Our latest pet peeve? That the new White House Council on Women and Girls was not deemed newsworthy by the mainstream news media. Valerie Young of the National Association of Mothers’ Centers agreed with us. In an as-yet unpublished letter to the Washington Post, she wrote:
On Wednesday, the President created the White House Council on Women and Girls by Executive Order in a public event with dozens of women’s advocates and grassroots leaders present in the East Room. The stated objective of the Council is to ensure equal treatment of women in all matters of public policy. The members are all Cabinet Secretaries and the heads of numerous federal agencies. The Chair is one of the President’s closest advisors, Valerie Jarrett.
Your coverage of this event is one paragraph buried in an article about another event on the inside of the “Style” section. What are you thinking? That the female portion of your ever-dwindling readership isnt’ looking at the “A” section? That the female subject matter compels placement in the section devoted to lifestyle, entertainment, arts and culture? That women don’t care about public policy?
The future of this country will largely depend on the productivity of women, in terms of both birth rate and ecnomic output. Women’s economic status has implications in every realm of our private and public life. Women’s economic security translates directly to the existence and potential of our future workforce and the vigor of our economy in a global market. Our national aspirations are severely compromised if women are not free from battering in their homes and cannot afford or obtain health care for themselves and their families. The stated objectives of the White House Council on Women and Girls acknowledge all of these realities and commit a coordinated federal response to them. What were once diminished and dismissed as “women’s issues” are now rightly seen as “family issues and economic issues”. That is a radical departure from mainstream American thought in the very recent past. And that is news.
Valerie A. Young
Advocacy Coordinator
National Association of Mothers’ Centers (NAMC)
Coordinating Committee – MOTHERS Initiative
http://www.MothersCenter.org
http://www.MothersOughtToHaveEqualRights.org
ValerieY@motherscenter.org
MOTHERS HELPING MOTHERS
We feel like bitching about this some more, so we’re moving it to Twitter.
This Week’s Fem2.0 Twittercast
Topic: Why was the White House Council on Women and Girls NOT news? And what can we do to inform every woman in this country about — and train as many eyes as possible on — the Council to make sure it does its job?
When: March 22, 2009, 10 PM EST
To join Twittercast, see here.
For those of you who were really looking forward to tweeting about young women and feminism, which was originally scheduled, no worries. We’ll be doing it in two weeks.
Twittercast Schedule
March 29 Twittercast: Feminism and Marriage
April 5 Twittercast: Special Invitation to Younger Women – What Do You Want to Tell Feminism?
Fem2.0 Wiki
With 37 members so far, the wiki is off to a great start. Here are some projects and discussions you can participate in right this very second!
White House Council on Women and Girls
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From the Fem2.0 post-conference survey, general comments and suggestions, warts and all.
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