Ann Fisher, host for “All Sides with Ann Fisher” on WOSU, will keynote a public policy luncheon sponsored by a group of organizations on Friday, October 1, at Fawcett Conference Center, 2400 Olentangy River Rd. Her topic will be “Women and Political Power: Have we moved forward?”

The event will be held from 12 noon till 1:30 p.m. Cost is $30 per person. Reservations may be made by contacting ACTION OHIO Coalition For Battered Women, event organizer, at 614 825-0551 or actionohio@sbcglobal.net. RSVP deadline is September 22.

Organizational co-sponsors include AAUW/Ohio, The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, Amethyst, Incorporated, OSU Department of Women’s Studies, John Glenn School of Public Affairs NEW Leadership Ohio Program, League of Women Voters of Ohio, New Directions Career Center, Ohio National Organization for Women, Ohio Women, Inc., Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio, Women Have Options/Ohio and The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio.

For more information, contact any one of the organizations involved.

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CONTACT:    Phyllis Carlson-Riehm, ACTION OHIO Executive Director

                       614 825-0551

                       actionohio@sbcglobal.net

Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates put forth a challenge – Billionaires pledge at least half of your riches to charity.  They hope to reinvigorate the trend of philanthropy once headlined by Carnegie and Rockefeller. Estate tax eats up 50% of wealth after you die anyway – why not reduce the tax by 50% and give that money to a good cause? Forty Billionaires agree to the challenge.

The Women’s Funding Network did their own version with the Women Moving Millions campaign in 2008.  High-net worth women put their money where their passion lives – toward social change for women and girls.  The campaign, Women Moving Millions, raised $177 million- greatly exceeding its original goal of $150 million.

Our own Women’s Fund had four women become Women Moving Millions.  Now you may not have millions to donate, and you can be inspired by those that do.  Think about where you passion lives and become a philanthropist.  Every dollar counts.

– Liz Shirey

Click here to view the history of women and philanthropy.

Nor does it make a nation, according to a recent study, Human Development Trends Since 1970: A Social Convergence Story. Educated women do.

Looking at developments tracing back to the 1970s, researchers George Gray Molina and Mark Purser found the wealth of a nation has less impact on its standard of living than its gender roles do. It seems the more women are allowed to participate in their country, the more that country prospers (no surprise there). The greater decision-making power women are allowed to have regarding issues such as childbirth and their own education, the greater the country performs. “Demographic transitions, urbanization and declining fertility rates have accelerated life-expectancy and literacy achievements over the past half-century,” the authors write. “We believe the underlying drivers of these changes are linked to individual and household-level decisions concerning fertility and female schooling.”

Digging even deeper, the authors state that, “Human development trends fit into a larger story of demographic change since the 1950s, driven by initial levels of human development and changes in fertility and female schooling.” Women and girls, it is proven, can transform entire nations. Those are the implications of investing in them.

http://backspace.com/notes/links/2010/06/girl-power.php

OTHER EXCERPTS:

When the population of literate women was closer to or exceeded that of males, countries tended to have higher life expectancy in 1970. However, this relationship disappears in 2000.

We find that income is not a significant predictor of life expectancy –once we account for urbanization, fertility and female schooling.

Demographic transitions, urbanization and declining fertility rates have accelerated life-expectancy and literacy achievements over the past half-century (UNDESA 2009). We believe the underlying drivers of these changes are linked to individual and household-level decisions concerning fertility and female schooling. Although correlated, we do not find evidence to suggest that human development trends can be explained by factors associated with economic growth. Holding income constant, social factors seem to be driving the aggregate human development story.

By: Eleanor Rooke

It’s been almost five days and I’m still buzzing from the emotional high I get from participating in the NEW Leadership Ohio Program.  It is by far my favorite time of the year, and this year’s class did not let me down.  I was amazed at the diversity in the room.  The 2010 class consisted of 29 women ages 19 through 40+, from 17 different colleges and universities and seven different countries, and majors ranging from biological sciences, international business and environmental pre-law to psychology, political science and organizational leadership. 

Some of the highlights from the week include a $tart $mart salary negotiation workshop facilitated by the founder of WAGE (Women Are Getting Even), aimed at eliminating the gender wage gap for every woman in America;   a very intimate and inspiring session with Supreme Court Justice Eve Stratton; a panel discussion about the ups and downs of campaigning and serving in office with Democratic and Republican women currently running for local and statewide elected office;  and a speed networking event with women working in the public and non-profit sectors, co-sponsored by Ohio Women in Government.  Speaking of “networking,” that seemed to be the unofficial theme of the week.  We heard over and over again from our speakers, panelists and facilitators that professional success depends upon the strength of your network, and that it is especially important to build and nurture a network of positive, passionate and supportive women.  One of our participants described it as a “Sister Circle.”  

 We were so honored this year to have Anne Kornblut, Washinton Post political correspondent and author of Notes from the Cracked Ceiling: Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin and What it Will Take for a Woman to Win, as a guest on our panel for our keynote dinner.  Joining her were Janet Carson, Geauga County Democratic Party Chairwoman, and Traci Saliba, former candidate for State Representative in the 2^nd House district.  It was an engaging and enlightening discussion about what is being done to identify and cultivate women to run for office and what it will take for a woman to be President in the near future.

The week came to a very emotional end on Friday.  We started out with time for the women to reflect on their experiences. Many of them responded by saying that they had never been part of such a diverse, supportive, and close-knit group of women.  Some shared personal stories of overcoming shyness while learning to network with women throughout the week; others talked about the ways in which they will take their newly formed leadership tools back home and use them to affect positive and lasting change in their community.  We had more than half of the group announce that they were running for office and the other half volunteering to manage their campaigns.  We also heard an impassioned plea from one woman for everyone to stop and think about giving a financial contribution to support NEW Leadership instead of buying that next cup of coffee from Starbucks or that pair of shoes they don’t need.    As we walked to our closing luncheon featuring guest speaker TaKeysha Sheppard Cheney, founder and CEO of The Women’s Book, the women were exuding confidence and camaraderie, the likes of which I did not expect to see.

Words can’t describe our gratitude to the Women’s Fund for continuing to fund and believe in this program that literally changes lives.  It changed mine, and one of the greatest gifts in my life is being able to share it with other women.  Thank you WFCO for being part of the NEW Leadership Ohio Sister Circle!  

Written by: Liz Shirey

Women comprise a surmountable group of such refugees. In many cases, women are forced into displacement through violent acts including physical attack, sexual slavery, kidnapping, prostitution, and rape. Sadly, some of these operations are facilitated by governmental and military groups when a country is at war. When a woman must leave her home by the hand of her own governing body, she needs somewhere to turn.

The Women’s Refugee Commission is a member of the Nongovernmental Organization Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (NGO WG). Their work advocates on the behalf of women refugees to attain social change through the full implementation of a United Nations resolution for women. Worldwide, governments overlook women’s issues, especially when women do not fully participate in the conversation.

A UN resolution geared specifically towards women will guarantee a greater sense of peace and security and hopefully lead to the end of violent displacement. Although some strides towards abolishing this string of violence have been made, a long road remains.

Visit http://womensrefugeecommission.org/ for news about and ways to help women refugees.

Although Angelou works to convey her strength and persistence, the generation gap remains a surmountable barrier for young women looking to bridge stereotypes on their respective paths to success. Women, though comprising more than half of eligible voters, only hold six of the nation’s 50 governing positions. Even worse, only 17 of 100 senators are women.

Despite raising percentages of women earning bachelor, graduate, and professional degrees, men still have a stronghold in the career world. Women’s mean income is also on the rise, but nowhere near the average men earn yearly.

As a current college student, these humbling facts serve not as a deterrent to my career goals, rather as motivation. Sure, my generation has now witnessed a presidential campaign for the history books- entering our adulthood with the first African-American president, beating out a ballot with a woman vice presidential candidate and a female partisan competitor, but that is not enough. If women make up half of the population, why don’t women make up half of everything else? Why aren’t we half of the governing system, medical field, business owners, and so forth?

I am a firm believer in the notion that I control my own destiny. I refuse to let anyone- male or female- tell me I can’t do something. It is my hope that more young women, now and those to come, view the world from my side. What do we have to lose?

After all, Angelou hit the nail on the head, stating, “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”

To read more about Maya Angelou, her work and point of view, follow this link:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/06/02/sanchez.angelou.women/index.html?hpt=C2

Written by: Hallie Kloots