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THE EQUALITY STANDARD |
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This is the newsletter on women's issues, local and global,
published by Fifty/Fifty Leadership, a non-profit organization promoting women's equal leadership. |
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Rigoberta Menchu Tum - the first indigenous woman to run for president in the history of Guatemala (see story below) |
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In this issue: |
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IN THE NEWS |
| Marriage and Working Outside the Home |
| Marriages of women who work outside the home are more likely to stay together than the marriages of those who do not. The Los Angeles Daily News reported recently that in recent studies, several shifts have seen to have taken place, including what some are calling "egalitarian marriages", away from the homemaker-breadwinner scenario of the mid twentieth century. |
| Dr. Susan Athey First Woman to Receive Economics Award |
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Dr. Susan Athey wins the John Bates Clark Medal, generally regarded as the most prestigious award in economics. It is awarded every two years to someone under 40 and working in America . Of the thirty winners, 11 of them have gone on to receive a Nobel prize. Dr. Athey is the first woman to receive this prize. |
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RIGOBERTA MENCHU TUM |
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Guatemalan Presidential Candidate Rigoberta Menchu Tum has a peaceful, loving presence and is truly a wise and righteous woman.
She was born on January 9, 1959 to a poor Indian peasant family and raised in the Quiche branch of the Mayan culture. In her early years she helped with the family farm work, either in the northern highlands where her family lived, or on the Pacific coast, where both adults and children went to pick coffee on the big plantations.
Rigoberta Menchú soon became involved in social reform activities through the Catholic Church, and became prominent in the women's rights movement when still only a teenager. Such reform work aroused considerable opposition in influential circles, especially after a guerilla organization established itself in the area. The Menchú family was accused of taking part in guerrilla activities and Rigoberta's father, Vicente, was imprisoned and tortured for allegedly having participated in the execution of a local plantation owner. After his release, he joined the recently founded Committee of the Peasant Union (CUC).
In 1979, Rigoberta, too, joined the CUC. That year her brother was arrested, tortured and killed by the army. The following year, her father was killed when security forces in the capital stormed the Spanish Embassy where he and some other peasants were staying. Shortly afterwards, her mother also died after having been arrested, tortured and raped. Rigoberta became increasingly active in the CUC, and taught herself Spanish as well as other Mayan languages than her native Quiche. In 1980, she figured prominently in a strike the CUC organized for better conditions for farm workers on the Pacific coast, and on May 1, 1981, she was active in large demonstrations in the capital. She joined the radical 31st of January Popular Front, in which her contribution chiefly consisted of educating the Indian peasant population in resistance to massive military oppression.
In 1981, Rigoberta Menchú had to go into hiding in Guatemala , and then flee to Mexico . That marked the beginning of a new phase in her life: as the organizer abroad of resistance to oppression in Guatemala and the struggle for Indian peasant peoples' rights. In 1982, she took part in the founding of the joint opposition body, The United Representation of the Guatemalan Opposition (RUOG). In 1983, she told her life story to Elisabeth Burgos Debray. The resulting book, called in English, I, Rigoberta Menchú , is a gripping human document which attracted considerable international attention. In 1986, Rigoberta Menchú became a member of the National Coordinating Committee of the CUC, and the following year she performed as the narrator in a powerful film called When the Mountains Tremble , about the struggles and sufferings of the Maya people. On at least three occasions, Rigoberta Menchú has returned to Guatemala to plead the cause of the Indian peasants, but death threats have forced her to return into exile.
Over the years, Rigoberta Menchú has become widely known as a leading advocate of Indian rights and ethno-cultural reconciliation, not only in Guatemala but in the Western Hemisphere generally, and her work has earned her several international awards.
Please consider making a contribution to her campaign. You can make your check out to: Rigoberta Menchu Tum and mail it to P.O. Box 861835, Los Angeles , CA 90086
For more information please call- (818) 429-8317 or (818) 288-1143 |
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The Glendale Commission on the Status of Women is down to just 4 Commissioners, out of a total of 7 and City Council is convening the panels to fill the empty positions. If you live in the City of Glendale, California, are interested in being active in supporting what happens to the lives of the women and girls in the City, consider applying to be a Commissioner.
Click here for an application: Commission Application or
call the City Manager's Office at: 818-548-4844 |
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| BOOKS, BOOKS.& a CD |
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All the books are available on Amazon.com. Click here, then click on the Amazon icon. You will be taken to the Amazon website and for any purchase you make, Amazon will make a donation to Fifty/Fifty Leadership.
Dreams for our Daughters
A Collection of Dreams, wishes and perspectives for our collective daughters
by Bonnie Allmon Coffey |
Bonnie Coffey is the President of the National Association of Commissions on the Status of Women as well as being staff to the Nebraska Women's Commission.
I stumbled on Bonnie's book and spent several evenings savoring the many entries in this delightful book. Read it and you will want to write your own. Bonnie writes in her introduction that there are entries from "women of all kinds of diverse backgrounds . famous women, professional women, women incarcerated in prisons, rural women, stay-at-home moms and women who have lost their daughters." |
| Although I have not read the following three books, the reviews have been great and they are on my list to be read. They are on the subject of careers and offer food for thought about the timing of career and children: |
Off-Ramps and On-Ramps:
Keeping Talented Women on the Road to Success
By Sylvia Ann Hewlett |
Mothers on the Fast Track:
How a New Generation Can Balance Family & Careers
By Mary Ann Mason & Eve Mason Ekman |
Back on the Career Track:
A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work |
Jewels
By Michael Cunningham & Connie Briscoe |
| Among More magazine's "Don't Miss" books, they say about this book: The 50 Black women over 50 whose portraits and stories are offered here are beautiful, wise, accomplished (even the not-famous ones, event the not-rich ones). But the book causes no envy - only joy. |
Beauty Bites Beast
By Ellen Snortland |
Have you read this book yet? If not, I recommend it as an entertaining and educating read. You will learn much about the history of feminism and about how crucial it is that we learn to defend ourselves - and how that is not something we have been taught. Ellen is also making a documentary of this book.
To see a preview, click here:
(You will need to download Quicktime 7 to view) |
Why "Nice" Doesn't Work & What You Can Do About it
Create the life you want by mastering five simple decision making skills
By Gina Rae Hendrickson |
This Audio CD program provides a wake up call for any one who feels overburdened with responsibilities, dissatisfied after negotiating, or concerned about not getting their needs met. People who follow these practical guidelines report a dramatic improvement in the quality of their lives.
Please visit www.ginarae.com and click on store for details. Questions? Contact Gina Rae Hendrickson for info:
805.252.6000 FAX 805.899.7739 Email: ginarae@ginarae.com |
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EVENTS
Please let us know of events in YOUR area that we can post here. If you know of conferences, programs that will inform, educate and inspire, we will consider them for publication. Ed.
Saturday, June 2nd 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Tea Party
Tea Rose Garden
28 South Raymond Street
Shepherd's Door Domestic Violence Resource Center invites you to put on your hat and your dress and come to the Tea Rose Garden in Pasadena at this FUNdraiser. Tickets are $40. To reserve your seat or for more details call (626) 683-1640 or email Linda at shepherdsdoor2001@yahoo.com
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Saturday, June 2nd 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
"Office Hours"
Join Nayiri Nahabedian, recently elected School Board Member, for her first "Office Hours"
Urartu Coffee
119 N Maryland Blvd
This is an opportunity for conversations about Glendale schools and students. Nayiri will hold "Office Hours" monthly in an effort to be available and be of service to Glendale parents, teachers, organizations and the community. Join us with your questions, comments or concerns. Nayiri will be rotating the venue because I want to be available in different parts of Glendale .
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Saturday, June 2nd 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Cake 'n Conversation
Pasadena's 50:50 Coalition Presents
Cake 'n Conversation
YWCA of Pasadena
1200 N. Fair Oaks, Pasadena
The Coalition will be evaluating their efforts in the last election and begin planning for the next election.
RSVP to: monica.hubbard@charter.net
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Saturday, June 2nd 7:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Meet Guatemalan Presidential Candidate Rigoberta Menchu Tum
Thanks to Karin Davalos of the Los Angeles County Commission on the Status of Women for letting know of this event:
Political Fundraiser for:
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Rigoberta Menchu Tum
Guatemalan 2007 Presidential Candidate
Please join us in supporting the first indigenous woman
to run for president in the history of Guatemala
777 North Workman Street
San Fernando, CA 91340
For more information please call- (818) 429-8317 or (818) 288-1143
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Saturday, June 2nd 12:00 Midnight
Special Event
The Actor's Gang
Ivy Substation
9070 Venice Boulevard
Culver City
Tim Robbins started The Actor's Gang several years ago and has been bringing talented actors to the stage in Culver City . Although they receive grants to put on their shows, much of their operations are dependant on donors. Currently they are behind the eight-ball and run the risk of not being able to open to present their next play, Gulliver's Travels unless we help.
So, after your planned evening on Saturday, come see a special late night show and bring your check books and credit cards to help raise the necessary funds.
For more information call them at 310-838-4264
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Thursday, June 7th 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Honest, Unapologetic, Powerful..
Write Girl in partnership with New Village Charter School presents
Twenty Girls speaking out about their lives, their dreams,
and what it's like to be an urban teenager
National Center for the Preservation of Democracy
In Little Tokyo
111 North Central (at 1st Street)
Los Angeles
For the past 12 weeks, Write Girl has been working with some 10th grade girls at the New Village Charter School near downtown. Most of the girls are either pregnant or young mothers. It has been amazing to watch them grow as writers and see them discover their voices and their stories.
We are celebrating their creative work with the publication of a small book of their writing, and they will be reading their work onstage on.
It's a fantastic little theater, and I'm sure the girls will be thrilled to be performing their work for an audience of supporters.
Details: 213-253-265. Please RSVP to rsvp@writegirl.org
Free Event, Free Snacks, Free Speech
Hope you can join us at this special event.
Dessert reception to follow in the lobby of the theater.
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Sunday, June 17th 6:00 p.m.
Please join Laurel Paley, Leigh Adams, & Robin Carlson in Santa Monica for a staged reading of Ellen Snortland's:
"Now That She's Gone"
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Gloria Steinem says, "Ellen Snortland's one-woman play, "Now That She's Gone," is what good theater is all about. Her funny and tragic, particular and universal story sends us home with a better understanding of our own." |
Sunday, June 17, 2006
Santa Monica
6:00 p.m. doors open;
6:30 - 7:30 p.m. reception and silent auction
8:00 p.m. Curtain
On the Path Gallery
1420 2nd St.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Suggested Donation: $25 to benefit
Robin Carlson's Medical Expenses fund
Reservations: 323-587-0782
Or e-mail: laurelpaley@yahoo.com
Tickets available at the door if there are still seats.
Now That She's Gone is a play that explores Ellen Snortland's often wacky, irreverent and sometimes torturous relationship with her Norwegian-American mother. Now That She's Gone has been described as a Lily Tomlin / Garrison Keillor / Eve Ensler hybrid. passionate, poignant and funny in turns. A memoir piece with Eleanor Roosevelt, sex, drugs and lutefisk, the play and performance have received rave reviews and standing ovations in California , New York , and Washington , D.C. |
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For further information, contact Ellen by visiting: www.snortland.com
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Saturday, July 14, 6 p.m.
"Summer at the Bellevues"
An original play produced by Show of Support Players for Glendale Healthy Kids
The Doctors House
Brand Park, Glendale
There will be a lovely Victorian Carriage (minus horses) on display for photo opps.
For more information email Camille@glendalehealthykids.org
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Fifty/Fifty LEADERSHIP ON THE MOVE
Fifty/Fifty Leadership is growing and no longer fits in our houses. So, we are looking for office space. Do you, or anyone you know, have an extra office in their suite? Perhaps they would be willing to let us have the space as their donation. Or maybe someone you know has an extra office and could use a little (!) extra cash to help pay the rent. If you know of any such space, please call Pauline Field at 818.243.2322 or email her at pfield@Fifty/Fifty.us
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GET RID OF THAT CAR, BOAT OR RV
As you clean out the closets and clean out the garage to prepare for Passover or Easter, don' t overlook that car, boat or RV that you really would like to see gone. It can actually do you and Fifty/Fifty Leadership good! You may be able to claim the deduction on your taxes and Fifty/Fifty Leadership gets half the value of your vehicle. So call today, 800-766-2273 or click below.
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Donate your used car to
Fifty/Fifty Leadership!!
It's simple! Donate your vehicle to raise money for Fifty/Fifty Leadership — and qualify for an IRS tax deduction through the nationwide charity car donation program, Cars 4 Causes ®.
Click the Cars 4 Causes link (left) to begin! |
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LEADERSHIP CIRCLES
If you would like to help with the completion of the Leadership Circles documentation and packaging, please email us at info@Fifty/Fifty.us and let us know.
Leadership Circles are small groups, held in homes, offices, restaurants, church halls, community rooms, etc. They provide an opportunity to hone your leadership skills and learn new ones. Leadership Circles will help you recognize the leadership you already have and express it. "Leadership" has mostly been defined by men; through Leadership Circles we will add our voice to the definition of leadership. The program will be expanding nationally so that everyone who wants to be a leader will have a place to go to share successes, learn how to overcome barriers and break through the ceilings.
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ABOUT Fifty/Fifty LEADERSHIP
Our Vision
That 50% of leaders are women |
Our Mission
To transform the culture within which we live to one that naturally includes women on an equal basis in the selection of leaders |
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MEMBERSHIP - Tell a Friend
Becoming a member in Fifty/Fifty is your statement that you want to add your voice to help transform our culture such that when leaders are chosen, they are chosen equally - women to men. What else is in it for you?
• Your subscription to this newsletter, The Equality Standard so you'll have facts about women and girls locally, nationally and internationally, plus learn about events of interest in Los Angeles, New York, D.C., Sacramento, and more
• Discounts at many events put on by Fifty/Fifty Leadership
• Your name will be added to our website as a supporter of the work we are doing
• Your membership may be tax deductible - please check with your tax professional
Can you be involved without becoming a member? Yes. Subscriptions to The Equality Standard are $12 per year. As a special offer for the launch of this new newsletter, if you subscribe between now and December 31, 2006, you will receive the newsletter until December 31, 2007. You can pay by check or credit card. Please send your check or the credit card information below to Equality Standard, P.O. Box 11202, Glendale, CA 91226 or you can call or email your credit card information to PaulineField@charter.net , 818-243-2322
(Click here for printer-friendly subscription form)
Name (as it appears on the card)__________________________________________
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Support Fifty/Fifty Leadership While You Shop
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Fifty/Fifty Leadership is now listed on Giveline. |
If you're unfamiliar with Giveline, it is an online retailer which gives an average of 16% (up to 33%) of sales to your selected nonprofit organization. It's simple: you shop in the online store, choosing from over one million bestselling name-brand products, and with each transaction Giveline will send Fifty/Fifty Leadership a significant cash donation.
Giveline.com is an online store created for the community-minded shopper, offering more than a million bestselling products including books, movies, music, electronics, housewares, gifts and more. Every purchase generates a substantial donation to Fifty/Fifty Leadership - an amazing average of 16% of store sales, sometimes as high as 33%. Giveline has great products, great service, and great prices - the only difference between Giveline and other major online retailers is that every purchase earns money for our organization. Check it out today, and if you decide to buy, remember that Fifty/Fifty Leadership will earn significant funds in support of our mission!"
So, click here and start shopping! http://www.giveline.com/charitypromote.asp?V=V087912649&p=&mc=MC000&S1= - exclusivelink
Or if you are more comfortable shopping through Amazon.com, click on the Fifty/Fifty Leadership website and click on the link to Amazon. Every time you purchase something through Amazon, Fifty/Fifty Leadership is credited with a percentage of your purchase.
http://www.Fifty/Fifty.us/Products.htm
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FINAL WORDS
Do you have a favorite quote?
We would love to hear from you - and we will even give you credit! |
| From Linda Offray, Founder of the Shepherd's Door Domestic Violence Resource Center, sent us her favorite quote: |
| "No-one can do everything but, everyone can do something" |
| — Author Unknown |
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| And something I found that goes along with the above quote: |
| "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude" |
| — Maya Angelou |
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Pauline Field
818.243.2322
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Members and Subscribers:
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remember to let us know so you will continue getting the newsletter uninterrupted.
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please hit "Reply" and write "Remove" in the subject line.
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| Contact Us |
Phone:
(818) 243-2322 |
Fax:
(818) 243-2601 |
50/50 Leadership
P.O. Box 11202
Glendale, CA 91226 |
E-mail
50/50 Leadership.org |
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