One Week Until the National Young Feminist Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.!

There’s one week left until the Feminist Majority Foundation’s National Young Feminist Leadership Conference hosted by George Washington University in Washington, D.C.! Registration at the door will be available, but pre-registration closes at 6pm EST on Wednesday, March 9.

This is something you don’t want to miss!

Hear from amazing feminists, activists, and representatives:

• Eleanor Smeal, President, Feminist Majority Foundation
• Tina Tchen, Chief of Staff, First Lady Michelle Obama & Executive Director, White House Council on Women and Girls
• Secretary Hilda Solis, Secretary of United States Department of Labor
• Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Congressional Delegate, District of Columbia
• Rep. Donna Edwards, Maryland's 4th Congressional District

• Rep. Gwen Moore, Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District
• Steph Herold, Activist and Founder, "I Am Dr. Tiller"

Registration is only $30 for a 3-day weekend packed with feminist connections, activist education & training, empowering discussions, and visiting with Congress to make feminist voices heard, especially during this time where women’s health is being attacked in the House. Meet young feminists from all over the country to talk about ways to organize on campus and in your communities!

In addition to being part of the conversation of feminist activism today, participants will receive a free copy of “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn.

Discounts are still available for groups of 5 or more, and the Campus Team is here to help you plan your trip. E-mail us at nyflc@feminist.org or call 866-444-FMLA for more information. See you next Saturday! You won’t want to miss it!!

If you’ve already registered and are joining us on Monday for the Congressional Education Day, don’t forget to call your Senators and Representatives to set up congressional visits!

Friday Funday: Capitol Hill event Tuesday!

Rep. Carolyn Maloney will be reintroducing the Women's Equality Amendment on Tuesday, July 21st, at 10 a.m. at the House Triangle (on the Capitol side of Independence Avenue across from the Rayburn House Office Building).

This should be a great event, and we'll probably go. If you go too, let us know!

American women's suffrage activist Alice Paul drafted the first version of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923 to enshrine gender equality in the US Constitution. She rewrote the amendment in 1945, and the 1945 language has been reintroduced in every session of Congress since. The text reads:

THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

Both houses of Congress passed the amendment in 1972, but by 1982, only 35 states had ratified the amendment, 3 short of the 38 states needed for the amendment's passage. Since then, members of Congress have reintroduced versions of the ERA every year.

Aside from suffrage rights, the Constitution contains no enumerated protections against discrimination on the basis of sex or gender. Including such language in the highest law of the land would hasten the attainment of gender equality and bring us closer to a more perfect union.

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.