Career Girls

Tuesday, June 12, 2016 marked a momentous occasion. The White House hosted an all-day summit for, by and about women and girls. 5,000 leaders in the field gathered in Washington, DC to hear the President, the First Lady, the Vice President, Oprah Winfrey, Kerry Washington, Shonda Rhimes and more talk about the feminist movement--its past, present and future.

 

Alliance for Girls was in the house! Alliance staff and Alliance members Equal Rights Advocates, the Julia Morgan School for Girls, Scientific Adventures for Girls, Careergirls, It's Time Network, IGNITE, Kathleen Thurmond and Elizabeth Goumas traveled across the country to be a part of history.

 

As I return to California after an amazing three days in Washington, DC, I would like to share with you some of my key takeaways from this summit.

 

 

Vice President Joe Biden launched the conference with an impassioned speech about the need to end violence against women. As the author of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Biden has been working passionately on this issue for more than 20 years. No, he is not a survivor, nor a woman, nor a perpetrator. And yet he is a critical champion of this work. Why? Because he took the time to listen, and was outraged by what he heard.

 

Biden is still appalled by how little progress we have made since VAWA's passage, and its contested reauthorization. Biden now believes that violence against women will not stop until we change our culture: rape culture and victim-blaming culture. We have to create a society in which rape victims never ask themselves, nor are they asked by others, "What did I do wrong?"

 

As Biden said, "Rape is wrong. Always. There are no excuses. Period."

 

 

In his keynote address, President Obama explained, "My daughters think discrimination is for losers. They think it is weird that we have not had a woman president! They expect the world to catch up to them. And I have no doubt that we will."

 

This was an important message to all girls' champions. We need girls' voices at the table now - not tomorrow - because it is our girls who truly understand equity, expect it, and will settle for nothing less.

 

 

Many of us have learned about the danger of implicit bias, and its role in maintaining destructive social hierarchies. However, rarely do we learn what to do about it. At the United State of Women, Warren Buffet told a story that clearly illuminated a simple step we can all take to negate our biases. When deciding whom to promote at Berkshire Hathaway, Warren asked his wife for a suggestion. She suggested a woman. "Bingo!" Warren said. He hadn't thought of her, but once his wife did, he knew she was perfect.

 

To address our implicit biases we must expand our circle of advisors to include people who represent the diversity we want to see in our companies. Too often our advisors are people with whom we feel most comfortable, who validate our assumptions and maintain the status quo. Buffet's story beautifully illustrates how we can all fight our biases, particularly male executives of major companies.

 

 

Oprah Winfrey's interview with First Lady Michelle Obama was the highlight of the Summit. Obama started her talk by asserting that our first job as women is to get to know ourselves. Knowing herself has been critical in her role as First Lady.

 

Secondarily, we have to like ourselves. As Obama explained, "You have to like yourself! Otherwise, you have to count on the goodness of others to bestow value upon you." Oprah added to this by quoting Maya Angelou, "You alone are enough."

 

I could go on, because our First Lady is incredible, but you can also watch the talk yourself online: https://youtu.be/LCmwkjSzr2g.

 

I will close with one more quote from our amazing First Lady: "People won't remember what other people said about you, but they will remember what you do."

 

 

5,000 women from across the country attended the United State of Women. Reportedly, 10,000 more applied for tickets. The women's movement is as powerful as ever, and we are activated.

 

As Pamela Shifman, Executive Director of the Novo Foundation, shared in her keynote address at Alliance for Girls' Conference, "There are times in movements when we creep, and times when we leap." We are leaping!

The United State of Women was a celebration of the grassroots and high-powered leaders that are a part of a growing 21st century feminist movement!

 

Next up: The Bay Area Women's Summit on June 21st. I am honored to be speaking on the panel, "Educational Pipelines for Women and Girls." If you haven't yet, get your ticket now: http://bayareawomen.org/. It, too, will be an amazing day.

 

In sisterhood,

 

Emma Mayerson

Executive Director

Alliance for Girls