President’s Message
Greetings, AAUW members, during this critical election season! We must continue to advance Gender Equity and Get Out the Vote!
Women’s Equality Day… Never heard of it? It simply meant that all women had won the “right” to vote in 1920 after the long, hard-fought battle to overcome the most massive voter suppression effort ever mounted. Just because we had the right to vote doesn’t mean many of us had access to the vote. Winning the vote for women was not easy, anywhere, at any time. The U.S. campaign for the women’s vote started in 1848; they finally achieved it 72 years later.
More than 100 years after some women gained the right to vote, people in the United States are still not constitutionally guaranteed equality on the basis of sex. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) will update the US Constitution to protect the equality of rights under the law regardless of sex. Equity for women and girls requires continual action.
“I learned to be brave, not perfect.” September proved enlightening and uplifting as our Tech Trekkers shared their personal stories of their science and math camp experience this past summer. The girls were well spoken and well prepared to speak thanks to the rehearsal and preparation by our Tech Trek Chairs, Jane Krause and Rozanne Child, and their hardworking committees. Congratulations to our girls and thanks to our dedicated leaders who made this event happen. Special thanks to Jonae Fedors, Tech Trek Camp Director, Whittier College, who shared her experiences working as an engineer at Lockheed, working on military aircraft.
I would like to call your attention to our Propositions Presentation on Monday, October 21, 2024 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Nancy Mahr will join us from the League of Women Voters and AAUW-CA’s Public Policy Committee. Be sure to join us for this informative meeting.
Also, a special DEI Panel Discussion, a bonus meeting, will take place on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 – location pending. This discussion is following the lead of the newly minted DEI Strategic Plan authored by AAUW-CA. You won’t want to miss this event!
Be sure to mark your calendars for our Holiday Program on December 2, 2024 at 7 p.m. This will be held at FUMC-SG. It’s always a fun event and it will be exciting to see what our Programs Chairs and committee has planned for us. More information with be forthcoming regarding the donations of new books for the La Casa Preschool Library.
The 24-25 Branch Electronic Directory is underway at this time. It will come to you from the persistent, diligent and generous work of Liz Tarnove. Keep in touch with Liz if your contact information changes.
If you are planning a contribution this year, please consider our AAUW Alhambra-San Gabriel Scholarship at East Los Angeles Community College. It’s one way to pay forward the help we’ve all received in our lifetime. Importantly it supports a young woman on that STEM trajectory we so urgently need.
We are looking forward to seeing you at our Propositions Presentation on Monday, October 21st at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom.
Best to you!
Marilee