AAUW Dialog

Happy Christma-kah-sols-zaa-vus-year, or in other words, Happy Christmas Hanukkah Winter Solstice Kwanzaa Festivus (for the Rest of Us) New Year! No matter what you celebrate this holiday season, it’s the time of year when we often look back at the past year and ponder the year ahead.

AAUW members celebrated many achievements this year: we fought against anti-affirmative action ballot initiatives in several states and supported reproductive rights and paid sick days measures in other states and cities; we convinced the House to support work-life balance policies with the passage of the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act; we advocated for voter education and ensured that women’s voices were heard on Election Day; and we fought to strengthen the Equal Pay Act with the successful passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act in the House. Here’s to another year of breaking through barriers for women and girls!

The AAUW Dialog team has been a pretty good bunch this year and won’t get struck off any naughty lists. While much has already been achieved, here are a few things we wish for in the year ahead:

• I wish for more comprehensive sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape education for all high school and college students and faculty. Ideally, everyone should learn very clear definitions about what actions and circumstances constitute each, there should be a strong emphasis on placing the blame for the actions on the perpetrators instead of the victims/survivors, there should be more awareness about men as targets of abuse too, and information about what to do if one has experienced any of the actions should be posted throughout the school and widely distributed. Schools should also institute stronger penalties for perpetrators. — Holly Kearl

• I want equal pay for equal work, for all workers. While this won’t happen in time for this holiday season, I’m hopeful that Congress and President-elect Obama will make this a priority soon. What a great New Year’s resolution! — Lecia Imbery

• I wish that AAUW fellows and grantees both past and present continue to pursue their dreams, breaking through barriers to serve as uplifting role models for women everywhere. — Mandy Toomey

• I want the U.S. employment rate to return to normal, affordable health care for everyone, and an education system that helps all children, no matter their socioeconomic status or learning disabilities, to have an equal opportunity to succeed. — Claudia Richards

• I would love for all women to treat each other with the respect they expect for themselves. Let’s build self- esteem levels, give credit where credit is due, and share warmth instead of anger. If we start making sure we lead with this example, maybe, just maybe, men and children will follow. — Christy Jones

We’ll be taking a short hiatus until Monday. Until then, happy holidays!