women and retirement

the magazine of
fall 2011 vol 105 | no 3
women and
retirement
what’s your plan?
the magazine of
Fall 2011
vol 105 | no 3
Carolyn H. Garfein
President, AAUW
Linda D. Hallman, CAE
Executive Director
Jill Birdwhistell, PhD
Chief of Strategic Advancement
Cynthia Miller
Chief of Marketing & Communications
Rebecca Lanning
Director of Publications
Elizabeth Bolton
AAUW Managing Editor
Mukti Desai
Art Director
Hannah Moulton Belec
Outlook Editor
Allison VanKanegan
Designer
Kemmell Watson
Advertising Representative
Breaking through barriers
AAUW advances equity for women and girls
through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and
research. AAUW, founded in 1881, is open to all
graduates who hold an associate or higher degree
from a regionally accredited college or university.
In principle and in practice, AAUW values and
seeks a diverse membership. There shall be no
barriers to full participation in this organization
on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual
orientation, national origin, disability, or class.
This publication is available in alternative
formats for those with visual impairments.
AAUW Outlook (ISSN 1044-5706) is published
by AAUW and distributed free of charge to
all AAUW members. For information or to join
AAUW, call 800/326-AAUW (2289) or e-mail
[email protected].
Editorial offices: AAUW Publications Office,
1111 Sixteenth St. NW, Washington, DC 20036,
[email protected], 202/785-7700, fax 202/463-7169.
what you’re saying
Convention Kudos
Thank you to all the staff and
volunteers for all your hard
work in putting together
convention 2011! Congratulations for pulling it off! We had
a great time and learned much
valuable information. Looking
forward to New Orleans in two
years.
Carol Davis McDonald
Treasurer, AAUW of Missouri and AAUW St. Louis (MO)
Branch, AAUW Kirkwood-Webster Groves (MO) Branch,
and AAUW Metropolitan St. Louis Interbranch Council
Another Great Conference
The NCCWSL [National Conference for College Women
Student Leaders] 2011 was
truly a once in a lifetime
experience for me. I left feeling encouraged, motivated,
inspired, passionate, capable,
and empowered to make a
difference.
on the
the cover
cover
on
Marilyn Tedeschi
AAUW Greater Rochester Area (NY) Branch President
AAUW of New York 2012 State Convention Director
Marilyn Tedeschi was one
of more than 800 AAUW
members who gathered at
the 2011 national convention
last summer in Washington,
D.C. Teal-clad members even
took over Capitol Hill while
they were in town to advocate for, among other things,
protecting Social Security and
building a women’s history
museum. We’ve expanded on
these issues in the pages that
follow. We hope that these
stories will inspire you to keep
the spirit of advocacy alive
until we meet again. Remember to save the date to join
us next time in New Orleans,
June 9–12, 2013!
Melissa Burkenbine
NCCWSL attendee, University of Colorado,
Colorado Springs
Advertising: AAUW Outlook Advertising Office,
same address, [email protected], 202/785-7742.
Address changes: AAUW Member Records, same
address, [email protected], 800/326-AAUW.
Copyright 2011 AAUW. All rights reserved.
AAUW Outlook is available on microfilm from
NA Publishing, Ann Arbor, MI 48106;
www.napubco.com. Printed in the U.S.A.
Cover photo by Stacey Vaeth
Back cover: AAUW’s Virginia Avenue building
in Washington, D.C., served as the national
headquarters for three decades.
We welcome your comments. Send letters to
[email protected] or AAUW
Outlook, 1111 Sixteenth St.
NW, Washington, DC 20036.
Letters may be edited for
brevity and style.
look for this!
Look for this symbol, and
find out more by following
the links to additional online
information and resources.
017-12 9/11
Breaking through barriers
Features
8
1
2
Retire—Who Me?
Women over 65 are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce
by rate of increase. Find out why so many retirement-age women are
choosing the office over the beach condo. By Elizabeth F. Fideler
When You Can’t Afford
Retirement
While some women opt to stay in the workforce into their golden
years, for others, it’s not a choice. They simply can’t afford to lose
the income. By Beth Pearsall
departments
16 Finding a Home for
Women’s History
3 From the Executive Director
The only thing that stands in the way of breaking ground on the
National Women’s History Museum is Congress. Find out why the
effort is stalled and what you can do. By Sara Kaplaniak
5 President’s Message
6 Look at Equity Issues
22 Look at Membership
24 Look at AAUW News
26 Look at Our Alumnae
28 Look at the Web
2
0
A Legacy of Women’s Research
This year, AAUW rediscovered an original copy of our first research
report from 1885. It addressed a sinister question: Is education
harmful to women’s health? By Hannah Moulton Belec
1
AAUW Travel Partners
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from the executive director
Our History Sparks Our Future
On June 16, the AAUW national offices were abuzz. More than 100
members made their way through the building that bears our name
in downtown Washington, D.C. But they weren’t just on a tour of
the headquarters of their national organization. They came to see
AAUW’s 130-year history through our precious artifacts.
We are ensuring
that future
generations can
enjoy AAUW’s
history.
I value AAUW’s history and am committed to preserving our heritage.
Since the formation of the member-led
Archives Task Force in 2009, we’ve
prioritized restoring and preserving our
treasures. Because of the work we’re
doing now, we are ensuring that future
generations can enjoy our fascinating history as much as those of you
who came to the national convention
in Washington, D.C., in June. During
their tour, visitors saw things like the
beautiful oak trunk that was passed
from president to president until 1919,
an original Georgia O’Keeffe drawing,
and photos of members protesting for
women’s suffrage. In our archives, we
have many fascinating letters, including
thank-you notes from Albert Einstein
and Marie Curie.
We’ve been delighted with the pace
of progress on these efforts. We were
thrilled when our projects administrator Thérèse Lowe rediscovered an
original copy of our very first research
report from 1885 (see the story on page
20). We are especially proud that the
Archives Task Force secured a grant
from the National Endowment for the
Humanities that helped us develop
a strategic preservation plan for the
future. Archivist Suzanne Gould has
joined the staff to guide this effort, and
she has also worked with the Archives
Task Force to come up with guidelines
for branches so that you can preserve
your branch and state history.
AAUW members have always felt
that it is important to recognize and
maintain our history, so it is our deep
hope that we will see our treasures in
a permanent home someday at the
National Women’s History Museum in
Washington, D.C. We have long advocated for Congress to allocate the land
for purchase to get this museum built,
and we’re almost there (see the story on
page 16).
I hope you’re as proud of our history as I am, and you can rest assured
that I will preserve the artifacts of
AAUW’s legacy. That said, documents
and photographs are merely artifacts
of interaction. It’s the face-to-face
encounters and the people-to-people
connections that feed the flame for
tomorrow’s AAUW. Let’s see how far
we can go in another 130 years.
Linda D. Hallman, CAE
AAUW Executive Director
www.aauw.org fall 2011
aauw | outlook
3
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President’s Message
Getting Down to Business
2011 has been a year of highlights for AAUW, not the least of which
was the inauguration of our very successful One Member, One Vote
process. Thank you for your enthusiastic participation! We are pleased
to welcome the outstanding new board members you elected, several
of whom are serving at the national level for the first time.
The new board
is excited to work
on the issues that
matter to you.
The new AAUW Board of Directors
and I are excited to take on the issues
that are important to you as an AAUW
community. Many new ideas and
strategies were introduced at the 2011
AAUW National Convention in June,
when more than 800 of us gathered
in Washington, D.C. Attendees were
overwhelmingly enthusiastic about
the convention’s programs and events
and were especially excited to join
AAUW’s Lobby Corps on Capitol Hill.
When the Big Teal Machine descended
on Congress that day, they reminded
our representatives and senators that
AAUW members are dedicated voters
who expect our government to support issues that matter to us and other
women and their families—issues like
Social Security, workplace discrimination, and jobs!
Given the slow economic recovery and the fact that politicians are
scapegoating crucial retirement and
health programs for our financial woes,
AAUW is deeply concerned about
women’s economic options as they
approach retirement. In this issue of
Outlook, you’ll read two different takes
on women and retirement. On page
eight, you’ll find a story about women
who love their jobs and don’t see a
reason to retire at the traditional age.
Keep reading to see another side of the
coin on page 12, the bleak truth about
why many women simply can’t afford to
retire, even though they would like to
do so.
I hope that after reading more
about these issues, you’ll be inspired to
take action where it’s needed, especially
on protecting Social Security. Remember, our power is in our numbers and
in our grassroots and national activism.
So, I am calling on all AAUW members
to get out in front of these issues now
and throughout the year. Let us know
what you are doing to change women’s
lives for the better.
Carolyn H. Garfein
AAUW President
www.aauw.org fall 2011
aauw | outlook
5
look at Equity Issues
Supreme Court Rules
against Workers in
Wal-Mart Case
Betty Dukes
says, “I believe
the truth will
come out.”
aauwaction.org
Find out about AAUW’s new My
Vote campaign to help get out the
vote in 2012.
In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court handed
down a 5-4 decision that the plaintiffs in WalMart v. Dukes could not proceed with their
sex discrimination case as a class, leaving
each woman to file her claim individually or
in smaller, reformulated class-action groups.
The ruling makes it harder for the plaintiffs
to continue with their claims and sets a
precedent that might restrict the ability of
workers to fight discrimination together in
future cases.
But the fight isn’t over yet. After the
decision was announced, lead plaintiff Betty
Dukes said, “We will fight on [and] we will
persevere, even though we did not get the
ruling we hoped for. We are still determined
to move forward. … I believe the truth will
come out on the merits of this case, and then
we can go forward.” Dukes also testified at
a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing a few
days later, inspiring Sen. Patrick Leahy (DVT) to give an impassioned rebuke of the
Supreme Court’s decision. The AAUW Legal
Advocacy Fund signed an amicus brief and
provided financial support to the case so
that Dukes, Edith Arana, and other named
plaintiffs could attend oral arguments at the
Supreme Court in March.
Companies Charge
for Free Social
Security Services
The Federal Trade Commission has released an alert
warning consumers about
online companies that are
charging people as much
as $44 to fill out common
Social Security forms that
the companies claim are
confusing, complicated, and
time consuming when, in
fact, the forms are easy to
use and available at www.ssa.
gov/ssnumber. In a letter to
the FTC, Sen. Sherrod Brown
(D-OH) said that Americans
need to know that filing for
new or replacement Social
Security cards is simple
and straightforward. “These
Internet companies may not
be breaking any laws, but they
are profiting from consumer
misinformation and confusion,” he said.
Seniors Save with
Health Care Reform
In August, the U.S. Health and
Human Services Department
reported that seniors have
saved more than $460 million
on prescription drugs due to
the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act. As part
of the health care reform law,
the pharmaceutical industry
agreed to offer brand-name
prescription drugs that were
not previously covered by
Medicare Part D at a 50 percent discount. These savings,
coupled with savings from preventive health care measures,
resulted in a decrease in cost
to seniors. Approximately 17
million seniors have received
at least one preventive health
care service without copay
since the law’s passage.
Get involved in AAUW’s get-out-the-vote initiative, My Vote, by spreading
the word through your social networks. Blog or share the message on
Facebook or Twitter, download Twibbons (images for your profile that
appear alongside your tweets), or watch our public service announcement on YouTube.
6
aauw | outlook
www.aauw.org fall 2011
AAUW Gears Up for 2012
My Vote Campaign
Plans are well under way for My Vote,
the AAUW Action Fund’s ambitious
new voter education and get-out-thevote initiative for the 2012 election.
Fifteen target states are currently
organizing voter education programming, registering voters, and planning
direct outreach for next fall. My Vote
efforts will especially focus on millennial
women—those who were born in the
1980s or later—because their generation has the most potential for increasing women’s turnout at the polls. This
August, My Vote joined the HERvotes
coalition, a partnership of women’s
rights organizations that is working to
rally voters around preserving women’s
health and economic rights (HER) in
the 2012 election. Find out how you can
spread the word through social media at
blog-aauw.org/hervotes, and stay tuned
for much more information about the
My Vote campaign at aauwaction.org
and in upcoming issues of Outlook.
AAUW and other organizations protested after the Supreme Court announced its Wal-Mart decision.
photo by allison vankanegan
to decide if there was sufficient notice
of discrimination. The case itself finally
went to trial on the merits of the claims
in May 2011 in Sacramento, California.
Victory in Mansourian Title IX Case Several AAUW members attended to
show support for the plaintiffs, including representatives from AAUW of CaliEight years after the plaintiffs filed suit,
a U. S. District Court in California found fornia, the AAUW Chico (CA) Branch,
and the AAUW Stockton (CA) Branch.
that the University of California, Davis,
The Legal Advocacy Fund provided
violated Title IX in the AAUW Legal
financial support and signed an amicus
Advocacy Fund-supported case Mansourian v. Regents of the University of California. brief on behalf of the plaintiffs.
The four female plaintiffs were members
Paid Sick Days Mandatory in Seattle
of the varsity wrestling team at UC
Davis when the school cut all female
In September, Seattle became the third
wrestlers from the competitive roster.
U.S. city—after San Francisco and
Their case went through several courts
Washington, D.C.—to require paid sick
leave for employees. The state of Connecticut also requires paid sick leave.
The amount of leave Seattle workers will
receive depends on the size of the company, but they will accrue between five
and nine days of leave annually to care
for themselves or an ill family member.
Companies that are in their first two
years of business or employ fewer than
five people are exempt. Similar measures
are being considered elsewhere: The
Philadelphia City Council is currently
considering a requirement, and mandatory paid sick days will be on the ballot
in Denver this November.
Pay equity advocate Lilly Ledbetter was on hand at the AAUW National
Convention this summer to lobby with AAUW members on Capitol Hill
and to commemorate the Lilly Ledbetter Public Policy Impact Grant Fund.
www.aauw.org fall 2011
aauw | outlook
7
Retire—Who Me?
By Elizabeth F. Fideler
8
aauw | outlook
Amid the doom and gloom associated with the recession,
extended unemployment, business failures, home foreclosures, and other economic setbacks, there is one unusual
statistic: Many older professional women are still on the job.
In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
the fastest-growing cohort in the paid workforce by rate of
increase is women ages 65 and older.
www.aauw.org fall 2011
In all parts of the country, many
retirement-age women are still working full time, particularly in education,
business, the arts, social services, and
government. Educated, experienced
older women are an ever-expanding
presence in the workforce today and
will be for years to come as baby boomers crowd the senior ranks. Not only
are older women working well beyond
the conventional retirement age, but
many also plan to continue to do so as
long as they remain in good health and
enjoy what they are doing.
Of course, the composition of the
modern-day American workforce is
helping to drive this new phenomenon.
Women in all age groups now make
up more than 50 percent of American
workers; many are their family’s primary breadwinner. And the number
of seniors is expanding faster than the
rest of the population: About one in
eight Americans is age 65 or older; in
20 years the ratio will be close to one
in five.1 While both men and women
enjoy longer lives, better health, and
more active lifestyles overall, the life
expectancy for women continues to
surpass that for men, and these older
women are participating in the labor
market in unprecedented numbers.2
But why would an older professional woman delay retirement? Typical
reasons include the need to maintain
employer-based health insurance,
changes in eligibility requirements for
Social Security benefits and substantial
differences in benefits depending on
one’s age at retirement, the shift from
employer-paid to employee-paid pension plans, and the loss of investments
and savings in the recession. Then there
are equity issues: Having earned less on
average than men, women’s Social Security benefits are almost always lower
than men’s, even if women stay in the
workplace past the traditional age of
retirement.
But not all older women stay on
the job solely for financial reasons.
Karel Rose, age 79, is professor of education, English, and women’s studies
at the City University of New York,
Brooklyn College and Graduate Center.
In her blog and in informal gatherings
she hosts, she encourages students
to debate such topics as happiness,
wisdom, what it means to live well,
and why civility is essential to society.
Rose advises students, mentors new
faculty, and serves on the tenure and
promotion committee. She won’t retire
because she’s still “trying to get it right
after 41 years.”
With her husband’s support, Rose
earned a doctorate in 1969 while raising five sons. (Now almost 91 years
young, her husband still teaches at New
York University’s dental school.) At a
spa near their second home in Lenox,
Massachusetts, Rose leads workshops
encouraging women to “recognize their
inner beauty.” She swims, walks, and
meditates to “quiet the chatter in my
head.” Rose worries about her children’s financial future and is concerned
about the kind of world her grandchildren will inherit. “Maybe my generation
had the best of it,” she muses.
Another longtime educator, Dollye
M. E. Robinson, is dean of the College
of Liberal Arts and professor of music
at Jackson State University in Missis-
www.aauw.org fall 2011
a look at the author
Elizabeth F. Fideler, Ed.D.
Research Fellow, Boston College
Sloan Center on Aging and Work
[email protected]
aauw | outlook
9
“I am needed. As a role model
and mentor, I believe in sharing
what I know about life, learning,
and dealing with people.”
AAUW Asks
Retire—Who You?
We know that many of our readers
are mature, highly accomplished professionals who are great at their jobs.
So as we were putting this retirement
issue together, we couldn’t help
but wonder about your experiences
with retirement. We’ve tried to be as
faithful and representative of the big
picture as we could be in two stories
(you’ll see a bleaker picture in the
pages that follow). But we’d like to
hear about what has influenced you
to answer the inevitable working
woman’s question: To retire or not to
retire?
10
aauw | outlook
Did you keep working to ensure you
hit the maximum Social Security benefits? Were you able to retire to the
Southwest at age 65 because you had
a generous pension? Did your 401(k)
savings take a nosedive in 2007 and
kill your plans to retire early? And for
our younger readers, have you noticed
more older women staying on the job
in your workplace? Has this affected
your upward mobility? What are
your retirement plans? Send in your
answers to [email protected]. We’ll
publish a select few either on AAUW
Dialog or in the next issue of Outlook.
www.aauw.org fall 2011
sippi. She won’t reveal her age, but the
nickname “Senior Dean” and an academic career spanning nearly 60 years
give her away. A trumpet player of distinction in high school, Robinson won
a scholarship to Jackson College (as
JSU was then called). After graduation
in 1948, she taught music and directed
a high school band for a few years and
then returned to her alma mater as
assistant band director and instructor
of music. Her two master’s degrees and
a doctorate in music and administration from Northwestern University led
to steady career advancement at JSU.
Robinson has no intention of retiring. “I am needed. As a role model and
mentor, I believe in sharing what I
know about life, learning, and dealing
with people.” One measure of her success is the number of her former music
students working all across the country
as band teachers and orchestra leaders.
Another sign of her stature is the College of Liberal Arts building that JSU
named after her.
Robinson’s priorities are clear:
enabling others to grow as well as herself. She is preoccupied with finding
financial support for needy students,
not with her own financial well-being.
“I live with what I have and do what I
can to help others.”
Like Rose and Robinson, Charlotte
B. is fortunate to be working entirely
by choice rather than necessity. Since
a company layoff during the recession,
she is single-handedly running the
employee relations department for a
Tennessee-based large restaurant chain
with 14,500 employees in 20 states.
Charlotte had other careers for
many years—high school English
teacher and technical writer—before
getting into human resources nine years
ago. She has always been independent,
productive, and a quick learner, especially with respect to technology. She
experienced two periods of unemployment, however, during which she was
thoroughly bored. Her grown children
lived out of state and were busy with
their own jobs and kids. She credits her
husband with encouraging her to get
back in the game and find something
meaningful to do.
Charlotte loves her high-pressure
job and appreciates working in a positive corporate climate. As she has gotten older, the income from her job
has become less important than it was
when she became a single parent after
her first marriage ended. And, despite
the effects of the current economy
on everyone’s finances, she is not
particularly worried. She could retire
comfortably but would rather stay in
the workforce. “I am essential to the
company and do not plan to leave until
my bosses decide it’s time for me to go
or I can’t remember my name!”
These energetic women are but
three of the many older workers who
are still enthusiastically employed.
Their degrees, professional skills, and a
decent income allow them a choice—
one that might not be available to other
women, who are often hard-pressed
to make ends meet as they age. In this
sense, they and their peers are truly
extraordinary.
Karel Rose is a professor at the City University of New York.
photo courtesy of karel rose
Fideler is an AAUW member. Her book,
Women Still at Work: Professionals
over 60 and on the Job, is forthcoming
from Rowman and Littlefield Publishers in
2012. The book examines women’s reasons
for delaying retirement and tells their stories.
Many of the book’s subjects came of age in the
1950s and 1960s, when their career options
were few, but Women Still at Work celebrates their accomplishments and resilience
in the context of the current recession.
Notes 1. He,Wan, Manisha Sengupta, Victoria A. Velkoff,
and Kimberly A. Debarros. (2005). “65+ in the United States:
2005.” U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P23209. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, p. 1.
2. Toossi, Mitra. (November 2009). “Employment Outlook:
2008–18. Labor Force Projections to 2018: Older Workers
Staying More Active.” Monthly Labor Review. U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
www.aauw.org fall 2011
aauw | outlook
11
When You
Can’t Afford
Retirement
By Beth Pearsall
12
aauw | outlook
This year, the first of the baby boomers are turning 65, the
traditional age of retirement. But for women who lack the
financial security to retire, this milestone will change very
little. They will have to keep on working. These women face
a dim reality of retirement, often struggling daily just to
make ends meet.
www.aauw.org fall 2011
As many women approach
the traditional age of retirement,
they realize that they cannot
afford to retire and must keep
on working.
The word retirement evokes different
ideas for different people. For some, it
means spending more time with family
and friends. For others, it means working because you want to, not because
you need to. And for still others, retirement means having the time to volunteer, pursue a new hobby, or travel the
world.
But for many older women living in the Unites States, the reality of
retirement is a different picture, one
filled with financial insecurity. As many
women approach the traditional age of
retirement, they realize that they cannot afford to retire and must keep on
working, despite their original plans.
And instead of spending their golden
years at the beach, they find themselves
struggling to pay the bills, often facing
mounting health care costs that add to
their financial worries. Even women in
better-paying positions may find retirement a financial struggle, given the current economic climate and the recent
volatility of once-reliable investments.
And for women in physically demand-
ing jobs, the challenges are even
greater, as their bodies begin to feel the
consequences more and more.
Women’s Unique Challenges
The three-legged stool—Social Security
benefits, employment-based retirement plans, and personal savings and
investments—has long been used to
illustrate retirement security. But for
many women, this stool is wobbly, leaving them vulnerable to financial difficulties or even poverty in old age. Here
is a look at some of the hurdles facing
women today.
Women earn less than men. In the
last four decades, women have made
remarkable strides in both education and workforce participation.
Yet despite these gains, a pay gap
still exists. The impact of the pay gap
extends far beyond the years women
participate in the workforce. Less
money earned over the course of a
woman’s professional career means less
money to invest in retirement plans
www.aauw.org fall 2011
a look at the author
Beth Pearsall
Freelance Writer
San Diego, California
[email protected]
aauw | outlook
13
For some, it goes beyond not being
able to fulfill their dreams of travel
or leisure—for some, it is a daily
struggle just to survive.
AAUW Advocates
Protect Social Security
Since it was established in 1935,
Social Security has been one of the
most effective anti-poverty programs
in U.S. history, and many of our
most vulnerable citizens depend
on this benefit as a lifeline against
poverty. According to the Joint
Economic Committee, more than
half of all women over 65 would be
living below the poverty line without
Social Security, and the percentage
increases for women of color and
unmarried women.
Since the recession hit in 2007, Social
Security has been scapegoated in
budget and deficit talks even though
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aauw | outlook
it is an off-budget program that
pays its own way through payroll
taxes. And although politicians claim
that the plan is going bankrupt, it’s
actually a fiscally solvent program
that can adapt to the much-feared
age of baby boomer retirement.11
Millions of older Americans depend
on this program to live their golden
years in dignity. Many more, including
children and disabled adults, rely on
it as their sole means of support. We
can’t afford to lose this economic
security. Find out how you can fight
for social security at www.aauw.org/
act/issue_advocacy.
www.aauw.org fall 2011
such as 401(k)s and savings—and for
most, smaller Social Security checks.
Women often take time away from
work or work part time. In an estimated
36.5 million households across the
country, an adult is providing unpaid
care to a family member. Sixty-six percent of those caregivers are women;
they spend, on average, just over 20
hours a week providing care, leaving
them with less time for paid work. As
a result, they often work part time in
jobs with lower wages, a lower likelihood of retirement plans, and smaller
benefits. Women are twice as likely as
men to work part time.1
Women live longer than men. At age
65, the average woman is expected to
live another 20 years—an average of
three years longer than men.2 This longer life expectancy means that women
must stretch their assets over a longer
period of time.
For married women, longer life
expectancy means that they will likely
outlive their husbands—and their husbands’ retirement income. According
to the Women’s Institute for a Secure
Retirement, married women often rely
on their husbands’ retirement benefits
to support them in old age. But when
her husband dies, a woman’s benefits
are often cut by anywhere from onethird to one-half.3
If we add up all these factors, a dim
picture emerges. The stark reality is
that when many women reach retirement age, they simply can’t afford to
retire.
For some, it goes beyond not being
able to fulfill their dreams of travel or
leisure—for some, it is a daily struggle
just to survive. The risk of poverty
in old age is all too real for too many
women. The poverty rate for all women
ages 65 and older is 10.7 percent,
just over one in 10. The rate doubles
for African American and Hispanic
women.4 Rising health care costs don’t
make this picture any brighter.
Even women with full-time, betterpaying jobs who contribute to 401(k)s face
financial uncertainty when it comes
to retirement. Many may have started
contributing to their plans too late;
others may have contributed too little.
And many suffered huge losses during the recent stock-market plunges.
The results are alarming: According to
data compiled by the Federal Reserve
and analyzed by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, the
median household headed by a person
age 60 to 62 with a 401(k) account has
less than one-quarter of what will be
needed to maintain the same standard
of living in retirement.5
Consequently, many older women
must continue to get up and go to
work every day, long past the age they
intended to retire—and often, long past
when their bodies tell them that it is
time. Those who must return to the
workforce after time away often find
themselves up against a struggling job
market, where positions are scarce and
ageism poses a formidable hurdle.
Physically Demanding Jobs
What about women whose jobs are
physically demanding or involve difficult working conditions?
Take nursing, for example. Nurses
are often on their feet eight, 10, 12
hours a day. They must carry heavy
trays and move patients from room to
room or from stretcher to chair to bed.
These tasks may become more difficult
for older nurses. Many develop back
pain and other health problems.
Women who do domestic work like
cleaning also face physical challenges.
Their jobs require them to constantly
be on their feet, sometimes lifting or
pushing heavy furniture or equipment.
These workers may also suffer injuries
caused by the machines, hand tools,
and chemicals they use.
And these are just two examples. In
2009, more than one-third (2.6 million)
of women ages 58 to 69 had jobs with
physical demands or difficult working
conditions.6 Meanwhile, 37 percent
of women ages 70 and over cleaned
houses, stocked shelves, and waited
tables.7
So what is a woman to do if she
can’t financially afford to retire but is
physically unable to work into her late
60s and beyond?
One option has been to seek a
less strenuous job. For example, some
hospitals have created less-taxing roles
for older nurses, such as mentoring
positions. But as we continue to face
a nationwide jobs crisis, finding a less
physically demanding job—or any job,
for that matter—will remain challenging. For many, finding a new position
is often impossible because they work
in industries or locations where jobs
are disappearing.8 And as older workers, they will be more likely to face age
discrimination and shortcomings in job
training than in the past.9
As a result, many women are forced
to retire and struggle to get by on the
third leg of the retirement stool, Social
Security benefits. Social Security, a
high-profile political football, accounts
for two-thirds of all income for women
age 65 and over, more than half of
whom would be living in poverty without these benefits.10
Taking Charge
It is critical that women—no matter
their age or place in their careers—educate themselves about their retirement
profiles, including options and future
risks.
WISER recommends planning for
retirement as soon as you enter the
job force and offers a step-by-step plan
from age 20 to age 70. “Plan from an
early stage,” suggests WISER President Cindy Hounsell. “Consider your
options and look for help before you
are painted into a corner. Take charge
of the situation before there are no
options left.”
www.aauw.org fall 2011
Notes 1. U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics. Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2009, June 2010.
www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2009.pdf. 2. WISER. Key Findings
and Issues: The Impact of Retirement Risk on Women, 2010.
www.wiserwomen.org/index.php?id=47&page=Research.
3. WISER. Widowhood: Why Women Need to Talk
about This Issue fact sheet. www.wiserwomen.org/
index.php?id=275&page; WISER. Women and Pensions:
An Overview fact sheet. www.wiserwomen.org/index.
php?id=242&page. 4. Data are for the 2009 poverty threshold
of $10,289 annual income for a single person age 65 or older.
WISER. Older Women and Poverty: A Not So Rosy Picture
fact sheet. www.wiserwomen.org/index.php?id=229&page. 5.
Browning, E.S. Retiring boomers find 401(k) plans fall short,
Wall Street Journal online. online.wsj.com/article/SB100014
24052748703959604576152792748707356.html?mod=WSJ_
hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop. 6. Older Women’s
Economic Security Taskforce. Raising the Social Security
Retirement Age Is Dangerous, A White Paper. 7. Women’s eNews
Contributors. OWL fights Obama’s deficit hawks on
retirement age. www.womensradio.com/articles/OWL-FightsObamas-Deficit-Hawks-on-Retirement-Age/6880.html.
8. Ibid. 9. Hye Jin Rho. Hard work? Patterns in Physically
Demanding Labor among Older Workers, August 2010. www.cepr.
net/index.php/publications/reports/patterns-in-physicallydemanding-labor-among-older-workers. 10. Joint Economic
Committee Majority Staff. Social Security Provides Economic
Security to Women, October 28, 2010. 11. AAUW. Help keep
the promises of Social Security. capwiz.com/aauw/issues/
alert/?alertid=53611511.
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www.aauw.org spring | Summer 2009
Finding a Home
for Women’s
History
By Sara Kaplaniak
Meryl Streep, a spokeswoman for the National Women’s
History Museum, pointed out last year that although
Washington, D.C., features museums that document
buildings, aviation, art, journalism, textiles, the postal
system, and spies, the city doesn’t have a museum that
honors the experiences of half the American population—
women. But it’s not for lack of trying.
a look at the author
This Land Is Our Land, Too
Anyone who enjoys spending time
at museums shouldn’t miss the new
exhibit at the National Women’s History Museum. “Profiles in Motherhood” shares reflections from working,
stay-at-home, military, surrogate, foster,
adoptive, birth, and stepmothers. If
you have time, make sure to check out
the museum’s other exhibits, including
“Chinese American Women: A History
of Resilience and Resistance,” “Clandestine Women: Spies in American History,” “First but Not the Last: Women
Who Ran for President,” and “Women
in Industry.”
These exhibits are fascinating, but
the catch is that they currently only
exist online.
In a speech at a September 2010
Our Nation’s Daughters event in Washington, D.C., actress Meryl Streep
said, “We have a wonderful virtual
museum that’s been up online for 10
years. Online you can access all of these
fantastic stories—stories that were
unknown to me, as overeducated and
over-degreed as I am.”1
Although a huge fan of the website,
Streep feels strongly that an online
presence isn’t enough. Women need a
true, physical presence in the nation’s
capital. In her words, “Symbols matter.
Buildings and monuments stand for
something in people’s hearts.”
A coalition of women’s groups,
of which AAUW is a key member, is
working tirelessly in hopes that this
vision will be realized sooner rather
than later.
Sara Kaplaniak
Freelance Writer
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
[email protected]
From Cyberspace to the Nation’s
Capital
For more than a decade, organizations
like AAUW and generous private citizens have been working toward the
goal of transforming the current “virtual” museum into a brick-and-mortar
institution that supports research,
stores information, and shares and celebrates the contributions of women to
the world’s social, cultural, economic,
and political history.
www.aauw.org fall 2011
1948–49 AAUW
Fellow Elaine Hoebeke
left
aauw | outlook
17
The senators said the museum
would be redundant because of
the existing Quilters Hall of Fame
and National Cowgirl Museum.
AAUW Advocates
Make Sure You’re in the History Books
Join AAUW in supporting this
important legislation to establish
the National Women’s History
Museum on the National Mall
in Washington, D.C.! Urge your
senators and representatives to cosponsor and support the National
Women’s History Museum Act (S.
680/H.R. 1269). By advocating for a
women’s history museum, you’re
demanding that our history be
recognized as women, as activists,
and as an organization. Remember,
no taxpayer funds will be used. The
only thing standing in the way of
this monument to American women
is a rubber stamp from Congress
allowing the museum to purchase
land with private funds.
Make sure your members of Congress
hear from you this session, so that
someday soon, you’ll be able to
come to Washington, D.C., to see
the work your foremothers did to
make this country what it is. We also
hope that AAUW will have a place
in the museum for our historical
artifacts, including amazing vintage
photographs of suffragette protests
and letters and photos from
dignitaries like Coretta Scott King,
Eleanor Roosevelt, and of course,
AAUW founder Marion Talbot.
www.nwhm.org
Learn more about the National
Women’s History Museum and
look at online exhibits.
18
aauw | outlook
www.aauw.org fall 2011
“For the most part, women’s
accomplishments have been overlooked and sometimes omitted from
mainstream culture and history,” says
AAUW Executive Director Linda D.
Hallman. “The National Women’s History Museum aims to fill that void and
give women’s history a place alongside
other museums in the nation’s capital.”
With the goal of creating a worldclass institution, the board of the
National Women’s History Museum
passed a policy mandating that scholars
will determine all content. The vision
is that this will be a highly respected
museum with permanent physical and
online exhibits dedicated to integrating
women—all women—into our nation’s
history.
Challenges in Congress despite
Bipartisan Support
Unfortunately, building a National
Women’s History Museum on or near
the National Mall—essentially the
nation’s front yard—isn’t as simple as
buying land and realizing the dream.
Securing a spot in such a location
requires sign-off by Congress, where
the effort has stalled for the past seven
years even though the project won’t
cost taxpayers a dime. With $6 million
already raised in private contributions,
the financially solvent National Women’s History Museum is ready to move
forward without public resources once
Congress approves the land purchase.
“It’s unfortunate that even a
museum that comes with its own funding can’t make it through Congress
without controversy,” says Lisa M.
Maatz, AAUW director of public policy
and government relations. “Truthfully,
I’m a bit insulted. We have museums
about many worthy subjects supported by the federal government and
the Smithsonian. But women have to
pay for it ourselves? Fine. It’s not the
first and it won’t be the last time that
women have had to break through bar-
riers to do what’s necessary. At least
give us the land on the Mall!”
Congress almost gave its blessing last year. The bipartisan legislation, introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), would have allowed the
museum to pay fair market value with
private funds to purchase a site near
the National Mall even though other
museums were awarded land at no cost
in the past. According to the Congressional Budget Office, such a sale would
have generated up to $60 million in
revenue for the federal government.
Plans began for finding a female architect, which would make the museum
the first designed by a woman on the
National Mall.
After sailing through the House of
Representatives, the legislation faced
opposition from two senators who put
a hold on the bill. Sens. Jim DeMint
(R-SC) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) said
that they felt the museum would be
redundant because of existing women’s
museums, such as the Quilters Hall of
Fame in Indiana, the National Cowgirl Museum in Texas, and the Hulda
Klager Lilac Gardens in Washington
state.2 The senators also reportedly felt
pressure from some who believed the
museum would emphasize a pro-choice
agenda. AAUW was very disappointed
to see them unnecessarily politicize the
museum in this way. Coburn has since
come around, but DeMint remains in
stubborn opposition.
According to Joan Wages, president and CEO of the museum, “Those
concerns couldn’t be further from the
intended vision for a National Women’s
History Museum. As a result, I remain
confident that we will create a place
that all women can be proud and feel a
part of.”
In fact, the wheels are already in
motion. In March 2011, Rep. Carolyn
Maloney (D-NY) joined Collins in reintroducing the National Women’s History Museum Act (S. 680/H.R. 1269).
With numerous co-sponsors in both
the House and the Senate, Wages and
the museum’s supporters are hopeful
this virtual museum will become the
real deal soon.
Building Museum Momentum
If Wages seems confident, it’s likely due
to the type of support AAUW members showcased in June, when nearly
700 attendees at the 2011 AAUW
National Convention met with lawmakers from all 50 states to support the
museum and other legislation during
Capitol Hill Lobby Day.
“AAUW was one of the earliest
organizations to join the National
Women’s History Museum National
Coalition and has been a leader
since then,” says Becky L. Schergens,
national adviser for the museum. “We
are grateful for AAUW’s consistent and
loyal support.”
Wages agrees, saying that thanks
to partners like AAUW, she hopes to
secure congressional approval this fall.
“We’ve spent more than a decade
raising funds and building the support
needed to bring these exhibits to life in
a permanent home near the National
Mall,” says Wages. “Now it’s time to
get down to the business of celebrating
the achievements made by women and
inspiring the young women and girls
visiting our nation’s capital.”
National Women’s History Museum President Joan
Wages with museum advocate Meryl Streep
photo courtesy of National women’s history museum
Notes 1. Meryl Streep speaks out for the National
Women’s History Museum. www.youtube.com/
watch?v=hmEj0SbGGNc. 2. Somander, Tanya. Coburn,
DeMint block National Women’s History Museum because
“quilters” and “cowgirl” museums already exist. thinkprogress.
org/politics/2010/09/29/121524/coburn-demint-womensmuseum.
www.aauw.org fall 2011
aauw | outlook
19
A Legacy of
Women’s
Research
By Hannah Moulton Belec
a look at The author
Hannah Moulton Belec
AAUW Outlook Editor
[email protected]
20
aauw | outlook
In 1885, AAUW’s foremothers sent a detailed survey to every
woman college graduate in the United States. They were seeking an answer to an insidious question that had discouraged
women’s progress in the classroom: Does education hurt a
woman’s health?
Nowadays, most people don’t think that
a college education will make a woman
infertile, unmarriageable, sickly, or
paralyzed with anxiety. But back when
AAUW was founded, these attitudes
about women’s education were so pervasive that the Association of Collegiate
Alumnae—as AAUW was then called—
conducted a survey to find out for
themselves. They mailed surveys to 1,290
women college graduates—all the alumnae of the 12 U.S. schools that accepted
women at the time. More than half of
the women responded, and their answers
confirmed the researchers’ hypothesis
www.aauw.org fall 2011
that educating women’s minds had no
negative effects on their physical or mental well-being.
“This study really set the tone for
our research. It established that AAUW
looks at social questions and answers
them with facts,” says AAUW Director of Research Catherine Hill. “They
looked at evidence and used statistical
analysis, not just anecdotes, and we do
the same thing now to ground our work.”
After Health Statistics of Women College
Graduates was released in 1885, AAUW
produced dozens of research reports on
women’s issues, including an 1890 study
about infant development, a 1913 pay
equity report, a 1936 study on women’s
economic status in the Great Depression, and a 1955 study on the taxation
and financing of public education. And
of course, we continue to follow in their
footsteps with evidence-based studies
like last year’s Why So Few? Women in
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and will continue to do so with
three upcoming reports (see sidebar).
As one of the founding research
reports of AAUW’s history, the health
study was something AAUW staff and
members knew about and cited, but an
original copy was only recently rediscovered in June by AAUW Projects Administrator Thérèse Lowe, who coordinates
the member-led Archives Task Force
that is planning how to best preserve
AAUW’s impressive 130-year history.
Task force member Dian Belanger says
the original report is one of the “crown
jewels” of our history, and Suzanne
Gould, AAUW’s new archivist, agrees.
“Rediscovering this fundamental report
is inspiring. It’s an exciting step in the
process to maintain our historical documents so that they’re accessible,” she
says.
And the report is now more accessible than ever. Along with other fascinating historical items, it is now available
digitally in AAUW’s online museum.
The original is being professionally
restored so that members can enjoy
AAUW’s legacy of research for a long
time to come.
If you get a chance to read that
first report, it’s striking how much has
changed and yet how much has stayed
the same. AAUW was and is a passionate, mission-based membership that,
in the words of the report’s authors, is
determined to enforce “the justice of a
law of liberty that shall allow all individuals, women as well as men, the privilege
of growing to the full stature of their
mental possibilities.”
If you’re interested in getting
involved in preserving AAUW’s
history, consider joining the
AAUW Archives Corps. E-mail
AAUW Archives Task Force
Chair Caroline Pickens at
[email protected] for
details.
svc.aauw.org/museum
Read AAUW’s 1885 research report
by downloading it from our online
museum!
www.aauw.org/member_center/branches_states
Download the AAUW Archives Task
Force’s Guidelines for Preserving
State and Branch Archives.
AAUW Educates
New AAUW Research
Continuing the legacy of groundbreaking research that our founders
established with their 1885 survey, AAUW is producing three new
reports in the coming months. Keep
an eye out this fall for a study of sexual harassment in middle and high
schools, and be sure to check out
the two reports that are coming out
this spring. One explores the oppor-
www.aauw.org fall 2011
tunities community colleges offer
women studying science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics, and
the other will investigate student
debt and pay equity for college graduates. Visit www.aauw.org/learn/
research/current.cfm and read the
upcoming Winter and Spring/Summer issues of Outlook for updates.
aauw | outlook
21
look at membership
Our members
are taking
action!
www.aauw.org/member_center/branches_states
Make sure your branch leaders
share the updates from the AAUW
Annual Starter Kit at your next
meeting!
www.aauw.org/act/issue_advocacy/principles_priorities.cfm
AAUW’s newly adopted Public
Policy Program now includes
specific language opposing
human trafficking.
A Crusade against
Sex Trafficking
The victims of sex trafficking are usually
depicted as foreign women who are trucked
or shipped across borders in dark, crowded
containers. AAUW La Mesa-El Cajon (CA)
Branch member Myrra Lee, a retired teacher
who has been working to fight sex trafficking
for seven years, didn’t realize how much of a
problem sex trafficking was domestically until
she and fellow branch members attended a
conference last May. There, she learned disturbing statistics and stories about local girls
being lured, abducted, and then forced into
prostitution.
Now, Lee is determined to spread the
word about how close to home this crime
really hits. She has spoken out on the issue
to AAUW audiences—including putting
together a workshop at the 2005 convention—and she has recently been invited to
speak at colleges, conferences, and even at
the Museum of Tolerance. Lee and fellow
AAUW members from San Diego County
are also applying for grant funding to hold a
conference to teach people how to recognize
the signs of trafficking, how they can help victims, and how they can end the practice. “All
AAUW members need to be educated on this
human travesty,” Lee says. “After all, we may
be talking about the girl next door.”
Starter Kit
Available Now
In August, the AAUW national
office mailed out the Annual
Starter Kit—a packet of all
the materials branches and
states need to plan local
efforts—to AAUW leaders.
The kit contains updates
and descriptions of all the
programs that AAUW works
on as a national community,
from Title IX to equal pay to
leadership training for college women. Make sure your
leaders dedicate time at your
next meeting to talk about
the Starter Kit and how you
can use it to build exciting
programming this year.
An E-Book
Education
Since more and more libraries and stores are offering
books electronically, either
to download on computers
or for e-readers like Kindle
and Nook, one AAUW branch
is helping the public adapt to
this new medium for reading.
In September, the AAUW
Patuxent River (MD) Branch
hosted a training with the
Calvert Library to demystify
the process, which usually
involves downloading software,
creating online accounts, and
loading books onto a device.
Branch President Barbara
Fetterhoff contacted the
Calvert Library about doing a
program about how e-readers
have affected bookstores and
libraries, and the library suggested that the branch co-host
this event for members and
the public.
Got news? We want to hear about your state and branch successes.
Send in a 150-word news item describing your project or event,
why it was significant, and how it helps break through barriers for
women and girls. Send submissions and photos to editor@aauw.
org. Keep Outlook and your fellow AAUW members in the know!
20
22
aauw | outlook
www.aauw.org fall2011
2009
www.aauw.org fall
Member Wins STEM Award
At a ceremony in May, CNN correspondent Soledad O’Brien presented
AAUW member Cecelia Wigal with the
Young Women’s Leadership Academy
Foundation Supernova Award, which
recognizes women’s achievements in
science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics. Wigal, who is a professor
at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, earned the award for her work
mentoring young women in STEM.
Oregon Fights Proposed TANF Cuts
AAUW of Oregon is fighting to make
Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families into a program that truly helps
families break out of the cycle of poverty. In 2001, AAUW members began
advocating for the state to include the
Oregon Parents as Scholars program
within TANF, which would allow 1 percent of TANF recipients to pursue twoor four-year degrees while receiving
benefits. When the Parents as Scholars proposal passed in 2003, AAUW
defended it from being diluted to
focus on vocational certificates rather
than higher education. After making
an impression in those negotiations,
AAUW was invited to join an advisory
committee to help guide the program.
When the recession hit, TANF felt the
state’s budget woes as many public services were threatened with cuts. As part
of the Oregon TANF Alliance, AAUW
members continued to advocate for the
education program and other crucial
services. They also rallied against a pro-
posal that would reduce the TANF lifetime limit from five years to 18 months.
Members of the alliance testified at a
legislative session in May, where they
argued that imposing the limit wouldn’t
give families recovering from domestic
violence, layoffs, and disability the time
they need to recover.
four field trips, one of which was a
fishing day in May. At that event, the
17 participants learned about fisheries,
water quality, birds, and environmental
stewardship. Branch members were on
hand to help the girls during the event
and to mentor them at dinner events
following the field trips.
Introducing Girls to Green Jobs
Last year, AAUW Erie (PA) Branch
members teamed up with Environment
Erie for the Green Collar Career Initiative, a partnership that aims to introduce middle school girls to environmental careers. The initiative includes
Because of your generosity, more than 500 students attended the 2011 National
Conference for College Women Student Leaders, the only conference that brings
together college women to address important and contemporary leadership issues.
We hope you’ll join us again next year at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Save the date now for NCCWSL, May 31–June 2, 2012!
www.aauw.org fall 2011
aauw | outlook
23
look at AAUW news
One Member,
One Vote was
a success
thanks to
you!
www.aauw.org/act/laf/campusOutreach.cfm
Throughout the year, members
and campuses can apply for an
AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund
Campus Outreach Program
grant to receive up to $750 in
funding for a campus event.
Historic Popular Election
Decides AAUW Bylaws,
Agenda, and Board
Sexual Harassment
Report Coming Soon
AAUW’s upcoming research
report Crossing the Line:
Sexual Harassment at School,
based on a nationwide survey
of nearly 2,000 students in
grades seven through 12, will
examine sexual harassment
in middle and high schools.
The results confirm that
sexual harassment remains
an unfortunate part of school
culture, affecting the educational experiences of millions
of students, especially girls.
Like bullying, sexual harassment also happens on the
Internet, greatly expanding
the scope of these incidents.
With this report, AAUW is
launching a new campaign to
challenge educators, parents,
students, and community
members to tackle these
challenges.
The polls closed on June 17 in AAUW’s historic One Member, One Vote election. It was
the first time members voted in a popular
election—rather than using a delegate system—to elect national officers and approve
bylaws amendments and changes to the
Public Policy Program. More than 10,000 ballots were cast online and by mail after voting
opened on May 1, easily meeting the required
quorum of 5 percent of the membership.
The number of votes cast by members far
exceeded delegate votes cast at the 2009 con- AAUW Welcomes
vention in St. Louis. Members voted to pass
Chinese Women’s
all the proposed amendments to the bylaws
Group
and Public Policy Program and elected a new
As a part of our ongoing
board of directors: President Carolyn Garfein, commitment
to improving the
status of women and girls
Vice President Patricia Fae Ho, and Direcglobally through fellowships,
tors-at-Large Kathy Anthon, Amy Blackwell,
grassroots programming,
and advocacy, AAUW recently
Kathryn Braeman, Julia T. Brown, Sandra
hosted 18 women from the
All-China Women’s FederaCamillo, Kathleen Cha, Charmen Goehringtion. The federation protects
Fox, Connie M. Hildebrand, Millie Hofflerthe rights and welfare of
women and promotes equalFoushee, David Kirkwood, Betsy McDowell,
ity between men and women.
The visit was sponsored by
Dot McLane, and Peggy Ryan Williams.
the United States-China
Exchange Council, an education and service organization. The group was very
interested in meeting with
AAUW to exchange experiences and views on advancing
educational and professional
opportunities for women in
both countries.
www.aauw.org/learn/leadershipprograms
Learn more about campus
leadership opportunities.
AAUW would Text
loveplease
to hear from our fellowship and
Support future generations of women and girls by participating in
grant alumnae!
Please
take a few minutes to tell
one of AAUW’s planned giving programs. Contact Carol Rognrud
us about yourataccomplishments
and activities
[email protected] or 877/357-5587
for more information.
since receiving an AAUW award by filling out our
alumnae contact form at www.aauw.org/education/
fga/fellows_network.
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www.aauw.org fall
fall2011
| winter 2009
Screen a Film about Women,
Politics, and Media
This summer, attendees at the AAUW
National Convention got a sneak peak
at a documentary that has been winning
awards at festivals all over the world,
including the Sundance Film Festival.
Miss Representation is a film that argues
for more women in powerful positions
and critiques the portrayal of powerful
women in the media. Screening this
crowd-pleaser in your community will
help raise awareness of women’s issues
in politics and media, and it could also
be a great fundraiser or an opportunity
to partner with a local organization or
school. AAUW branches and states
can host a fundraiser screening of this
film for $500 or for free if you split the
proceeds equally with the filmmakers.
AAUW college/university partner members pay $295 for a screening, though
they get a $95 discount if they sign up
in October or November 2011. Elementary and secondary school teachers can
show the film for only $95, including
classroom preparation materials.Visit
www.missrepresentation.org to apply.
Reinvigorating the College/University Partner Member Program
Recognizing that today’s college students are tomorrow’s member leaders,
AAUW has invested new resources
toward the AAUW college/university
partner member program. Check to
see if your local school or alma mater is
a member by visiting the online directory of partner members at www.aauw.
org/about/join/colleges/index.cfm. In
Rosario Dawson (above), Gloria Steinem, and Katie Couric appear in the film Miss Representation.
photo courtesy of Miss representation documentary
honor of AAUW’s 130th Anniversary,
all new C/U partner members can join
for just $130 through June 2012. And
remember, AAUW’s free e-student
affiliate program offers easy registration
for all undergraduates at partner member institutions. For more information
about the C/U program, contact
[email protected]. For more information about the benefits of C/U
membership and the application for
e-student affiliates, visit www.aauw.org/
about/join/colleges/esaf.cfm. And if
you are recruiting schools in your area,
be sure to check out the new Recruit
and Retain College/University Partner
Members Program in a Box at www.
aauw.org/member_center/programs/
PIAB.cfm.
AAUW thanks our corporate
sponsors for their support of the
2011 AAUW National Convention
and for their ongoing support of
AAUW as vendors or partners.
Breaking through Barriers Sponsors
AARP
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Advancing Equity Sponsor
Life Line Screening
Mission Supporter Sponsors
Academic Travel Abroad
Adams Hussey and Associates
Congressional Federal Credit Union
By including AAUW in your bequests, you are helping to break through barriers for women
and girls for generations to come. If you are considering a bequest to AAUW, here is some
suggested wording for your attorney: “After fulfilling all other provisions, I hereby give,
devise, and bequeath to AAUW (Federal Tax ID #52-6037388), a charitable organization
duly existing under the laws of the District of Columbia and located at 1111 Sixteenth St.
NW, Washington, DC 20036,
percent of the rest, residue, and remainder of
my estate or $
[if specific amount] to be used in the areas of greatest need.”
www.aauw.org fall 2011
aauw | outlook
25
look at our alumnae
Creating a Space for
Women’s History
By Gloria Blackwell
AAUW
fellows and
grantees
advance
women’s
research.
www.aauw.org/learn/fellowships_grants
AAUW loves to hear from our
fellowship and grant recipients.
AAUW fellowships and grants alumnae continue to advance
timely and innovative scholarship on topics that affect the lives
of women and girls in the United States and abroad. When we
first caught up with 1984–85 American Fellow Gail Twersky
Reimer for a 2008 blog post, she shared her inspiring success as
founding director of the Jewish Women’s Archive. The daughter
of two Holocaust survivors, Reimer had been raised to “pay it
forward.” When we checked in with her recently, more accomplishments had come her way. The Library of Congress has now recognized the Jewish Women’s Archive by including the website
www.jwa.org in its historical collection of Internet materials.
And this past spring, Reimer received the Auburn Seminary’s
Lives of Commitment award, which honors and celebrates women who pursue justice across faiths.
In her acceptance remarks, Reimer described founding
the archive as part of a search for a ritual of mourning for her
mother and a desire to ensure “that the next generation … would
have access to the sources they needed to tell the story of our
times whole—to tell a story in which the thoughts and deeds of
women and men are valued equally.” She concluded, “We hold up
the stories of what women have done so that our daughters may
believe, this is what we can do.”
blog-aauw.org/tag/following-the-fellows
Find out what our past awardees
are up to now by reading our blog
series.
The home page of the new AAUW website,
www.aauw.org
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1984–85 AAUW American Fellow Gail Twersky
Reimer established the Jewish Women’s
Archive, which collects and preserves the
history of Jewish women.
2011–12 Fellows and Grantees
Dana Kaplan
Career Development Grantee Dana
Kaplan has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and is returning to college in
San Bruno, California, to pursue a career
in the automotive industry as a certified
master technician. She is vice president
and one of the founding members of
Heart Wrenchers, Skyline College’s first
all-women automotive club. The club’s
primary focus is to support women who
are entering the automotive industry
while working within the community
to educate and empower women about
automotive care.
Lisa Kohlmeier
American Fellow Lisa Kohlmeier
earned a publication grant for her project, “Telling Stories with Scraps: Regina
Anderson Andrews’ Documentation
of Her Family Night at the Library
Series from the 1940s to 1960s,” which
explores the significance of the physical
space of the library and the ways New
York librarian Andrews documented her
work in scrapbooks and photographs.
Kohlmeier is especially interested in
studying material culture and the ways
reading physical spaces can reveal more
about the intellectual and creative lives
of women.
Sarah Over
Upon successful completion of her
degree in aerospace engineering from
the University of Colorado, Boulder,
Selected Professions Fellow Sarah Over
plans to further research the effects and
mitigation of radiation, focusing on the
study and support of life in space. Her
professional goal is to conduct research
in this area to reduce the risks inherent
in human spaceflight and contribute
to current medical knowledge. Over
also wants to become a college professor, which would combine her passion
for human spaceflight and her love of
education.
Lisha Banks
Community Action Grantee Lisha
Banks runs the University of Illinois
YWCA Women in Leadership program,
which provides dedicated leadership
development training for women students with the goal of challenging and
expanding traditional definitions of
leadership. The program offers a twoday conference followed by a semester of workshops and seminars. The
knowledge and skills participants gain
are then applied in a second-semester
internship with a local social justice or
women’s advocacy organization.
Sarah Over
Laura Puaca
In her postdoctoral research, historian
and American Fellow Laura Puaca’s
project, “Searching for Scientific Womanpower: Technocratic Feminism and
the National Security State, 1940–1980,”
links the origins of contemporary feminist interest in science to the rise of
the national security state. She teaches
courses at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, that
examine women’s history, the history of
gender and sexuality, and the history of
social movements in the United States.
Visit the AAUW Alumnae Exchange, an
online community for fellowship and grant
recipients to connect, collaborate, and
engage, at www.aauw-exchange.org.
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aauw | outlook
27
look at the web
Set up a
sleek branch
website.
site-resources.aauw.org
Site Resources has templates,
graphics, and step-by-step instructions to help you create a
professional website for your
branch or state.
blog-aauw.org
Revamp Your Website
with AAUW Site
Resources
During the national convention in June,
AAUW announced the availability of Site
Resources, a mission to provide branded
websites for AAUW states and branches. Site
Resources, AAUW’s free in-house web-hosting service, is based on the WordPress platform, an easy-to-use program for updating
content on state and branch websites. Even if
you aren’t computer savvy, you can set up and
maintain a website for your branch and state
needs. If you can use word-processing programs, you can use WordPress!
Site Resources delivers a set of web-based
tools to help states and branches maximize
cost-effective membership communication, retention, recruitment, and fundraising efforts online. More than 44 branches
and states have already signed on to turn
their website worries into website solutions
with Site Resources. Is your branch or state
on board yet? Visit site-resources.aauw.org
and contact AAUW’s support staff at [email protected] or 202/785-7775 to learn
more.
AAUW Dialog, our lively blog, is a
great place to gather and discuss
the issues of the day.
States and branches all over the country have already taken
advantage of our new Site Resources templates. Here is a
sample of what your site could look like.
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From the AAUW Blog:
No Room for Old Men
A recent Washington Post
article by Pam Gerhardt
focused on her search for
a retirement home for her
father and the preponderance
of women in these facilities.
The places she visited were
full of doilies, chintz, teddy
bears with bows, potpourri,
and manicure afternoons.
Men apparently want poker
night, Saving Private Ryan,
and a bar. I think she forgot to
add places to sit and scratch,
belching rooms, a 600-inch
TV, and red meat night. … This
suggests that facilities might
need to consider making their
environments more attractive
to men. Probably a valid concern, but I’m sure there are
places out there where men
and women coexist and with
suitable activities for both (at
least I hope so).
Read more of Gloria Blackwell’s post at blog-aauw.org.
Happy 76th Birthday,
Social Security!
August 14 marked the 76th
anniversary of Social Security.
When it began in 1935, Social
Security only paid retirement
benefits to workers, not their
spouses or children. Now the
effort has evolved to become
one of the most successful
anti-poverty programs in our
nation’s history. It’s a national
commitment to care for one
another across generations.
Read Beth Scott’s full post at
blog-aauw.org.
Thank you!
Yo ur 2 0 1 1 N at ioN a l C oNveNt i o N was a h u ge s u C C ess!
Visit convention.aauw.org for all the highlights,
and join us next time in one of America’s most exciting cities.
s av e t h e Dat e !
2013 AAUW National Convention
June 9–12, 2013
Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, New Orleans
Check out what’s inside!
Visit ShopAAUW for all your branch’s needs.
ShopAAUW offers stylish clothes so that you can wear AAUW,
pens and notebooks so that you can write AAUW,
business cards and banners so that you can promote AAUW,
speaker and officer gifts so that you can give AAUW,
and many more great items so that anyone can live AAUW!
Visit aauw.source4.com today.
www.aauw.org
800/255-9998
The new AAUW pendant, a beautiful piece of jewelry
designed especially for AAUW, is available online.
Breaking through Barriers
Congratulations
to the 2011 Breaking through Barriers Award winners,
finalists, and honorable mentions!
Awardees
Mentoring Fifth-grade girls:
Young Women in action
sister-to-sister summit
Finalists
AAUW Maryville (TN) Branch
Bullying and Cyberbullying: a Community Concern
AAUW Napa County (CA) Branch
Dare to Dream: get Educated!
AAUW Lombard Area (IL) Branch, AAUW Downers Grove
Area (IL) Branch, AAUW Elmhurst Area (IL) Branch,
AAUW Wheaton-Glen Ellyn (IL) Branch
Discover the Future: a science and Math Extravaganza
AAUW Lansdale (PA) Branch
Expanding Your Horizons
AAUW Salem (OR) Branch
girls to Women in stEM
AAUW Colorado Springs (CO) Branch
growing stEM girls: a Why So Few? tool Kit for
turning awareness into action
AAUW Ballwin-Chesterfield (MO) Branch
innovative teaching grants
AAUW Puyallup Valley (WA) Branch
AAUW Buffalo (NY) Branch
Wings: Women interested
in going to school
AAUW Seaside (OR) Branch and
AAUW Astoria (OR) Branch
Honorable Mentions
AAUW Vancouver (WA) Branch
tech savvy
aauW of alabama student advisory Council
AAUW of Alabama
advancing aauW Public Policy through social
Media and increased Branch activities
AAUW of Michigan
advocating and negotiating for Fair Pay seminar
AAUW Douglas County (CO) Branch
Creating Your Future in science and Math
AAUW Newport County East Bay (RI) Branch
Creative Community Collaboration: nsu-aauW, the
PaCE Center for girls, and the alvin sherman library
AAUW Nova Southeastern University (FL) Branch
Education, Employment, Empowerment: the global
Prospects for Women
AAUW of Massachusetts
Equity issues in the Classroom
AAUW Knoxville (TN) Branch
Mentoring today for success tomorrow
AAUW Las Vegas (NV) Branch
esMart summer Camp for girls
AAUW St. George (UT) Branch
Paycheck Fairness awareness
AAUW Lake Wales (FL) Branch
getting to Know Your Muslim neighbors
AAUW Kirkland-Redmond (WA) Branch
science spooktacular
AAUW Aurora (IL) Branch, AAUW Naperville Area (IL)
Branch
High school sophomore summits
AAUW North Harris County (TX) Branch
speech trek—Eleanor stem allen Memorial
AAUW San Mateo (CA) Branch
issues Conferences
AAUW of New Jersey
taking Middle school latinas to College
AAUW of Iowa
Power at the Polls: Women running in the
Direction of Election
AAUW San Diego (CA) Branch
tech trek California
AAUW of California
scholar recognition
AAUW Bellingham (WA) Branch
Wellston stEM Project
AAUW Ballwin-Chesterfield (MO) Branch
tech Excellence
AAUW San Jose (CA) Branch
Women Helping girls—girls taking Charge!
AAUW Greater Rochester Area (NY) Branch
Women across Borders: Chihuahua and new Mexico
AAUW of New Mexico
w ww.aauw.o rg/lear n /awards/btb.cf m
Sometimes
It Pays
to Be
Charitable
A
s Susan B. Barley knows, establishing a
Charitable Gift Annuity with AAUW provides a stable income for life while allowing one to
contribute to an equitable future for women and girls.
Barley donated shares of stock to establish an
AAUW Charitable Gift Annuity. The advantages of
this unique gift include tax benefits and a way to lock
in an attractive rate of fixed annuity payments while
also supporting AAUW.
Sample Rates
Effective October 1, 2011
(One Beneficiary)
Age 75
Age 85
Age 90 and over
Susan B. Barley, an AAUW Legacy Circle member
“This CGA has resulted
in tax benefits for me, a
quarterly income, and the
wonderful opportunity to
support AAUW.”
—Susan B. Barley
6.5 percent
8.4 percent
9.8 percent
❏ Send me information about an AAUW Charitable Gift Annuity.
For more information, write or call toll free today.
❏ I would consider including AAUW in my estate plans.
❏ I have already included AAUW in my estate plans.
AAUW Legacy Gifts
Carol Rognrud
Director of Transformational Giving
Birth date: ____________________________________________
Amount: ❏ $10,000 ❏ $50,000 ❏ $100,000 ❏ ____________
Name: _______________________________________________
Phone: 877/357-5587 or 202/728-7627
E-mail: [email protected]
www.aauw.org/legacy
Address: ______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Phone: _______________________________________________
AAUW Legacy Gifts
1111 Sixteenth St. NW, Washington, DC 20036
Life events are
best met with a plan
Planning for long-term care is one of the
smartest decisions you can make. And it’s
a gift for your family, too. With help from
AARP, you can learn about options for
long-term care, find out what it costs, and
create a plan for your future.
Visit www.aarp.org/decide today to
find helpful tools, resources, and
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1.888.OUR.AARP to order materials.
Decide. Create. Share.
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Planning for your long-term care
the magazine of
1111 Sixteenth St. NW
Washington, DC 20036
Get the latest
e-news from AAUW!
Submit your e-mail
address and name to
[email protected].
Celebrating 130
years of AAUW
From suffrage to equal pay,
from sexual harassment laws
to Title IX, AAUW has been on
the front line of every major
battle for American women’s rights. Together, we’ve
accomplished amazing things
through education, advocacy,
research, philanthropy, and an
impassioned grassroots com-
munity. We’re proud to look
back at our legacy of breaking
through barriers for women
and girls, and we’re thrilled to
think about what the next 130
years will bring.
Here’s to our history and our
future!