CHIPS. Vol. LXI, No. 6/February EXPLORE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES THE SKY S THE LIMIT! -by Wilma Gitchel, Co-Director

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1 Vol. LXI, No. 6/February 2017 MISSION: AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. VISION: AAUW will be a powerful advocate and visible leader in equity and education through research, philanthropy, and measurable change in critical areas impacting the lives of women and girls. VALUE STATEMENT: By joining AAUW, you belong to a community that breaks educational and economic barriers so that all women have a fair chance. In principle and practice, AAUW values and seeks a diverse membership. There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or class Branch Officers Co-Presidents Diona Koerner (914) Linda Swann (914) Program Co-Vice Presidents Sandy Flank Stephanie Lemnios Membership Co-Vice Presidents Phyllis Hirth Pam Margand Recording Co-Secretaries Marge Kingsley Natasha Rose Corresponding Secretary Adie Shore Co-Treasurers Carol McMillan Jane Pendergast CHIPS Editor Sue Lambert, slamb47@aol.com Circulation-Jean Havens Branch Web Site westchester-ny.aauw.net State Web Site National Web Site Facebook at AAUW Westchester NY The AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund provides funding and a support system for individuals seeking judicial redress for sex discrimination. The AAUW Educational Opportunities Fund provides fellowships and grants to aspiring graduate women scholars in the US and around the globe. CHIPS The monthly newsletter of the Westchester Branch of the American Association of University Women, Westchester County, New York State EXPLORE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES THE SKY S THE LIMIT! -by Wilma Gitchel, Co-Director 1

2 "Explore Your Opportunities - The Sky's The Limit!" Conference Help AAUW Celebrate a Legacy of Leadership Through Service! ================================================================================================================ Yes... I want to help the American Association of University Women and the College of Mount Saint Vincent interest girls in opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through the Explore Your Opportunities Conference. Here is my tax deductible contribution for: $ Benefactor ($500 or more) Supporter ($100) Contributor ($50) Friend ($25) Other $ Donations totaling $25 or more, received by March 15, 2017, will be included in our Conference Journal Name: Address: Phone: Please indicate below how your name should appear in the Conference Journal Your contribution to the EYO conference is tax deductible within the limits prescribed by law. Please mail completed form and check payable to with EYO on the memo line to: Carol McMillan, 14 Lyon St., Rye Brook NY Making a Difference - AAUW in partnership with the College of Mount Saint Vincent 2

3 CURRENT ISSUES GROUP POETRY INTEREST GROUP STEM INTEREST GROUP AAUW BOOK GROUP MEETINGS! DAYTIME LITERATURE GROUP TUESDAY MORNING LIT GROUP EV ENING LIT ERAT URE GROUP $ $ BUDGET TIME AGAIN $ $ 3

4 PUBLIC POLICY FOR A NEW YEAR By Selena Barron The theme for this year s AAUW Westchester branch is Women s Viewpoint on Past and Present Issues. Despite Hillary Clinton s failure to break that glass ceiling preventing a woman from being elected president of the United States, recent publications about women s viewpoint gender equity have received a surprising abundance of media coverage and publicity. For example the National Geographic January 2017 issue is entirely devoted to The Gender Revolution and the New York Times on January 1, 2017 in the Business Section showcased an article by Robert Frank entitled Plenty of Billionaires, but Few Are Women. Each substantiates the need for AAUW s continued advocacy for equity for women and girls. The New York Times article points out that women moved up the economic ladder in the 1980 s and the 1990 s. However, today women make up only sixteen per cent of the top one percent of earners and that percentage has remained almost the same for the past ten years. Gabriel Zucman, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote a paper studying gender in the one percentage of earners for the nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research. Mr. Zucman found that The higher up you move in the income distribution, the lower the proportion of women. It shows that there is a fundamental form of inequality at the top related to gender. Professor Zucman states at the present rate, it will take women 100 years to attain the status of fifty percent of the one percent. He said We are a long way from gender equality at the top. Wealth-X explains that women s wealth gap would be larger if inherited wealth was not included. There are 294 female billionaires in the world but only 49 are self -made. There are almost 27,000 women in the world with wealth of thirty million or over. Women in the United States are behind the world curve. For example in 2015 in the United States only nineteen percent of women billionaires were self-made compared to over fifty percent of Asian women billionaires. The New York Times article states that Diane Hendricks, a founder of ABC Supply, a building materials company in Beloit, Wisconsin is the wealthiest self-made woman in the United States at a worth of $4.9 billion and Oprah Winfrey is number two with $3.1 billion. In an interview with Martine Rothblatt the New Times was able to present a unique viewpoint. Ms. Rothblatt was born as Martin and underwent gender reassignment surgery in She founded Sirius Satellite Radio and American Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company. In 2013 she was the highest paid female executive at $38 million. Ms. Rothblatt doesn t credit being a woman with her success. She stated I ve only been a woman for half of my life, and there s no doubt that I ve benefited hugely from being a guy. Ms. Rothblatt believes that wealth is connected to careers in science and technology companies. Therefore she advocates for programs that promote girls in technology and engineering programs. She especially praises Dean Kamen s First organization. She says I am confident that from the girls who participate in First we will achieve gender parity in top income generation over the next generation. The girl who can dominate a field of robots is a woman who can dominate a field of men. The entire January issue of the National Geographic is an important resource for anyone interested in gender equality. The statistics are based on a study begun in 2006 by the World Economic Forum s Global Gender Gap Report. The report tracks progress toward ending gender inequality by measuring women s and men s educational attainment, health and survival, economic participation and political empowerment. A decade of data shows that equity is closest to being achieved in health and education -- ten countries have reached that. But women still lag behind economically and politically. Not a single country has reached parity in these areas. The United States is ranked twenty fourth among the 109 countries that are ranked. We are behind number one, Iceland, and other 4

5 countries including Namibia, South Africa, Bolivia, Estonia, Moldova, Nicaragua, Slovenia and the Philippines. Our AAUW branch is solidly behind Martine Rothblatt s advocacy for introducing girls to the possibility of careers in the STEM fields. By being a member of AAUW you are supporting those efforts through our Explore Your Opportunities The Sky s The Limit conference for 7th grade girls; Wiz Girls-Building The Future an event for 4th through 7th grade girls; and the Eighth Grade Certificates for excellence in math and science; As a member of our branch you are a woman making a difference! JOIN AAUW WESTCHESTER BRANCH 5

6 MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE At the AAUW-NYS Convention Ele a n o r Aro n s t e in, Pre s id e n t, Sc h e n e c t a d y AAUW AAUW-NYS Co nve nt io n will be he ld in Syrac us e o n April A highlight of Friday will be a t o ur and hig h t e a at t he Mat ilda Gag e Fo undat io n fo llo w e d by a t o ur o f t he St ic kle y Mus e um. We will recognize the efforts and achievements of Gage by focusing on her life and her work. Ma t ild a J o s ly n Ga g e w a s b o rn in Cic e ro, NY in Ga g e re c e iv e d a lib e ra l education and became a proliflc writer in the cause of both abolition and women's rights. She co-authored with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Ant hony t he flrst t hree volum es of A History of Woman Suffrage. She also addressed her own concerns about male dominance within Christianity with the publication in 1893 of Woman, Church and State. Her efforts to document the historical 1848 Seneca Falls Convention resulted in her publication in her newspaper (The National Citizen and Ballot Box) of portions of A History of Woman Suffrage..as recorded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Ga g e wa s a ha nd s -o n a c t ivis t, fre q ue nt ly a t t e m p t ing t o vo t e, d e fe nd ing t he rights of other intrepid women who dared approach the ballot box! And she is primarily responsible for securing women the right to vote in school board elections!!! In 1880, she became the flrst woman to vote in Fayetteville under that law. While it would be several decades before women's voting rights became secure, progress is measured incrementally - and we would be remiss if we d id n ' t o ffe r o u r homa g e a n d re s p e c t t o t h is in t re p id w o m a n. He r life lo n g m o t t o - w h ic h is engraved on her cemetery grave stone is: There is a w o rd s w e e t e r t han Mo t he r, Ho m e o r He av e n, that word is Liberty. ABOUT AAUW: OUR NONPARTISAN, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION HAS MORE THAN Since its first meeting in 1881, AAUW has been a catalyst for change. Throughout our history, AAUW members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day educational, social, economic, and political. Go to an online collection of AAUW milestones that tells the story of AAUW s important role in women s history. 6

7 FEBRUARY 2 BRANCH MEETING 10:30 A.M. AT THE GREENBURGH LIBRARY PROGRAM: UNCONVENTIONAL WOMENʼS CAREER: FIREFIGHTERS PRESENTED BY HALA MAKOWSKA Hala Makowska, volunteer firefighter, retired Fire Commissioner and current Town Councilwoman, will discuss the what itʼs like to be a volunteer firefighter and explain the requirements and opportunities for women of all ages to be a firefighter. Being a volunteer firefighter has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I felt part of real team making a real difference to neighbors during their time of need. While not commonplace, women in firefighting are growing numbers and becoming leaders. Either as a volunteer or as a career firefighter, there is a genuine need for women (and men) in firefighting. Agenda: Fire Department demographics overview Fire Department structure Requirements for firefighting Physical Personality attribute Training Roles Rewards and reality Hands on with basic equipment Q & A Appendix: Resources AAUW INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE By: Maddy Krol, SUNY Purchase AAUW Intern For the past three months as an intern from SUNY Purchase I've had the privilege to cover stories ranging from the medical world, to human interest stories to events for AAUW. I was honored to be chosen for this internship and I enjoyed every minute of it, not just from the experience of covering stories, interviewing interesting people, listening to informative talks but meeting the members of AAUW as well as the impressive speakers. I developed my skills as a journalist but also my skills as a communicator, listener and writer. In addition to the skills I acquired, my work had personal meaning to me in working for an organization dedicated to improving the lives of the women and exposing women to the options that await them professionally, socially and educationally. It was inspiring for me, as a young woman currently attending college, to see established women who were able to reach their professional potential through higher education. Working closely with the American Association of University Women of Westchester was an amazing experience for me and I m proud of the work I accomplished as an intern. The women of the Westchester Branch are proving that important work for bettering the lives of women can be done anywhere. As Diana Reinhard, a professor of SUNY Purchase who was the dedicated speaker at AAUW s November meeting, Even though Westchester County doesn t get a lot of attention in much of the historical scholarship, there were a lot of women on both personal, local, state and even national levels who were working to change all sorts of aspects of the lives of Americans. And it s important to go back and reclaim those contributions that they gave. 7

8 c/ o Barbara Sarver 34 Scenic Circle Crot on on Hudson, NY FEBRUARY /1 Branch Meeting Greenburgh Library 10:30 a.m. 2/1 Board Meeting Greenburgh Library 12 p.m. 2/2 Thursday Bridge Group 1 p.m. 2/3 Current Issues Discussion Group Selena Barron s Home 10 a.m. 2/6 Monday Bridge Group 11 a.m. 2/8 STEM Interest Group Greenburgh Library 10 a.m. 2/8 Evening Literature Group Mt. Kisco Diner 6 p.m. 2/9 Thursday Bridge Group 1 p.m. 2/10 Deadline for submitting for CHIPS 2/11 EYO Planning Meeting College of Mount St. Vincent 9:30 a.m. 2/13 Monday Bridge Group 11 a.m. 2/14 Tuesday Morning Literature Group Carol McMillan s Home 10 a.m. 2/16 Thursday Bridge Group 1 p.m. 2/17 Pay Equity Group Greenburgh Library 12 p.m. 2/20 Monday Bridge Group 11 a.m. 2/21 Financial Interest Study Group Sophie Keyes Home 10 a.m. 2/21 Poetry Interest Group Janice Rabinowitz s Home 1:30 p.m. 2/23 Daytime Literature Group Ossining Library 10 a.m. 2/23 Thursday Bridge Group 1 p.m. 2/27 Monday Bridge Group 11 a.m. 8