October 2023
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CO-ADMINISTRATOR’S MESSAGE FROM JOAN P. & GAIL
We were very happy to see so many members at our September meeting. The potluck was delicious as usual. Thank you, Celia for organizing the meeting. Thank you also for the different interest groups reports. We hope all our members can find a group or groups that interest them.
It looks like we may have a new college that will join with us. Cypress College asked for a meeting last week where the counselor wanted to learn about our group. She will let us know if the school will join, if she gets the funds for a school wide membership.
A welcome to our newest member Ferne Michaelson. We hope she will become active in our group.
We look forward to seeing all members and friends on October 19. 6:30 in the Skyline Room at Cerritos Library. The Facilitator again is Celia Spitzer, who came to our aid when we needed a speaker. She has arranged for the new superintendent, Dr. Gina Zietlow of ABCUSD to speak at our meeting.
If you have time to volunteer to help with a group or to start a different interest group let us know. We are always looking for new interest groups for our members.
The next Board meeting will be Thursday, October 5 at 3:00. We request all Chairs and October and November’s program facilitators attend.
Restaurant Fundraiser scheduled for Wednesday October 18th. See AAUW Fund section for details and Flier.
Happy Birthday to the following people:
September: Barbara Atherton, Joan Autry, Sue Carruthers, Harriet Moses, Diana Needham
October: Joan Flax, Cathy Niederman, Mimmy Wolf
Joan and Gail
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Meeting & Program, Celia
Thursday, October 19
Time: Social – 6:30 p.m.
Meeting/Program – 7 p.m.
Place: Cerritos Library Skyline Room
18025 Bloomfield Avenue, Cerritos
Our meeting will feature Dr. Gina Zietlow, the relatively new (since mid-May) superintendent of the ABC Unified School District. Dr. Zietlow will speak about declining enrollment, attendance and graduation rates, student diversity and the progress of Bond Measure BB. She also will answer questions from the audience.
Whether or not you live in the ABC District or have children, grandchildren or other school-age family members in public school in our general area, you should attend the meeting. You will find out how your property taxes are being used for public education and the challenges faced by school districts as ABC is a good representation.
Please note: All our meetings comply with local rules and the accepted health guidance of Los Angeles and Orange counties for in-person meetings. Board and general meetings are in-person with due respect to members who do not wish to attend in-person. Those members may choose to easily attend and participate in meetings by connecting via phone to another member in attendance and have been doing so successfully.
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.
READER’S THEATER, Esther
Reader’s Theater will meet as usual on the first Monday of the month—October 2nd. We will be meeting at the home of Celia Spitzer (12707 Alchester St., Cerritos) at 6:45 pm for “catch up” and begin reading at 7:00 pm. Our play will be SCHOOL FOR WIVES by Moliere. A 17th century comedy.
If you are interested in joining us, please contact Esther Aronson (562-425-8141). Please RSVP by Friday September 29th as character parts are divided by the number of committed participants.
We welcome new thespians.
We are looking forward to taking care of services for current membership. In order to increase membership for our branch, we request all members to bring one friend to our meetings. Please welcome our new member at the meeting. Thank you.
AAUW Fund, Tobi
New Fundraiser scheduled at Lucille’s BBQ
in Long Beach Town Center
Wednesday October 18th
Hours = All day
Flier link HERE
Mooneen Lecce Giving Circle Special Projects Fund (#4229)
Courtesy of Linda Westman, Co-Fund VP Long Beach and Tobi Balma
The Mooneen Lecce Giving Circle (MLGC) honors the memory of longtime AAUW member, Mooneen Lecce who believed deeply in volunteerism and charitable giving. Members of this Circle of philanthropists support strategic, innovative gender equity projects where their gifts will have the greatest impact. It strives to contribute to projects that the current AAUW budget cannot fund.
One project is focused on the question: why so few women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics? To find answers and develop strategies to change this situation, AAUW issued a report that examines the reasons why there are relatively few women in STEM professions funded by the Mooneen Lecce Giving Circle as well as the Eleanor Roosevelt Fund.
The report, Why So Few?: Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics looks at research findings that point to eight environmental and social factors — including stereotypes, gender bias, and the culture of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities — that serve as barriers to women’s participation and progress in STEM professions. The report also contains statistics on girls’ and women’s achievement and participation in STEM areas as well as suggestions for how to make the fields more open
to all individuals. With this knowledge and understanding of the barriers, AAUW with the support of the Mooneen Lecce Fund can develop and implement programs to bring greater equity and representation of women and girls in STEM education and professions.
The MLGC has also been critical in contributing to numerous AAUW research initiatives; including women facing discrimination, AAUW’s Work Smart Online Initiative, “Limiting our Livelihoods” dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace, “The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap,” and the 2020 Get Out the Vote Campaign.
Interested? Please speak with Tobi who is a Giving Circle member. And check out this Video and this link.
Public Policy, Sondra
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By Missy Maceyko, Co-Chair, AAUW California Public Policy Committee
After a year of wild weather in California, many of us may be thinking more about climate, environment, and sustainability. How does our concern with the weather relate to AAUW California’s Public Policy Priorities? Advancing gender equity is directly related to environmental sustainability. The inverse is also true.
The United Nations sustainable development goals, adopted in 2015, seek to push all countries to act to protect the planet, ensure widespread prosperity, and promote peace. Achieving gender equality, goal number five, is a crucial element in this overall strategy.
We know that having greater gender diversity in leadership improves organizations. One of AAUW California’s public policy focus areas is increasing women in leadership positions. However, advancing this goal can also have positive climate impacts. The UN has found that having greater gender diversity in climate discussions leads to improved outcomes on climate-focused policies and projects. This is just one case in which we can see how sustainable development goal 5, promoting greater gender equality, alongside advancing AAUW California’s public policy priorities, can be important for achieving sustainable development goal 13, creating more impactful climate action.
Data also shows us that (un)sustainable production and consumption patterns, which harm the environment, tend to be gendered, with “green” choices being widely feminized. While this is a global trend, we see this in popular portrayals of more planet-friendly consumption choices in the United States, as well, such as veganism, which tends to be marked as more “feminine” and less “masculine.” This example shows us that sustainable development goal 5, promoting greater gender equality, alongside AAUW California’s overall public policy mission of advancing equity for women and girls, is also important for achieving sustainable development goal 12, which focuses on creating more planet- friendly and responsible production and consumption patterns.
Advancing gender equity is directly related to environmental sustainability, and vice versa. In advancing AAUW California’s public policy goals, and expanding the rights of all women and girls, we can help create the conditions for greater justice and inclusion, economic parity, and environmental viability, all at the same time.