Acheiving equality on Capitol Hill

Politico.com ran a great piece yesterday entitled, "Hill still a climb for female staffers," outlining just how far women have come and just how far we have left to go.

It comes as no surprise that Capitol Hill still holds strong to the antiquated identity of a good ol' boys club.  While, for the first time in herstory, the Speaker of the House is a woman (and a feminist, to boot!), and there are growing networks of women in high-ranking staff positions, women run only 2 of 17 top leadership offices in the House and Senate (House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio, and House Democratic Caucus Co-Chair Xavier Becerra of California).

For those who can't get the link at the top, check out the entire piece at: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22352.html

FMF goes to the Hill

After FMF's National Young Women's Leadership Conference, feminist activists were set to educate their members of Congress about critical issues of particular concern to women.

Over 85 students and feminist advocates met for a Hill briefing at the Cannon Caucus room on Monday 3/23. Our fantastic panel gave great advice for meeting with your elected officials:

Feminist Majority's Norma Gattsek and Ellie Smeal
Carolyn Bartholomew, former chief of staff for Speaker Pelosi
Reva Price, advisor to Speaker Pelosi
Annie Lipsitz, Scheduler, Office of Congresswoman Donna Edward (MD); former FMLA officer
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)

FMF staff then led small group discussions on pay equity, funding for family planning and repro health, CEDAW and IVAWA, and global women's rights.

After meeting with members of Congress and their staff, participants visited the Sewall-Belmont House, home of Alice Paul and the ERA campaign. There, Sen. Barbara Boxer's staff discussed their work on the Hill and insights on working for one of the most powerful women in Congress.

Check out our Flickr slideshow for pics of the visit day and conference! Want to add your pictures to the slideshow? E-mail them to campusteam@feminist.org.



So great work to all of the activists that participated at the congressional visit day! Even if you weren't able to go, you should visit your members' district offices at home and ask how they will support women here and abroad.