August 2022 WPLN Newsletter

YOU'RE INVITED... WPLN has confirmed that our second annual National Summit will be held from April 21-23, 2023 in San Diego, California!

• We are excited to announce our venue and official accommodations for the event: The Omni San Diego Hotel. We will be just steps from the Gaslamp Quarter in the heart of Downtown San Diego!
• We love these opportunities to connect with women across the country — and we want YOU to be there! Sign up here to receive exclusive details and updates. And please invite a woman in your life (or all of them) to come with you so that we can continue to expand our network of women leaders! 

August 2022 marks the anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which was ratified on August 18, 1920, and declares that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

• The 19th Amendment was the largest expansion of democracy and voting rights in America's history, enfranchising approximately 26 million American women. It was the culmination of the efforts of generations of suffragists, who organized, protested, and even endured violence for their right to vote.
• However, the battle for women’s rights didn’t end in 1920. Many women, particularly women of color, continued to face barriers to exercising their right to vote for decades longer. Click here to learn more about key events in the history of women's suffrage in the United States — both before and after the 19th Amendment.
• Sadly, more than 100 years after the 19th Amendment, women’s representation today STILL lags at all levels of government. Help WPLN change the narrative — click here to get involved!
• And for the 100th anniversary 2 years ago, WPLN reflected on how the 19th Amendment impacts our lives. We wouldn't be able to empower women today if it had never passed! Click here for a collection of WPLN's celebrations and remembrances of the 19th Amendment.

We at WPLN want to shout out our interns: Caroline Richardson, Maddi Hughes, and William Gonzalez. These three have been indispensable this summer. They wrap up their time with us tomorrow, and we will miss them but wish them the best of luck as they return to the University of Georgia as students!

Join WPLN tomorrow for a Facebook Live discussion around life as campaign staff! WPLN will be joined by former political operative Nicaela Chinnaswamy to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities of working for female candidates for public office and the lessons learned from the experience. Click here for more information.

And ICYMI: We held a WPLN Facebook Live with Tara Campbell, Councilwoman of Yorba Linda, CA, who holds the distinction of having been the youngest female mayor in California history! We discussed leadership in local government and her experiences serving her community. Watch here.

THE HILL | "May the best woman win": "These aren’t pebbles being hurled at the glass ceiling, but political meteors that ensure, evermore, that equality of merit has dispelled the prerogative of gender. The once unthinkable that became the near improbable has now become the norm." Read more.

GOVERNING | "It may be a great year for women governors": "'Republican women are going to make history in gubernatorial races across the country this November,' says Joanna Rodriguez, deputy communications director for the Republican Governors Association." Read more.

HISTORY | "Why the 19th Amendment did not guarantee all women the right to vote": "Despite the adoption of the 19th Amendment, many women of color, immigrant women, and poorer women continued to face barriers at the polls." Read more.

ELLE | "What comes after ambition?": "Women are in the midst of a revolutionary reckoning with our ambitions. We’re not resigning en masse — because who can afford to quit her job in this economy?! — but we are trying to figure out a new set of goals and guidance for our professional lives. Thanks to long-simmering inequality and stubborn sexism, clarified by the pain of the pandemic, our definitions of success increasingly lie outside the realm of work. We are waking up to the fact that our jobs are never going to love us back. And we are trying to adjust accordingly." Read more.

In noting that the "2022 elections could be a new year of the woman," USA TODAY columnist Ingrid Jacques asks, "can conservative women catch up?" She observes that all issues are women's issues and that women have relevant perspectives and experiences:

"2022 has set multiple records for the number of women filing to run for governor and winning nominations. It makes sense. From abortion to education to high gas and grocery prices, many of the issues driving voter interest this election cycle directly affect women and mothers, and female candidates are in a position to speak personally on these matters. Women also constitute a higher percentage of the electorate."

In addition, she points specifically to the disparity between the array of resources and support for Democratic women and the lack of such an infrastructure for Republic women:

"... some of the discrepancies in political diversity among elected women stem from different support infrastructure among the parties. Democrats have traditionally had stronger organizations that recruit and fund liberal women (think groups like EMILY’s List), while Republicans tend to shy away from identity politics. This seems to be changing as the GOP realizes that it needs to diversify its candidate base if it hopes to compete with Democratic contenders."

This disparity is just one of the many reasons that WPLN formed, to help build that support infrastructure for center- and right-leaning women. We work to address that imbalance so that all women's voices are represented.

Read more.

READING | America, a Redemption Story: Choosing Hope, Creating Unity by Senator Tim Scott: "Our country's story is the story of redemption," says Senator Tim Scott. "Hope. Redemption. This is my story. This is your story. This is our story as a nation. Embrace it. Believe it. Pray for it. Then live it. Every single day." Senator Scott personifies the story of redemption; he is the first Black senator from South Carolina, which in 1860 was the first state to secede from the Union over the issue of slavery. Learn more.

WATCHING | A League of Their Own, an Amazon Prime TV series: This new Amazon series is adapted from the 1992 film but features new characters and storylines. This year marks 30 years since the film, and the new series reminds us of the importance of representation — that women's stories matter. Learn more.

LISTENING TO | Significant Others: A History Podcast: We at WPLN have long recognized how important support systems are — and this podcast dives into the stories of significant others of leaders and trailblazers throughout history. Learn more.

EXCITED FOR | WPLN Fellowship launch: The WPLN Fellows kick off training over Labor Day weekend. Our first-ever cohort of Fellows will support four of our nonprofit partners across the country, and we're excited to get started!

ICYMI | WPLN Facebook Live "Leadership at a Local Position — An Inside Look with Tara Campbell": Tara Campbell has a multitude of experiences in local government; she currently serves as Councilwoman of Yorba Linda, CA, and formerly served as mayor. She even holds the distinction of having been the youngest female mayor in California history! During our chat with Tara, we discussed leadership in local government and her experiences serving her community. Watch here.

SEPTEMBER 2 | WPLN Facebook Live "Life as Campaign Staff: Lessons Learned Working for Female Candidates": WPLN's Maddi Hughes and Maureen McInerney will be joined by Nicaela Chinnaswamy to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities of working for female candidates for public office. Learn more.

SEPTEMBER 21 | WPLN Women Officeholder's Roundtable: Join us on September 21 for the next session in our Women Officeholder's Roundtable series! This session will feature policy experts at Verizon who will provide an update on the rollout of broadband infrastructure. This session is only for current officeholders at the state, county, and local levels, and registration is required in advance. Learn more.

SEPTEMBER 24 | Colorado Women's Alliance's "Guns and Bagels": Join our Colorado training partner Colorado Women's Alliance for their education event "Guns and Bagels" - everything you've always wanted to know about firearms but didn't know who to ask. Whether you’ve never seen a gun up close or are an experienced firearms user, this event will prove to be informative and useful, especially with firearm legislation in the news. Learn more.

NOVEMBER 15 | Colorado Women's Alliance "Wine and Wind Down": Join our Colorado training partner Colorado Women's Alliance to "Wine and Wind Down with Women of the Airwaves." Click here for more details.

APRIL 21-23, 2023 | WPLN's National Summit: Don't miss this opportunity to connect with women leaders! Join us in sunny California next April — we're already counting down the days! Sign up to receive more details.

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Women’s Public Leadership Network (WPLN) is a non-profit organization organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent provided by law.