Two friends reach across the aisle on immigration, New York Times 22 January 2014
WASHINGTON â The two women might at first seem more like political rivals than a reminder of the way things used to work in Washington.
Esther Olavarria, a Democrat, left Cuba as a child, worked as Senator Edward M. Kennedyâs top immigration lawyer and now holds a post in the White House. Rebecca Tallent, a Republican, left suburban Arizona and became Senator John McCainâs chief of staff, briefly advised Sarah Palin in 2008 and is now a top policy aide to Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio.
But if there is any way to unlock the immigration stalemate in Washington, colleagues say these two might find it.
What you can do: Learn more about the Congressional Womenâs Working Group on Immigration Reform, recognizing that immigration reform is a womenâs issue.
Those with power can afford
to tell their story
or not.
Those without power
risk everything to tell their story
and must.
Someone, somewhere
will hear your story and decide to fight,
to live and refuse compromise.
Someone else will tell
her own story,
risking everything.
Excerpt from TellingÂ
by Laura Hershey (via goldenphoenixgirl)
Couldn't say it better. Raise your voice at the Take the Lead Challenge Launch http://www.taketheleadwomen.com/take-lead-challenge-launch-event/
Sheryl Sandberg talks about how female leaders, from toddlerhood to CEO must contend with the word bossy, aka, bitch.
Lemme âsplain.
You know that woman you work withâŠthe one whoâs always speaking up, asserting her take on things and assuming everyone will follow her lead? The one whoâs fast on the draw, self-assured, confident, maybe al little enigmatic, interrupts your train of thought, and persistently entreats you to adopt her point of view? You know her all too well. Sheâs the one that will do anything to forward her agenda and get ahead. Sheâs a powerhouse. And you avoid her at all costs. Yeah, you know, the bitch. You might never be inclined to call her a leader, even though her traits are classically associated with (male?) leadership. I invite you to see things in a different light.
You and I, my friend, like all of our sisters (and brothers), have drunk the Bias Kool-Aid. The Bias runs deep, informed by eons of cultural conditioning that tells us women should not, must not, ever be opinionated, contentious, demanding or self-serving, and should instead be accommodating, conciliatory and operate at all times for the greater good. In other words, shut up, overwork and overproduce, donât rock the boat or ever ask for anything in return.
This week, I want you to consider making friends with the Bitch. Yes, the leader. Ask her to lunch. Ask her what she wants and needs, and what sheâs passionate about. Ask her where she needs support. What you discover may just transform your relationship with power, and lead to an influential partnership in which you bring your innate strengths and work/life experiences to accomplish a common goal.
Sheâs not a bitch.
Sheâs you on your best day.
And if we want the workplace to look more like us, we need both of you to see each other in another light.
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Ready to make income and leadership parity a reality? Thatâs our mission and the sole purpose of Take the Lead, a new organization whose mission is to prepare, develop, inspire and propel women to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across all sectors by 2025.
Itâs todayâs womenâs movement.
You are invited to join us, along with Sheryl Sandberg and many other powerful women, for theĂÂ Take the Lead Challenge Launch on Feb. 19.
Join 1 million other participants by tuning in on your computer or creating an event for your friends, organization or class. The FREE livestream eventwill be hosted on the Take the Lead website and dozens of partnersâ websites.
I donât know why people are so reluctant to say theyâre feminists. Maybe some women just donât care. But how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word?
Letâs move talk into action. Accept the Take the Lead Challenge here! If youâre in Los Angeles, join us at the City Club. If you can make it to Phoenix, there are still tickets available for the February 19 Launch event with Sheryl Sandberg.Â
As long as womenâs natural body hair is called disgusting and inappropriate while menâs isnât, I am a feminist.
As long as I canât watch an episode of a popular sitcom without having to sit through multiple sexist comments or âjokesâ, I am a feminist.
As long as women have to face the rational fear of being sexually assaulted every time they walk home past dark while men donât, I am a feminist.
As long as misogyny exists in any country in this world, I am a feminist.
As long as women are being raped, then stoned to death or forced to marry their rapist, I am a feminist.
As long as companies promote men to manager when there are women who are equally as or better qualified, because they find that men look more authoritative, I am a feminist.
As long as women (her choice of clothes, her friendly nature, her weakness, her choice to drink alcohol) get blamed when men rape them, I am a feminist.
As long womenâs opinions on online social networks are dismissed with phrases like âtits or gtfoâ, âget back to the kitchenâ, âare you pmsâing?â, I am a feminist.
As long as dressing like a women is degrading for men and as long as men are insulted with phrases like âyou throw like a womanâ, clearly implying that being like a woman is shameful, I am a feminist.
As long as both men are women are expected to work, but taking care of children and the household are still largely considered a womanâs job, I am a feminist.
As long as boys and girls are treated differently, expected to act differently, and surrounded by different toys and colours from the day they are born, I am a feminist.
As long as topless women arenât allowed in public unless theyâre on the cover of a menâs magazine, I am a feminist.
As long as women who have sex frequently are generally told they are âslutsâ, âlacking self-respectâ and âlacking moralsâ by both men and women, while men who frequently have sex are âjust being menâ and itâs ânatural for themâ, I am a feminist.
As long as there are places where women have to pay more for health insurance than men, I am a feminist.
As long as men experience situations with equal gender representation as female-dominated, and donât consider a group discussion equal unless there are significantly more men then women participants (as has been proven), I am a feminist.
As long as there are men who think itâs their wife or girlfriendâs duty to have sex with him whenever he wants, I am a feminist.
As long as the word feminism (âthe movement aimed at equal rights for womenâ) has a negative connotation, I am a feminist.
As long as misogynist people exist, I am a feminist.
LE CHRYSANTHĂME: I am a feminist. Â (via psychedelicpaisleyprincess)
A racist woman is not a feminist; she doesnât care about helping women, just the women who look like her and can buy the same things she can. A transphobic woman is not a feminist; she is overly concerned with policing the bodies and expressions of others. A woman against reproductive rights â to use bell hookâs own example, and an issue close to your heart â is not a feminist; she prioritizes her dogma or her disgust over the bodies of others. An ableist woman is not a feminist; she holds some Platonic ideal of what a physically or mentally âwholeâ person should be and tries to force the world to fit inside it.
An Open Letter to Caitlin Moran by Nyux (via redefiningbodyimage)
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