Stay engaged, involved, and up-to-date: Weekly Review 08/20/2018
Thursday, August 30th, 2018
Stay engaged, involved, and up-to-date: In the weekly reviews from the Women’s Public Policy Network, we look back on last week’s highlights from the WPPN, share updates on bills affecting women that are moving at the Statehouse, showcase weekly news clips, and provide calls to action on bills pending in the Legislature. Sign up for our emails to receive these updates in your inbox every week!
GUEST BLOG BY: DAYTON MAYOR NAN WHALEY
We teamed up with Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley to highlight the significance of Women’s Equality Day, which took place this past Sunday, August 26. This date also marked another important milestone: the third anniversary of Dayton’s paid leave policy. Here is a preview of Mayor Whaley’s guest blog:
“On August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment was adopted into the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote. Now, nearly 100 years later, we recognize this major milestone by celebrating Women’s Equality Day.
As we look back on progress made in history, we must also recognize how much further we have to go to achieve true gender equality. Even after the passage of the 19th amendment, Black women – and men – faced voter disenfranchisement through poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses implemented to prevent them from voting. And while the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was later passed to counter these barriers and outlaw discriminatory practices, people of color are disproportionately affected by voter suppression laws to this day.
Voting is a powerful way to move the needle on progress, but as a policymaker, I also have the ability to advance gender equality by shaping the policy landscape. That’s why, three years ago, I announced the introduction of a paid leave policy for municipal workers in Dayton. Taking this step made us the first city in Ohio to enact a stand-alone paid parental leave policy – and this was the start of a groundswell of action on paid leave from local elected officials across the state.”
Read her entire guest blog post on our website to learn more about the critical role that paid leave plays in advancing gender equality and how you can take action to advance paid leave in Ohio.
Harvard Business Review, August 13, 2018
The Atlantic, August 14, 2018
Aretha Franklin – Musical Genius, Truth Teller, Freedom Fighter
The Nation, August 16, 2018
The Nation, August 16, 2018
The Costs of Motherhood Are Rising, and Catching Women Off Guard
The New York Times, August 17, 2018
#MeToo media outrage isn’t enough to change the service industry
Quartz, August 21, 2018
Letter: Kavanaugh is not good choice for women
The Columbus Dispatch, August 23, 2018
Blog: Women of Color Will Lose the Most if Roe v. Wade Is Overturned
The Center for American Progress, August 23, 2018
Black Women Are Dying During Childbirth. Sen. Kamala Harris Is Working to Change That.
Glamour, August 23, 2018
On Women’s Equality Day, Here Are 3 Things to Know About the Suffrage Movement
Time Magazine, August 24, 2018
We must address America’s black maternal health crisis
The Hill: Opinion Contributors, August 25, 2018
Guest Blog: Women’s Equality Means…Access to Paid Leave
The Women’s Public Policy Network, August 26, 2018
NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio – Roe’d Show: Cleveland
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Shaker Heights Public Library
16500 Van Aken Blvd (Meeting Room F)
Shaker Heights, Ohio 44120
The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio – Spark Report Coffee & Conversation: Healthcare
Thursday, August 30, 2018
8:00 am- 8:30 am: Coffee & light breakfast
8:30 am – 9:30 am: Presentation & Discussion
The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio offices
2323 W. 5th Avenue, Suite 230
Columbus, Ohio 43204
Cost: $10.00, scholarships available
Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT) –
Dancing for Birth
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
6:30 pm
GOREE Insurance Agency
3485 E. Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Tweet Chat
Thursday, August 30, 2018
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Join us on Twitter for an interactive dialogue about breastfeeding (@roottrj)
TEDxKingLincolnBronzville: CREATE
Saturday, September 8, 2018
9:00 am – 2:00 pm
East High School
1500 East Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43205
*Jessica Roach, CEO and Co-Founder of Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT), will be one of the featured speakers at the 2018 TEDxKLB
More information and reserve tickets (Use the name Jessica at check out and get 20% off your ticket)
The Children’s Defense Fund Ohio – Beat the Odds Legacy Event
Friday, September 14, 2018
11:30 am – 1:30 pm
The Ohio State University, Fawcett Center,
2400 Olentangy River Road
Columbus, Ohio 43210
Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence – Annual SART Summit
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Delaware County Board of Development Disabilities
7991 Columbus Pike, Lewis Center, Oh 43035
YWCA Columbus – Activists and Agitators Event
Thursday, October 4, 2018
5:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Greater Columbus Convention Center
400 N. High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
3RD ANNUAL OHIO URBAN RESOURCES SYSTEM CONFERENCE
Let’s Get Back to Work
Wednesday October 24 – Friday, October 26, 2018
Renaissance Toledo Downtown
444 N. Summit Street
Toledo, OH 43604
#OHLEG ALERT
We are tracking the progress of any state bills affecting women in the Ohio Legislature for the 132nd General Assembly. The House and Senate were out last week and will also be out this upcoming week for summer recess, so we have no new updates.
Nationally, black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related deaths compared to white women. While disparities in access to care affect maternal health outcomes, these drastic racial disparities can also be attributed to racism and discrimination black women experience before, during, and after pregnancy.
To address racial disparities in maternal mortality and morbidity, Senator Kamala Harris (along with 13 other Senators, including Ohio’s Sen. Sherrod Brown) introduced the Maternal Care Access and Reducing Emergencies (CARE) Act. The bill would:
- Create two grant programs: (1) To address implicit bias in medical, nursing, and other training school and (2) To incentivize maternal health care providers to integrate and streamline health care services for pregnant women and new mothers;
- Establish the Pregnancy Medical Home Demonstration Project to assist up to 10 states with implementing and sustaining pregnancy medical home (PMH) programs; and
- Call upon the National Academy of Medicine to study and make recommendations for integrating implicit bias training and recognition into medical school testing.
The Maternal CARE Act would take steps forward to address many of the underlying causes contributing to racial disparities in maternal health outcomes, such as the implicit bias of health care providers. Learn more about the Maternal CARE Act here.
RAISE YOUR VOICE TO #SAVESCOTUS
During Trump’s presidential campaign, he vowed to appoint only pro-life Judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade and dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Now, that threat is very real with Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the open seat of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Kavanaugh’s nomination would be disastrous for women – particularly women of color. In a letter published in the Columbus Dispatch last week, our managing director, Erin Ryan, shares how Kavanaugh’s appointment would threaten women’s health, economic security, and lives:
“Kavanaugh was hand-selected from a list of partisan judges, passing a “litmus test” to earn his nomination: Commit to overturn Roe v. Wade and dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Women would disproportionately bear the weight of these decisions – and their physical and financial health would pay the price.
If Kavanaugh is confirmed, it would have far-reaching implications beyond women’s health. Access to reproductive health care is intrinsically linked to women’s economic security; any threats to contraception and abortion access directly impact the educational attainment, workforce participation and economic stability of women.” [Read more]
There is so much at stake with the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court – and women are rising up and taking action. We cannot afford to sit on the side lines during this fight. Kavanaugh’s nomination threatens to shift the balance of the courts and he has proven that he will not stand up for the constitutional rights of women.
