Less than six months ago, I never would have thought that I’d be making this announcement, but — this is truly exciting — AAUW will consult on an important research team focused on Gender Equity and the Role of Women in Cuban Society.
AAUW is working with Academic Travel Abroad, a licensed Travel Service Provider for Cuba under the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury. This is an unprecedented and historic opportunity to research Gender Equity in Cuba and meet with Cuban citizens to gain first hand understanding of the role of women in Cuban society. As the executive director, I have the great privilege of leading this team, which departs from Miami for Cuba on October 30 and returns on November 4.
The research topics will include: The role of women in Cuban society? What can we learn from our Cuban counterparts? What insights do they have regarding equity for women and girls? How has women’s education affected their opportunities and lifestyles? Those are just some of the questions we’ll attempt to answer.
As part of the research team, each participant will be asked to contribute to the development of an AAUW white paper and PowerPoint presentation that will be posted on the AAUW website and distributed to all of AAUW’s approximately 1,000 local branches to continue this crucial dialogue.
Only members of AAUW will be considered for the program. Please contact Academic Travel Abroad for additional information at 1-877-298-9677, or go to the web site at professionalsbroad.org and select AAUW Cuba.
This post was updated to comply with U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control language.
I so agree Maryfran. The trip is costly but the opportunties for participants are priceless…to borrow a phrase from a certain credit card commercial. The agenda was developed by our partner, Academic Travel Abroad, and will be based in a large part on two things…where we are allowed to go, given the restrictions that currently face US travelers, and where it makes sense to go given our limited time there. It reminds me of when I went to Paris for 4 days and spent what ended up being the better part of a day in Versailles. Am I glad I saw Versailles? Yes! Did it come at the expense of another day in Paris? Yes!
I can only trust that Academic Travel will do everythign in it’s power to fulfill their requirements to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (who issues the licenses for travel to Cuba) and to see to the needs of the delegation by making the best use of our time there. Thank you for sharing your thoughts…please know they are reciprocated!
I appreciate, agree, and am encouraged by both Maryfran and Cordy’s comments.
For me, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness first-hand the contemporary role of women in Cuba, not only as a teacher/scholar/writer, but also as one who was only four months old when she was brought to the United States a half-century ago by her Cuban parents. I was raised by strong, hardworking Cuban women who encouraged me to study hard, go to college, and have a career. My grandmother and my mother, who were both widowed, always said that I needed to have a career of my own to rely on. An education was something no one and no circumstance could take away from me.
Both my grandmother and my mother have passed on, and I consider myself an American with a husband and grown sons who were born here in the United States. Still, my memories of the bits of Cuban culture, spirit, and affection I experienced growing up in a bilingual household stirs up more than just an intellectual curiosity in anticipating this wonderful educational opportunity. I look forward to it with both mind and heart. I hope to contribute as best as I can to this delegation for women here, there, and generations to come.
Although the expedition is extremely expensive, I believe new viewpoints on gender equality for women in the United States can be gained by both those who participate in and those who receive the resulting white paper.
As a former teacher, I have seen first hand how young women in United States public schools receive from society and media the message that, although it is fine to go to college, it is better to consider biological time clocks in their career planning than to actively seek career development opportunities and accept promotions to positions at higher levels of management.
I am particularly interested in the Cuban attitudes to both career messaging to adolescent girls and professional work/life balancing as practiced by Cuban women professionals.
However, I am disappointed that the scope of the tour is limited to Havana and university level women. I hope some flexibility can
allow interested participants to interact with women working outside of the Havana/university culture through side trips to a small community, a rural area, and public schools.
In reply to Maxine’s query, we hope to field a delegation of 50 (mas o menos!) to Cuba. Indeed, it is an exciting opportunity since the conversation will be shaped by our mutual interest in women’s issues as Ransom points out in her comment. The travel opportunity aside, it is this intimate glimpse into the lives of Cuban women that is the compelling factor. How fortunate we AAUW members are to have this opportunity to speak with women who’s voices haven’t been heard by American counterparts for many decades!
This is a great opportunity that will help to develop the global perspective of the issues women face in other countries. Educationally, this trip will also help to impact the lives of the people who can take advantage of this trip and turnkey the information with fellow educators. I look forward to the presentation and sharing of ideas.
For many years I have wanted to visit Cuba, and this trip looks ideal, with its emphasis on women.
I am a retired French and German teacher, pero mi espanol es un poquito debil!
I have not seen anywhere how many people you anticipate participating in this apparently wonderful experience.
Sounds like a wonderful exciting trip as well as important
information to bring back. As a retired school nurse/visiting
nurse, past state AAUW president & public policy state chair
and many other pro women’s organizations, I guess I am
professional on women’s issues. However, since I no longer
am employed and older with muy poco Espanol, I am thinking
younger, working professionals who speak the language would
do a better job. I have suggested this to two of my Hispanic
working professional friends who do not belong to AAUW
at present. I don’t think the price is too bad.
Hello,
I was SO excited when I received the notice of the Cuba trip. I knew I wanted very much to go before even finishing the note. Then came the facts of a 5 night 4 day trip with a cost to me in CA of well over $4000!! I have to agree with Nancy and Liz that the price is simply too high—at least for a retired teacher with no health benefits.
Here’s someone you’ll certainly enjoy meeting if she can be part of your itinerary. She taught at Harvard earliler this year:
Marta Nuñez Sarmiento is a professor in the Department of Sociology and a researcher at the Center for Study of International Migrations (CEMI) at the University of Havana. Her research has concentrated on transition projects for Cuba proposed by Cuban-American and U.S. scholars; women and employment in Cuba; gender studies in Cuba; images of women in Cuban mass media; images of Cuba in Cuban and foreign mass media. At the University of Havana, she teaches courses related to methodology and methods of sociological research, gender studies and contemporary Cuba. She holds a Master’s degree in sociology from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO)in Santiago, Chile and a PhD in economics from the Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia and has been a visiting professor at universities in the Dominican Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Spain and Argentina. She has served as a consultant for several agencies of the UN (1988-2009), for the Association of Caribbean States (1999) and for several NGOs. She served as an expert for the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance (CAME), (Moscow, 1978-1983) and a counselor for the Embassy of Cuba in Russia (1993-1997). Currently, she is also a consultant to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for Cuba. Marta will be in residence at Harvard for four weeks to advance research on proposals for a transition towards democracy in Cuba elaborated by U.S. scholarly institutions (2004-2009).
Learn about more Cuban scholars who have taught at Harvard here:
http://www.drclas.harvard.edu/cuba/visiting_scholars
Thank you to all who have posted comments or written directly to us in response to this incredible opportunity! One thing is evident, members are indeed eager to visit with their counterparts in Cuba and study the issues of gender equity which face all women globally.
It does indeed come with a significant price tag (which we do not foresee decreasing at this point) that will preclude many members from joining; however, there are many members who feel that the cost is worth the experience, particularly given the fact that the itinerary focuses on issues of such importance to AAUW. In short, had we refused the delegation offer based on price, it would have passed to another organization, which we felt would certainly not have best served members.
One way that all will be able to share in this undertaking is through the white paper which, upon completion, will be made available to all states, branches and members. Truly the spirit of AAUW membership at its best…members sharing their knowledge and experiences with others and promoting wider understanding of women’s issues globally along the way.
I am a retired Presbyterian minister who has been involved for many years in seeking gender equity in the ordained ministry. While I am sorely tempted to respond postiively to this invitation, the cost seems prohibitive. Is this a definite “estimate” or might there be a lower figure as arrangements are made?
Regardless, I wish the delegation lots of success!
I am member of AAUW interested in going on the Cuba. I am a writer and retired educator working on womens’ issues.
I hope to get more information.
I’ve always wanted to go to Cuba but find the price for this to be prohibitively expensive for 5 nights/ 4 days. This doesn’t even include the flight to Miami from Chicago which would be another $300-400. So you are talking over a thousand dollars per day.
Cheri, et al-
This trip is now open to all AAUW members! And thanks to Emily and Walter for their positive remarks. We are indeed incredibly honored and excited to have been invited by Academic Travel Abroad to make this historic journey. Viva Cuba y AAUW! An opportunity to participate in a study and speak to the women of Cuba is certainly the foundation for very meaningful dialogue. I hope to see as many AAUW members as possible join us on this historic first!
Cordy Galligan
Director of Marketing and Business Development
Hi,
Is this trip open just for the national leadership to particpate or can branch presidents go on this trip as well?
Cheri Crothers
Very excited to hear this news! Way to go, AAUW.
Thanks to you for this exciting report. I hope you have a pleasant and productive time on the island. In four days, you’ll barely begin to begin to get acquainted with some of the reality of the capital city of the country.
My father and his parents lived there from 1939 to 1942, and while I was born here in the United States, my interest in Cuba flows from this family history. They were Jewish refugees from Hitler’s holocaust, but they weren’t permitted to come directly to the United States. They had to wait for years in Cuba before finally gaining permission to come here.
For the past ten years I’ve been the principal contributor to a Yahoo news group focusing on Cuba. It has posted over 100,000 articles from, about and related to Cuba. It’s updated every day, usually many times a day.
So I’m going to share your announcement with the CubaNews readership, and those of you who are planning to travel on this trip might find it useful to subscribe. It’s totally free, though it can be voluminous, so you may prefer to receive a digest version of the materials.
Your positive spirit is infectious! It leaps right up off of the page!