On April 2, 2009, inspired by a WomenCount campaign, Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA), introduced legislation calling for a Presidential Commission on Women.
“Despite advances made over the generations, there are still institutional hurdles and inequities that women face every day,” said U.S. Representative Jackie Speier. “This Commission will help shine a light on the lives and livelihood of American women and help illuminate the path toward a brighter and more equitable future.”
There hasn't been a national commission to review the status of women in the United States in nearly fifty years; the last Presidential Commission on the Status of Women was launched by President Kennedy in 1961.
Last night, WomenCount and Fem 2.0 hosted an open chat to hear from women nationwide about what they hoped the Commission would be and achieve.
Although President Obama did announce his White House Council on Women and Girls, this Commission would serve a different purpose, including:
- an independent, thorough look at the lives of women in America – at home, in the workplace, our health, our economic impact – and create strategies for moving forward.
- an external focus. It will call upon experts from around the country with diversity in geography, age, ethnicity, industry sector, and all else.
- a bipartisan focus. In the spirit of the Obama Administration, the Commission will reach across political ideology. After all, improving the future for women in America is not a partisan issue.
- a significant grassroots component. It will encourage the participation of millions of women from around the country who can provide feedback and input.
Participants in the Fem 2.0 and WomenCount chat offered various ideas and concerns.
Many were excited at the prospect, but others were concerned it would be a lot of talk and little action. Most agreed that they wanted it to be open to grassroots participation. Participants discussed what selection criteria would include for members of the Commission and how the action items from the Commission could be implemented. The majority of participants were worried about the limitations of the $2 million budget, but WomenCount representative Sarah Granger explained that Rep. Speier included this amount to ensure the legislation's passage.
What do you think of this Commission---wnat would you hope to see from it? What would you say to WomenCount or Rep. Speier about this initiative?
I think the only additional thing I would like the commission to focus on is the needs of women globally. I'd like the commission to be active in identifying the needs of women in different areas of the world and what the US can do to help, and to also measure the impact of various US choices on women around the world. Speaking of - I thought you might like the movie The Great Mother (http://womenoftibet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43&Itemid=43) It's a documentary about the Dalai Lama's mother, and it's super good and well done, and is about motherhood in general as well. It was great to hear such an amazing spiritual and political leader so humbled when talking about the nature of the mother, he says that mother is the first teacher, of kindness, compassion, foregiveness, do's + don'ts and how to be with each other, and in this way mother is before religion. I thought it was nice to see him give mama her due, and thought you might want to blog about the movie.
Posted by: Lateralgal | April 15, 2009 at 11:28 AM