we need more college educated Americans. Data from the Institute of Women’s Public Research (IWPR) estimates that by the year 2020, 6 out of 10 jobs require some level of college education and currently the U.S. is failing to fill 5 million jobs with the necessary college workers.

It has long been recognized, that a mother’s education level is a critically important factor in contributing to her children’s academic achievement (vocabulary, reading level, comprehension, communication skills (speaking/writing), including college attendance and parent/child quality time. It behooves us as a nation, to support mothers’ postsecondary education aspirations.

Yet more and more American mothers are raising children without the financial or emotional support of their children’s father. Today, 24% of families are headed by a single mother compared to 9% in 1965, which represents a 167% increase. Women of color are especially likely to be single parents.

The popular myth of college students being young people in their early twenties, living on campus, taking a full load and graduating in 4 years with a bachelor ‘s degree is long gone. According to Constance Iloh, Ph.D. in the year 2016, 41% of college students are older than 25, 26% are parents, 58% work while in college, 39% attended part time, 36% of undergraduate students attended a community college and only 13% live on campus.

In a 2017 study, IWPR estimates that 21% of females attending college are single mothers with 63% living at or below 100% of the federal poverty level, in spite of 54% of them working a minimum of 20 hours per work, thereby threatening their academic standing. In addition to the demands of employment, 60% say that they spend at least 30 hours per week caring for their children.

Our American society needs to support college education especially for single mothers. College graduates are more likely to have good paying jobs with health benefits and pensions; they pay more in taxes and they contribute more to their communities.

La Palma-Cerritos, AAUW members can advocate for some of the most promising support systems for single mother college students: campus-based childcare, coaching, peer supports, child-friendly spaces on campuses and scholarships custom designed for single mothers. Our annual Academic Achievement Awards to female students at Cerritos Community College and the Food Collection Drive for their food insecure students are excellent examples of financial support to single mothers striving to overcome all odds in pursuit of a college education.

Meeting via Zoom with the Representative of Assembly Member Sharon Quirk Silva

La Palma – Cerritos Branch Participates in
2021 AAUW – CA VIRTUAL LOBBY DAY!
By Norma Williamson, M.Ed. Public Policy Co-Chair

Four branch members: Tobi Balma, Diana Needham, Diane Merrick and Norma Williamson had the honor of participating in AAUW – CA Lobby Day on March 24, 2021. All members thoroughly enjoyed the experience and felt they were making Women’s History by advancing critical women’s issues. They are interested in participating again!

Approximately 156 AAUW members signed up to participate from all across the state. Teams of 4 met virtually with state legislators and urged them to vote for AB 92 (childcare family fees), AB 62 (Garment Worker Protection Act) and SB 373 (Consumer Debt: Economic Abuse). Public Policy Chairs Kathi Harper and Sue Miller did an excellent job training AAUW participants in the 3 priority bills selected and providing them with a synopsis of each bill.

Assembly Member Eloise Gómez Reyes, (AD 47) and first ever female/Latina Majority Leader welcomed AAUW – CA lobby participants She described the challenges facing women today and described in detail her bill, AB 92, Childcare Family Fees.

Opening remarks were also delivered from Assembly Member Cristina Garcia (AD 58), Chair of the Women’s Caucus. She described the Caucus’ 11 priority legislation bills:

1. Addressing poverty – AB 27
2. Protecting Vulnerable Communities – AB 14, SB 4, AB 1225
3. Health & Safety – AB 124, AB 925, SB 352
4. Gender Equity – AB 1287
5. Access to Child Care/Family-Friendly Policies – AB 865, AB 1363
6. Workplace Equity – SB 62

Our branch members, Team 31, met for 30 to 40 minutes with representatives from the offices of Assembly Member Sharon Quirk Silva (AD65) and State Senator Bob Archuleta (SD32). These representatives only knew a little bit about AAUW but members filled them in with the history of AAUW and proudly described our branch activities. Senator Bob Archuleta’s rep said that he would tell his wife, a Ph.D. candidate about our work!

Academic Achievement Awards, Carol

Award winners Lurvin Flores from Honduras interested in a business degree and Haya Chehada an immigrant from Syria interested in an accounting degree will be speaking at our May 20th meeting.

International Issues, Jackie Shahzadi

Women Graduates-USA

…through its global focus and reach, empowers all women and girls to create a secure and just world built on education, advocacy, friendship and mutual respect.

WG-USA is an online organization based in the United States focusing on global issues *Support and Advocacy for Refugee and Migrant Women and Girls
*Safe Access to Education
*Human Trafficking Advocacy and Action
*Women, Peace and Security

Join WG-USA at www.wg-usa.org

In 2019, Graduate Women International celebrated its 100th anniversary with a Centennial Celebration in Geneva, July 25-28. GWI was founded in 1919, by representatives of AAUW, and other international women’s groups. It used to be known as the IFUW, International Federation of University Women. Currently, Women Graduates-USA is the organization representing American women at GWI.