AAUW NEWS OF NOTE

President: Sheila Doherty (781) 848-8122

Membership VPs:Patricia McKay (781) 337-3375 and Patricia Laidler (781) 878-6242

Program VPs:Diane Morash (781) 749-749-8756 and Jane Moore (781) 659-9443

Mission Statement: AAUW advances equity for all women and girls through advocacy, education, and research.

Vision Statement: AAUW will be a powerful advocate and visible leader in equity and education through research, philanthropy, and measurable change in critical areas impacting the lives of women and girls.

HINGHAM AREA BRANCH APRIL 2009

CALENDAR

Tuesday          April 6      Writers Group 9:00 AM

Brewed Awakenings, Hingham

Thursday         April 9      DeClutter Bugs   4:30 PM

Panerra Bread, Derby Shops

Tuesday          April 14     Branch Meeting   7:00 PM

"Empowering Women Through Life Crises"

Hingham Public Library 

Thursday         April 16     Girls Game night   7:00 PM

Home of Hollie Bagley

Wednesday     April 22      Adventures in Dining   6:30 PM

ORTA, Route 53, Hanover

RSVP Hollie Bagley

Thursday        April 30      Writers Group  7:30 PM

 Brewed Awakenings, Hingham

Sunday          May 3         Book Group 

Trip to Concord, MA

Tuesday         May 12       Annual Dinner 6:30 PM

Joe's American Bar & Grill

Route 53, Hanover

RSVP Lynn Howard

BRANCH MEETING

The Branch meeting will be at the Hingham Library on Tuesday, April 14, at 7 PM. The topic will be “Empowering Women Through Life Crises.”
Since we women will probably live well into our 90's, we will experience many life crises from death of loved ones, to illness and loss.  Come to this interactive program and learn how to empower yourself and others through some of life's difficult times.

Please call or email me with comments, questions, or concerns.  I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.  Refreshments will be served. Lynne O’Brien

 NOMINATIONS

The Nominations Committee is pleased to present the following outstanding candidates for office:

President: Sheila Doherty
Vice President, Program: Carol Sullivan-Hanley
Treasurer: Sandra Carle
Recording Secretary: Lynn Howard

This slate of nominees for the 2009-2011 biennium will be presented for ballot at the April Branch meeting. Installation of branch officers will occur at the May banquet.

Thank you everyone who participated in this process. I'm very grateful for your invaluable contributions.

Sincerely,
Kay Campbell, Nominating Chair

BUDGET

The proposed budget for the 2009-2010 year will be voted on at the Annual Meeting in April.

If there are any questions they can be addressed at that time. Ginny Giordano

Dues Unchanged for next year

Our annual dues of $75 will not be increasing for 2009-2010. Watch for the next News of Note for a dues reminder and form. You can renew your membership at the May Banquet.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

March was "Women's History Month".  AAUW is celebrating two of the women who have made history and are continuing to make history: Dr. Joyce Brothers and Dr. Nell Painter.   More information can be found at The Celebrate AAUW Women Making History page at aauw.org/womenshistory.  

In Hingham in March our theme was Greening Your Home and Environment.  We had two guest speakers, Jon Belber of Holly Hill farm and Debbie Cook from the North and South Rivers Watershed Association.  Holly Hill Farm is a dedicated organic farm noted for its quality products.  Their outreach programs involve local school children in the area.  Debbie spoke to us about greening and preserving our own landscapes and the conservation of water.  We were pleased to have the Hanover Garden Club and Sustainable Hanover join us for this very important and informative meeting.  Another environmental program also highlighted last month was the documentary "Flow" shown at the Hingham Public Library. This movie investigates what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st century “The Water Crisis.”

Just a reminder that the state meeting is being held on May 9th in Marlboro.  More information will be found in the Bay Stater.  Also the National AAUW Convention will be held in St. Louis, June 26-28.  We hope our branch will be well represented at both events.   There are many of us who have already registered for both events.  We hope you will join us.             

Sheila Doherty

ADVENTURES IN DINING

The AAUW adventures in dining group will be eating at ORTA, 75 Washington St, Pembroke, on Wednesday, April 22 at 6:30 PM. RSVP to Hollie Bagley. 

Sharon Lemoff

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Eloise Gallagher, mother of Patricia Bologna, AAUW-MA Past President and member of the Hingham Area branch.  In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in her name to the Dinand Library, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, MA 01610.

PUBLIC POLICY

President Obama Speaks on Education: President Obama laid out his strategy for the future of the American education system in an address to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Among the highlights of his strategy were formulating a viable plan to raise the quality of education for pre-K programs, promising to support effective states with an Early Learning Challenge Grant; creating more globally competitive curriculum standards; preparing and rewarding great teachers; increasing the number of charter schools; and making access to higher education a reality for all Americans.

President Obama pledged to work with lawmakers later this year on the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act. President Obama further pledged to make higher education more accessible by simplifying federal financial aid forms, increasing Pell grants, and making permanent the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

Middle Class Task Force to Meet: the Obama administration announced that the White House Middle Class Task Force will meet for its second hearing. Later, the Task Force will head to Minnesota to discuss the economic recovery package that was signed into law. The town hall meeting is titled: Road to Recovery: Building a Strong Middle Class Starting with the Recovery Act. The Task Force first met in February to discuss green jobs, and featured expert panelists and presentations. This second Task Force meeting will focus on the questions, concerns, and ideas submitted by the public. Citizens will have an opportunity to ask questions both at the town hall and through the task force website.

A Global Majority Supports Women's Equality: A global poll conducted by World Public Opinion found 86 percent of respondents agreed women's equality is somewhat or very important. Also, 72 percent of respondents believed women have gained more equality in their lifetime, with 66 percent believing the United Nations should be making greater efforts to improve women's rights abroad. Recently updated, the poll was first released in 2008, they year of the 60th anniversary of the U.N. General Assembly adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human rights.

Women in Sports Highlighted in Soccer, Legislation: The newly minted Women's Professional Soccer League is poised to begin its first season. The league consists of seven teams whose members all hope to raise awareness of women's soccer in America. There has been no professional outlet for women's soccer in the US since 2003, when the Women's United Soccer Association dissolved. The women of this new league hope to continue on in the trajectory set by the Olympic gold medal the US women's soccer team collected last summer in the Beijing Olympics.

This expansion of women in professional sports comes at a time when Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Patty Murray (D-WA) are working hard to ensure equal play in high school athletics. The two introduced the High School Sports Information Collection Act (S. 471) to the Senate in late February. The act would increase transparency of the gender ratios on high school sports teams by requiring schools to report those statistics. Currently, high schools do not have such a requirement, which makes monitoring compliance with Title IX regulations challenging. Despite growing numbers of female athletes, the gender divide in athletic opportunities has broadened from 1.13 million seven years ago to over 1.3 million today. While females comprise half of the high school student bodies, they receive only 41 percent of sports opportunities; in fact, there isn't a single state that provides athletic opportunities to females in proportion to their enrollment ratios.

Home State Senators to Weigh In on Judicial Nominations: Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated recently that he will continue the committee's practice of allowing "blue slips" for judicial nominations. The blue slip is a long-standing Senate tradition whereby home-state senators have the ability to stop a court of appeals nominee from moving through the confirmation process. Senate Republicans ended the practice during the 108th Congress, but it was reinstituted under Senator Leahy's chairmanship. Leahy also stated that such 'holds' will not be anonymous but subject to public scrutiny. President Obama will likely submit his first slate of judicial nominations this spring.

Justice Ginsburg: Staying on the Bench for Now: Shortly after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer, she announced plans to remain on the Supreme Court for years to come, USA Today reported. The only female justice on the Court made sure to attend President Obama's recent televised speech to a joint session of Congress.

Since joining the Supreme Court in 1993, Justice Ginsburg has been a strong voice on the Court for women's issues. She was awarded an "AAUW Achievement Award" in 1999 for such efforts as a Supreme Court Justice, founder of the women's rights project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and the first tenured woman faculty member at Columbia University. More recently, AAUW commended Justice Ginsburg for reading her dissenting opinion on the 2007 Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company case from the bench. She criticized the majority for their opinions undermining women's rights.

Obama Administration Proposes Rescinding Harmful Bush Health and Human Services Regulations: President Obama's administration has proposed a rule to rescind the harmful HHS regulations that former President Bush enacted just before leaving office. The Bush regulations that went into effect on 20 January 2009, severely limit women's access to basic reproductive health and family planning services, including some of the most common forms of birth control. Not only does this damaging regulation limit tangible care, but also allows individuals to withhold information about reproductive care, services, and alternative facilities available to women.

President Obama signs Omnibus Appropriations Bill: Following the Senate's approval by voice vote, President Obama signed the $410 billion Omnibus Appropriations Act (H.R. 1105). The law, which provides the necessary funding for most of the non-defense or military federal departments for FY09, increases spending by approximately 8 percent over FYO8 spending levels. For some departments, such as Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, this bill would provide greater funding than has been seen in the past.

Senate Rejects Extending DC School Voucher Program: The Senate rejected (39-58) an amendment offered by Senator John Ensign (R-NV) to the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act (HR 1105) that would have extended Washington, D.C.'s school voucher program. The program, which began as a five-year pilot program and is the only voucher program in the country that receives federal funding, is set to expire following the 2009-10 school year.

The Department of Education plans to release a study this spring that will provide a comple look at the performance of students using the D.C. vouchers. The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report in November 2007 highlighting the shortcomings of the program. A 2001 GAO report confirming official evaluations of Cleveland's and Milwaukee's voucher programs found no differences in the achievement of voucher students compared to public school students, despite built-in applicant screening advantages for private schools.

Affordable Birth Control Fix Becomes Law: AAUW applauds legislative action that will give millions of American women affordable access to birth control once more. The no-cost, technical fix to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that will again allow safety-net providers and college health centers to buy contraception at nominal prices to ensure university students and low-income women once again have access to affordable birth control. It does not cost the federal government a dime - but it is invaluable to women. Since the unintentional roadblock set up by the DRA, the cost of birth control has risen by as much as 10 times.

Rate of Job Losses Reaches Twenty-five Year High: the Department of Labor announced that the American economy shed 651,000 jobs in February 2009, and the nation's unemployment rate rose from 7.6 percent to 8.1 percent - the highest rate of unemployment in the past 25 years. In addition, job losses for December 2008 and January 2009 were revised upwards - to 681,000 from 577,000 and to 655,000 from 598,000, respectively. The recession, which has now entered its 15th month, has been responsible for the loss of 4.4 million jobs since December 2007.

The unemployment numbers are particularly high for those who have not achieved levels of higher education, which illustrates the importance of initiatives aimed at reducing the cost of college. The jobless rate for those with at least a bachelor's degree is nearly half the national unemployment figure - 4.1 percent. However, it jumps to 8.1 percent for those with only a high school diploma, and surges to 12.6 percent for those who have not graduated from high school. AAUW will continue to stress the need for increased Pell grants, tax credits, and other initiatives that will make higher education more accessible.

White House Holds Health Care Forum: following the previous Fiscal Responsibility Summit, the Forum on Health reform brought together a wide range of lawmakers, policy experts, and advocates. In various breakout and plenary sessions, the participants came together to jump-start efforts on fundamental health care reform. In his budget blueprint released last week, President Obama proposed a 10-year, $634 billion "reserve fund" that would go toward health care reform, and he has called on Congress to pass legislation toward that end this year. The event was blogged-live on the White House website.

The White House announced that in a follow-up to the forum, a series of regional health forums would be held around the country starting in March. Five states - California, Iowa, Vermont, Michigan, and North Carolina - will host similar forums in March and April. Each regional forum will be led by that state's respective governor, and will provide opportunities for Americans across the country to participate in the national dialogue. The White House has created a website for the health care reform initiative at healthreform.gov.

First Lady Marks Women's History Month: First Lady Michelle Obama commemorated women's history month by acknowledging the committed service of women in the military at the Arlington Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The Washington Post reported on her speech in which she praised the dedication and sacrifice of past and present servicewomen. Keeping with her commitment to military families, Obama remarked that, "Throughout our nation's history, women have played an important role in the military as well as in organizations supporting the military during times of conflict...servicewomen have long navigated the twists and turns of the women's rights struggle to secure a more equal and fuller place in the United States military."

President to Lift Restrictions on Stem Cell Research: Obama administration announced that it will be lifting federal restrictions currently in place on embryonic stem cell research. This action, which fulfills a campaign pledge by the president, will take place during a White House ceremony and be done via executive order. The wording of the executive order has not yet been released, but is expected to overturn the restrictions put in place by the previous administration. In 2001, President George W. Bush limited federal funding of embryonic stem cell research to a small number of cell lines that were already in existence, and prohibited federal research funding on any new lines that might be developed.

White House Holds Fiscal Responsibility Summit: President Obama hosted cabinet members, lawmakers, and advocates at the White House's Fiscal Responsibility Summit, during which he pledged to cut the nation's deficit - currently $1.3 trillion - in half by the end of his first term. The goal of the summit was to explore ways in which that goal could be accomplished, including promoting efficiency, streamlining the budget, rooting out waste/fraud/abuse in government programs, and eliminating funding for programs that are no longer needed. The attendees were broken into working groups to discuss such topics as health care, Social Security, and the federal budget process. In a time when government expenditures are being called on to dig the nation from out of its financial hole, the White House stressed that paying down the deficit was an equally important aim.

White House Middle Class Task Force Meets: The White House Middle Class Task Force met for a hearing, which was held in Philadelphia, focused on green jobs. In attendance were several members of the President's cabinet, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, city officials, and green job advocates. According to the live blog from the meeting, newly-confirmed Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis made a point to mention gender as it relates to green jobs, where women are traditionally underrepresented. Lisa Maatz, AAUW director of public policy and government relations, was present at the White House when the task force was announced. Earlier this month, AAUW sent a letter to the task force, requesting that their March hearing focus on the unique challenges facing working women and their families, with a specific focus on how achieving work/life balance is crucial to both economic well-being and family responsibilities.

President Releases FY10 Budget Blueprint: President Obama released his budget blueprint for FY10, which begins on October 1, 2009. The blueprint, which presents an overview of the administration's budget goals and priorities - a more detailed, line-by-line budget will be released later this year - followed President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress delivered on Tuesday.

Overall, President Obama's budget will propose $3.6 trillion in spending for FY10. The deficit at the end of 2009 is projected to be $1.75 trillion, just over 12 percent of GDP. As he did during Monday's fiscal responsibility summit and during his address to Congress on Tuesday, President Obama once again reiterated his goal to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term in office - specifically, to $533 million by 2013, which would represent three percent of GDP.

The budget blueprint outlined several priorities for which AAUW has advocated. In education, the budget will propose that Pell Grant funding be made mandatory to ensure a regular funding stream, and that the maximum awards be increased and indexed to the Consumer Price Index, plus 1 percent, in order to address inflation. Moreover, the budget will propose to strengthen early childhood education programs, with the aim of doubling the number of children in Early Head Start. Working women and their families stand to benefit from proposed funding increases to workforce training programs and to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance, which enforces equal employment opportunities. The budget blueprint also proposes funding for sex education programs and global family planning initiatives that focus on maternal and child health. AAUW will monitor the proposals for these and other key programs when the full budget is released in the spring.

Pay Discrimination Follows Women into Retirement: A recent Women's eNews article highlights how past wage inequities suffered by Lilly Ledbetter, a national leader in the fight for pay equity and the namesake for the first bill President Obama signed into law, continue to follow her into retirement. The gender-biased pay discrimination that Ledbetter suffered while in the workforce translated to a smaller 401k retirement contribution, which limits what she now receives in her retirement pension. Ledbetter is not the only retired woman who suffers financial difficulties due to former wage inequalities; in fact, the poverty rate among elderly women is approximately an astonishing 75 percent higher than for elderly men, leaving older women much more vulnerable to poverty in their retirement.

Job Discrimination Cases Have Tough Go in Court: According to a study, employees who bring discrimination claims against their employers lose their cases at a higher rate and receive less time in federal court than other types of plaintiffs. The study, to be published in Harvard Law and Policy Review, shows that federal plaintiffs won a mere 15 percent of job discrimination cases from 1979-2006; in all other criminal cases, the win rate for plaintiffs was 51 percent. In addition, the number of job discrimination claims filed in federal court fell by 40 percent from 1999-2007. This follows on a report issued last year by the Federal Judicial Center which found that 12.5 percent of employment-discrimination cases were terminated at the summary judgment phase, before any trial could take place. By contrast, the percentages were much lower for other types of civil suits. According to one plaintiffs' attorney quoted in a Wall Street Journal article about these troubling trends, "We will no longer take individual employment-discrimination cases, because there's such a high likelihood of losing."

AAUW Members Receive Praise via Twitter: Representative Joe Sestak (D-PA), using his Twitter account on Feb. 3, informed the Twitter world that he met with AAUW members in Pennsylvania and received "tremendous insight." AAUW values the participation and activism of its branches and members as crucial in moving AAUW's agenda forward. You can also keep up with what is happening at AAUW by following on us on Twitter.

AAUW Applauds White House Council on Women and Girls: President Obama signed an executive order formally establishing the White House Council on Women and Girls. In a signing ceremony in the East Room, which was attended by AAUW's Executive Director Linda Hallman, the President spoke before leaders of his Cabinet, executive branch agencies, and leaders of women's rights groups. The Council's mission will be grounded in legislation, policies, and research, but its over-arching goal will be inspirational: "to ensure that our daughters and granddaughters have no limits on their dreams, no obstacles to their achievements -- and that they have opportunities their mothers and grandmothers and great grandmothers never dreamed of."

The creation of such a council was an idea long-championed by AAUW. In December, AAUW spearheaded a letter to the Obama transition team requesting that the new administration restore and strengthen all offices that in past administrations have played a fundamental role in protecting and advancing women's issues and opportunities. The creation of the Council is the first step in reestablishing critical women's programs in the executive branch. The Council will be chaired by Valerie Jarrett, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor, and will include as members cabinet-level federal agencies. The Executive Director of the Council will be Tina Tchen, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Liaison at the White House. AAUW was a participant on the Council's kick-off conference call, which was led by Ms. Jarrett and Ms. Tchen.

As stated in the executive order, the Council will "work across executive departments and agencies to provide a coordinated Federal response to issues that have a distinct impact on the lives of women and girls, including assisting women-owned businesses to compete internationally and working to increase the participation of women in the science, engineering, and technology workforce, and to ensure that Federal programs and policies adequately take those impacts into account." It will meet regularly, make policy and legislative recommendations to the President, and conduct outreach to outside organizations, all of which will be focused on improving the lives and livelihoods of women and girls. Moreover, within the next five months, the Council must develop and submit to the President an interagency plan with recommendations for interagency action.