Another year, another 23-cent wage gap for women and their families. And with our inactive Congress and still-troubling economy, women feel the pinch of the wage gap, but there’s little being done about it. That’s where you come in.
National AAUW invites you to mark Equal Pay Day, Tuesday, April 17, by holding an (un)happy hour to spread the word about the gender pay gap and AAUW.
Here are some tips to help you plan your own Equal Pay Day event.
1. Read our online guide to preparing your own Cocktails and Convos happy hour.
2. Ask someone in your branch to speak briefly (three to five minutes) at the happy hour about fair pay and why it’s important. Suggested topics include
Pass it on: Share this fact with your audience — Just one year after college graduation, women make only 80 percent of what their male counterparts earn — and ask attendees to pass that information on to their friends and families.
The Paycheck Fairness Act: There’s a bill that deals with pay equity before Congress, but members of Congress need to hear you support it! Encourage attendees to call their representatives and advocate for the bill. (Need inspiration? AAUW Public Policy Director Lisa Maatz has you covered.)
Vote: Pay attention to the elections, and ask local candidates running for office what they’ll do for your state’s wage gap. Encourage friends and family to register and vote this November, and get involved in the AAUW Action Fund’s campaign to get out the vote.
3. The AAUW logo and I Am the Face of Pay Equity design are available on posters and stickers for use at AAUW events at no charge, while supplies last. Request materials for your Equal Pay Day event here! In addition, print copies of AAUW’s research booklet The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap. This commonsense guide provides key facts about the gender pay gap in the United States, with explanations and resources to help readers effectively advocate for pay equity.
4. Get creative! Hand out Pay Day candy bars to everyone who attends. Ask the bar to have a drink special inspired by equal pay. (Our favorite name is the Equalizer.) Give away a copy of Lilly Ledbetter’s new book, Grace and Grit. The sky is your limit.
After lobbying by AAUW, the government has lifted restrictions on reselling children’s books. Branches with book sales will not have to submit children’s books for lead testing, a costly process that would have affected fundraising. Branches are reminded that they shouldn’t sell any book that they know or should know contains lead. Contact Beth Scott at 202/728-7617 or scottb@aauw.org with questions.
The Champaign Branch is now accepting applications for a renewable $1,000 scholarship for a woman returning to school during the 2012-13 academic year.
Applicants must live, work, or attend school in Champaign County and be out of high school for at least three years before applying. Preference will be given to applicants who are earning their first degree or credential.
Applications are due April 15. For more information or to request and application contact: Trish Garrison, tgarrison@woh.rr.com, 937-405-7946 or Lee Henderson, eleehenderson@yahoo.com, 937-206-4648.
The AAUW Ohio Equity Day and Convention 2012 will be held April 14-15 at the Findlay Inn in Findlay.
When: Equity Day is Saturday, April 14, and Convention is Sunday, April 15.
Where: Findlay Inn, 200 East Main Cross Street, Findlay, Ohio 45840
Accommodations: Special room rate at the Findlay Inn is $84 and includes breakfast. Reservation code: AAUW. Make your reservation by March 31 to get this special rate. Call 800-825-1455 and mention AAUW.
Cost: The cost for each day is $60, which includes breaks and lunch. The cost for both days is $120. Add $10 for registrations after March 29. The optional Saturday evening Awards Banquet is $30.
Registration and Payment: Complete the Equity Day and Convention Registration Form and submit it with your check – or pay using PayPal. Add $10 for registrations submitted after March 29. E-mail your completed form to aauw.christine@gmail.com.
If you do not wish to register and pay online, follow the alternate instructions on the Equity Day and Convention Registration Form.
More AAUW Ohio Equity Day and Convention 2012 Links:
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AAUW Ohio Equity Day and Convention 2012 Page: An overview of the two-day event, along with links to other convention information.
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AAUW Ohio Equity Day and Convention 2012 Program: You can download the detailed schedule for this two-day event as a PDF. Includes breakout session options.
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Read more about this event in the Winter 2012 issue of AAUW Ohio Orbit.
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Get ready for Convention by reading about American education: Details about the book chosen for the all-convention book read on Friday, April 13, at 8 p.m. at the Findlay Inn.
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Make sure your branch is recognized. Get the details for applying for programming, communication and diversity awards given out at Convention.
- Bowling Green Branch will recognize Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day March 1 at 6 p.m.with a program on Women of Ciudad Juárez: Femicide and other 21st century challenges to Human Rights in the Americas. The location is the Wood County Public Library. Presenters are Bowling Green Branch member Dr. Susana Peña and Dr. John Kaiser Ortiz.
- Zanesville Branch is sponsoring its Annual K-12 Scholastic Art Exhibition at the Zanesville Museum of Art. Hundreds of pieces created by student artists will be on display through March 31. The opening reception is Saturday, March 3, 1-4 p.m.
- Defiance Branch is pleased to present Representative Teresa Fedor on Monday, March 5 at 7 p.m. in the Schomberg Auditorium at The Defiance College. Rep. Fedor is actively working on legislation to Stop Trafficking in Ohio. Your branches are welcome to attend this event that is reflective of AAUW Ohio’s programming missions.
- Champaign County Branch will meet March 6 at 6 p.m. for dinner at the Mayflowers Restaurant on North Main Street in Urbana. The after-dinner program will be a visit to the Johnny Appleseed Museum at Urbana University at 7:30 p.m.
- Toledo Branch will meet Wednesday, March 7, 14 and 21 from 10-11:30 a.m. at the Manor House in Wildwood Metropark on Central Avenue in Toledo. Members will celebrate various “Women in History” on all three dates. Call 419-277-0107 to make sure there is a spot for you.
- Worthington Branch will meet March 7 at 7 p.m. at the Worthington Municipal Building, 6550 High St. in Worthington. AAUW Ohio Public Policy Advocate Karen Rainey will recap the plitical primaries and public policy as it stands in an election year. Read more about what she does.
- Zanesville Branch will hold its monthly luncheon at 11:30 a.m. March 10 at Primrose on Northpointe. The program will be Mike Welsh of Friendly Hills Camp who will speak on “Critters – Exotic Rescue.” The annual election of officers will also take place.
- The Delaware Branch March 12 meeting will feature Nancy Pitts, Ohio Regional Coordinator for Raising Women’s Voices, a national initiative that advocates for women’s concerns in health care reform. She is also the board chair for Women Have Options, and a fellow member of the FOCO coalition. She will speak about the changes that the Affordable Care Act has made to women’s health care. The meeting will be held in the Bayley Room of the Beeghly Library (Ohio Wesleyan Library–the parking lot is on Park Ave. at the end of Franklin St. in Delaware). The goup will gather at 7:15 p.m. for refreshments, and the program begins at 7:30 p.m. Visitors are invited.
- Toledo Branch will view the film Miss Representation on Monday, March 12, at the Holiday Inn French Quarter in Perrysburg. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the film begins at 6:30 p.m. with a panel discussion at 8 p.m. that will include Teresa Fedor, state representative, and Amy Hanson-Atkins, MSW, LISW-S. The documentary film addresses how sexist media images of women can contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in our country. Call Michelle Radtkin at 419-787-8258 for details.
- Middletown Branch is collecting gently used books, puzzles, games, CDs, DVDs, and special interest magazines for its March 15-18 book sale. Donations may be dropped off 10 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays at the AAUW site at Towne Mall, Loading Dock D, which faces Ohio 122. Proceeds go toward scholarships for area students. For information or to arrange for book pickup, call 513-424-7551.
- Springfield Branch will meet for a program on the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts on March 19 at 7 p.m. with Tammy Proctor of Wittenberg University at 105 Shouvlin Center.
- Zanesville Branch will celebrate Women’s History Month Thursday, March 22, at 6:30 p.m., Dr. Gerald Bazer, Dean Emeritus of Owens Community College, will present part two of last year’s popular presentation on “America’s First Ladies.” The event will be held in the auditorium of the McIntire Library.
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Heights-Hillcrest-Lyndhurst Branch is holding a free public policy forum. The event, “21st Century Women: Strategies for Survival and Success,” will be held Saturday, March 31, from 1-4 p.m. at University Circle United Methodist Church in the University Circle area in Cleveland. Download the flyer, which includes a map and detailed directions to the event.
Find out more about AAUW Ohio Branch programs and events.
AAUW will host an event with the Sewall-Belmont House & Museum on March 7 to celebrate the release of Lilly Ledbetter’s book, Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond.
Ledbetter and AAUW Executive Director Linda Hallman will discuss the road to signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act at the event, “Meet the Face of Pay Equity.” President Barack Obama famously signed the groundbreaking law, which amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to reset the statute of limitations for discriminatory pay, as among his first official acts as president in January 2009.
Ledbetter’s book comes out on Feb. 28. Additionally, Ledbetter will appear on both CBS’ This Morning and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show on March 5.
AAUW has worked closely with Ledbetter to fight pay discrimination and congratulates her on this important work. AAUW has long fought to end wage discrimination. As early as 1922, AAUW’s legislative program called for a repeal of salary restrictions in the Women’s Bureau to address pay disparities. Nearly a century later, women working full time earn on average about 77 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn. Now, AAUW continues to advocate for stronger national pay equity laws in the form of the Paycheck Fairness Act.
Take action! Use our Equal Pay Day ideas for action to educate your community about the pay gap and the toll it takes on American women!
Rep. Lynn Wachtmann is calling his House Health and Aging Committee back to conduct a second hearing on HB 298, the bill to
defund Planned Parenthood.
The hearing, during which proponent testimony will be accepted, has been scheduled for next Tuesday, February 28 beginning at 9:30 a.m. in Room 116 of the Statehouse.
Consider coming to the Statehouse that morning to let Rep. Wachtmann and the committee members know that we are watching them and will hold them accountable for their ongoing War on Women.
The sponsors of HB 298 claim that this “legislation…will defund entities that perform abortions or maintain or operate a facility where abortions are performed. Planned Parenthood in Ohio serves as a prime example of such an entity.”
Defunding Planned Parenthood in Ohio would impact the delivery of critical health care services to nearly 100,000 people, most of them low-income.
In these tough economic times, women should have access to essential health care services such as breast and cervical cancer screening, birth control, and prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases by the health care provider of their choice.
If you can’t make it to the Statehouse next Tuesday, visit the Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Ohio Web page to get more information about how you can take action by signing a petition and/or contacting your representative. .
Storm the Statehouse: Lobby for Women’s Lives on March 21. Freedom of Choice Ohio is calling on all pro-choice Ohioans to speak up, speak out, and lobby their senators about keeping abortion safe and legal.
State lawmakers will return from their spring break in March and could pass the “heartbeat” abortion ban at any time.
Now is the time, join us on March 21 and make sure your voice is heard, speak out for women’s health, speak out against the “heartbeat” abortion ban! The cost is $15. The student rate is $5.
Details:
9:30 a.m. - Registration
10 a.m.-1 p.m. – Program
Location:
YWCA Columbus
65 S. Fourth St.
Huntington Ballroom
Get the registration form.
Read more about the “heartbeat” bill:
- Testimony on HB 125, The Heartbeat Bill, before the Senate Health, Human Services and Aging Committee on Dec. 12, 2011
- Read H.B. 125
Gather some fun items you think would garner generous bids, arrange them in an attractive basket, box or other container, and donate your creative collection of goods to our Silent Auction to benefit AAUW Funds at our AAUW Ohio Equity Day and Convention 2012.
Just check off the appropriate box on the Equity Day and Convention Registration Form. For more information, contact Adrienne Knight, Fundraising VP, at knighta@bgsu.edu.
Heights-Hillcrest-Lyndhurst Branch is holding a free public policy forum. The event, “21st Century Women: Strategies for Survival and Success,” will be held Saturday, March 31, from 1-4 p.m. at University Circle United Methodist Church in the University Circle area in Cleveland.
Karen Lewis, President of Chicago Teachers Union
Download the flyer, which includes a map and detailed directions to the event. Read more about other AAUW Ohio state and branch events.
