March 2018

white-houseClick here for a great video:   What AAUW does  Be proud!

This year Pay Equity Day occurs on Tuesday, April 10th. That means the average woman continues to work until that date this year to earn the same as her parallel job male counterpart earned in last year alone. This date has changed very little for many years. HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL? So DO something about it! Write to your representatives, attend an event, be noisy!

Wear RED on Equal Pay Day 
to symbolize how far women 
and minorities are “in the red” with their pay.

March, 2018

President’s Message

Thanks to our membership and Gail Ross and Dorothy Edwards, the Funds Co-VP’s, the Funds Luncheon was a great success.  As usual, Carol and Bob’s home was beautiful and welcoming.  The lunch itself, prepared by Gayle, owner of Huf’s Restaurant, was very tasty.  Angelina Chen, president of the YWCA Pasadena-Foothill Valley Board of Directors, gave an insightful presentation regarding the YWCA’s programs that they provide to empower girls.
The Nominating Committee has been hard at work calling upon our members to provide leadership to our organization next year.  Please step up to the plate. Several positions require more help.
Dorothy Edwards
Interim President
Reminder to members:  As is written in your directory, the AAUW mail/email list is to be used for AAUW business only.

AAUW slate of Officers for 2018 – 2019

President – Harriet Moses
President Elect – Vacant
Program VP – Brenda Hicks, Diane Hutson & Beverly Zwick
Membership VP –Vacant
AAUW Fund VP –Vacant
LAF Chair – Tobi Balma
Secretary – Chris Taxier
Treasurer – Marilyn Forsstrom
Public Policy – Sondra Cohen and Tobi Balma( typist)
Publicity – Edna Ethington
Tech Trek – Celia Spitzer
International Interests – Jackie Shahzadi
Academic Achievement Awards – Carol Marsh
Bulletin/Website – Marilyn Forsstrom
College/Univ Coordinator – Tobi Balma
Hospitality – Vacant
Telephone Tree – Sue Carruthers, Sue Solomon and Joyce Moore
Gourmet – Joan Flax and Gail Ross
Cover to Cover – Thea Siegel
Readers Theater – Penny Brown
Great Decisions – Dorothy Edwards
Su Casa Chair – Joan Autry
Las Comadres Lunch Bunch – Nancy Kawamura and Barbara Dunstan

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

AAUW California’s biennial convention will be April 27-29, 2018 at the Irvine Marriott (18000 Von Karman Avenue in Irvine). The convention theme is “Educated. Reasoned. Active.”, a counterpoint to today’s social media driven hysteria. There has never been a time in which we have been more challenged to advance our mission, nor has there ever been a greater opportunity.

Come celebrate the advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research we do to achieve equity for women and girls! Meet state and national leaders. Attend informative and revitalizing workshops. Hear inspiring and entertaining speakers, including plenary sessions on grassroots advocacy, women peacebuilders, advancing equity for all, and this year’s Speech Trek competition: “How Can We Stand Up to Sexism?” The convention’s grand finale will be a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Tech Trek!Additional details and registration materials are in the winter issue of the California Perspective and on our state website. Register now for reduced registration and hotel rates.

A Statement from your national AAUW Board of Directors

Logo treatment 2018 AAUW National Bylaws Amendment Vote

The AAUW National Board of Directors has voted to put three proposals for bylaws amendments before the membership for a vote this spring. The board strongly supports the proposed amendments that we believe will help keep AAUW vital as an organization and enable us to increase our impact in advancing equity for women and girls.

The proposed amendments address creating three-year staggered board terms, opening board service to those outside of the AAUW membership, and eliminating the degree requirement for membership. While rationale and details for each proposed amendment can be found on the AAUW website, the overarching motivation for these changes at this time is to uphold and advance AAUW’s mission and ensure optimal execution at the national board level.

The first two proposals would bring AAUW’s board governance structure more in line with nationally accepted nonprofit best practices and the needs of the organization. The third proposal — to eliminate the degree requirement for membership — has come before the membership for vote a number of times. The board feels strongly that while the degree requirement made perfect sense at AAUW’s inception, this requirement is now perceived by many as counter to our mission and limits our ability to build the capacity needed to increase our impact as an organization.

The board recognizes that we have not traditionally put proposals up for vote outside our AAUW National Election, but these proposed changes have been under consideration for several years by both the Governance Committee and the board, and we believe it is important to move forward without delay to position the organization for greater growth.

Members can comment on the proposed amendments and submit their own proposals from February 22, 2018, through March 22, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Voting will open on April 25, 2018, and close June 9, 2018, at 9 p.m. ET.

We encourage you all to engage in respectful debate that has always been a hallmark of the AAUW community, exercise your vote, and encourage fellow members to do the same.

Meeting & Program, Brenda, Diane H. and Thea

Thursday, April 19, 2018, 6:30 p.m.
Cerritos Park East

Sexual Harassment & Gender Inequity in the Film Industry

Our speaker will be Sabina Vajrača, an AAUW Career Development Grant recipient who is currently getting her MFA in Film and TV Production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, funded in part our La Palma-Cerritos Branch Research and Projects Grant.  A passionate advocate of women in film, Sabina has received multiple awards for her work.  She will address the much talked about topic of female sexual harassment and pay inequity in the film industry.  She will also talk about stereotyping, lack of opportunities for women behind the camera, and how women in the film industry are held to a different standard.  You can learn more about her at www.sabinavajraca.com

SPECIAL SCREENING OF SABINA’S DOCUMENTARY BACK TO BOSNIA

Members and their guests are invited to Dorothy’s home on Tuesday, April 10th at 2:30 pm to see a special screening of Sabina’s Award Winning 67 minute Documentary:  BACK TO BOSNIA about her family’s return to Bosnia in 2001 to reclaim the property they were forced out of by gun point during the Bosnian War.  While there, the family is confronted with the destruction of their city’s multi-ethnic character and forced to examine the community they left behind.  They witness an exhumation, visit the sites of war crimes, and seek out the remnants of a city that was once their home, as well as confront those that forced them out. RSVP Tobi

AAUW Fund, DorothyGail R 

Dorothy  and Gail would like to thank everyone for attending the Fund Luncheon. Hopefully, you enjoyed it and thank you for your contributions. We raised $845.

 

The La Palma-Cerritos branch of AAUW has created our own memorial fund, called the Alberta Brose Memorial Fund, to go to women who return to school just as she did.  We currently have completed our goal.  Details below:

This is a short time, two year fund with a goal of $5000 for completion by June 30, 2019.
All donations must come through the La Palma-Cerritos branch. Personal and branch contributions may be made.
The branch will get CA State and National recognition for completion.
Final donation will go to AAUW Fund for Career Development Grants for graduate students returning to school after 5+  year absence.

Membership,Dinah and Joan F.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Membership Dues Update<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

The AAUW Board of Directors voted in June 2017 to enact the first dues change in almost a decade. Effective March 16, 2018, national dues will increase from $49 to $59.

Annual dues currently account for 13 percent of AAUW’s annual budget. They help to sustain and grow AAUW’s programs and work that advances equity for women and girls. A combination of dues, donations, and corporate and foundation funding is critical to supporting AAUW’s salary negotiation workshops, groundbreaking researchadvocacy efforts, campus leadership programs, and so much more.

We believe we can do great things together and thank you for your continued support.

Please watch this video from AAUW Board Chair Julia Brown, J.D., and Chief Executive Officer Kim Churches

Hello AAUW breakfast (current and and future) club members

Please join us on:
Wednesday March 28, , 9 AM, Breakfast Club, Huff’s Family Restaurant, NE corner Wardlow and Norwalk

 

Celebrate Graduates with a Free AAUW Membership 

Celebrate the success of a graduate this season with the Give a Grad a Gift campaign. Anyone who has graduated within the past two years is eligible, so don’t forget interns or student teachers you might know. A free one-year membership is a great way to celebrate their accomplishments! Give a Grad a Gift can also be applied to the Younger Women’s Task Force.

 

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

 

Link HERE to the Academic Awards for picture and more information

Please check out the LAF News page for current case updates.  Tobi

Update on TechTrek page, also.