January 2021 WPLN Newsletter

Dear friend, 

It's hard to believe, but we're already nearing the end of the first month of 2022 -- meaning that the inaugural WPLN Summit in New Orleans is fast approaching, as are primary elections throughout the year and general elections in November!

I hope that this month has offered you the opportunity to recharge and to prepare for a busy year ahead. And of course, I hope that you're able to join us for our Summit next week -- our registration to attend ends THIS Friday (1/28), so make sure you purchase your ticket before then!

Onward,

Larissa

WPLN President and Co-Founder

ICYMI, we've been sharing exciting updates and announcements about our summit on our social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn). Buy your tickets here. Here are some highlighted Summit programs:

Congresswoman Julia Letlow (R-LA) will be a special Summit guest, joining us on Friday night for a conversation with WPLN Board Chair Jenifer Sarver. Congresswoman Letlow represents Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and is the first woman to represent Louisiana in the House of Representatives in 30 years! Learn more.

Our "Profiles in Leadership" luncheon will feature Chairwoman Lea Márquez Peterson, hosted by Dee Dee Bass Wilbon and Deana Bass Williams! Chairwoman Márquez Peterson was appointed to the Arizona Corporation Commission in May of 2019 and elected statewide to serve a 4-year term in 2020. She is the first Hispanic woman to serve in a statewide seat in the history of Arizona! Learn more.

We will be honoring Rob Rieger and Julianne Condrey at our summit with two well-deserved awards. Rob will receive the 2022 Daniel Anthony Award, which is named for Susan B. Anthony's father and celebrates a man who has given critical support to a female public leader or leaders. Julianne will receive the 2022 Architect of Society Award, which is inspired by Harriett Beecher Stowe’s words that "women are the real architects of society" and presented to a woman who exemplifies the qualities of center-right public leader: effective, principled, and a true public servant. Rob is a partner at the law firm Adams and Reese LLP and is dedicated in his support of our training partner Louisiana Women Lead, and Julianne founded our training partner Virginia Conservative Women's Coalition and now serves as the Chief of Staff of Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Sears. Learn more.

AND not only are we offering childcare at our summit, but we are also offering free headshots, a book signing with the Bass Sisters, and other worthwhile experiences! You won't want to miss these great opportunities to learn how to lead in 2022 and beyond! Learn more about the summit here (including COVID precautions).

Some other exciting news: The Ascend Fund included WPLN (and several of our ReflectUS Coalition members!) in its list of 12 organizations empowering women to run for office in 2022 and beyond. Read more.

On January 8, WPLN President and Co-Founder Larissa Martinez keynoted the annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau Women (AFBW) at the annual American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) convention, where she spoke about the value of women's perspectives. “Every issue is a women’s issue," she said. "People drafting policies have only their own lens to look through. Women tend to underestimate their own value, but they have a unique, valuable perspective." Read more.

WBUR | "The politics of going gray": "It had not occurred to me that my competence and effectiveness were contained within a small bottle of brown hair dye, but it should have. It was a painful reminder of just how ingrained traditional beauty standards are in our culture and the double standards women face. America has been led almost exclusively by gray-haired men for more than two and half centuries. But as a woman, my career seemed to be hanging in the balance because I was going natural. The narrow definition of acceptable hairstyles for women reflects a broader culture of sexism, ageism and bigotry. Black women and girls consistently experience racism in the form of hair control — in my district, two high school students were suspended from school and their sports teams for wearing their hair in braids. And that is not a rare experience." Read more.

NEW YORK TIMES | "Some women are keeping their pregnancies secret during the pandemic": "The pandemic has offered some women a choice they never had before: to keep their pregnancies secret til the very end... Some women, especially frontline workers, still don’t have that choice. But the pandemic has transformed the reality for many others, allowing pregnant women to stay out of sight of colleagues (if they are working remotely) and friends and family, since socializing is so limited. With that comes the freedom to talk about their pregnancy when they are comfortable and when they feel it won’t harm them professionally or psychologically." Read more.

CNN | "Alexis Ohanian, aka Mr. Serena Williams, on why parental leave is good for men": "The fight for universal paid parental leave has been dominated by women... But men also stand to benefit from paid parental leave. Spending time with one's child and partner in the early days can have psychological, physical and even professional benefits in the long-run. Paid leave should be their fight, too." Read more.

In a Harvard Business Review article titled "How Women Can Get Comfortable 'Playing Politics' at Work," three leadership coaches acknowledge and address the challenges or frustration around "playing politics" at work, since not playing can have consequences:

"In our experience as psychologists and coaches, we have found that many women have an adverse, almost allergic reaction, to office politics. Numerous studies confirm this; women tend to see it as something “'dirty' or dishonest, and as a stressful aspect of work that reduces their job satisfaction.

"And yet, by nature, humans are relational beings and political skill matters. It is a necessary part of organizational life. Studies affirm that being able to successfully use political skills is critical to career advancement.

"We recognize that engaging in office politics can be stressful. It often forces people to stretch beyond their natural preferences and patterns. We aim to offer ways to participate in politics that reduces discomfort and maximizes career advancement.

"This article identifies some commonly held beliefs underlying women’s aversion to being political at work. Next, it offers mindset shifts that have helped hundreds of women use political skills to their advantage."

The article discusses 5 reasons why women often dislike office politics -- and 5 ways to shift your mindset around "playing politics" in order to participate more effectively (such as framing it as "it's my responsibility to show people how my work connects to theirs," instead of "my work should speak for itself"). Read more.

READING | Let's Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World by Danielle Friedman: Let's Get Physical examines the history of women's exercise and fitness culture in America -- from health myths to jazzercise to wellness culture. Learn more. These days, "health" refers not just to physical health but to mental health, too. January means New Year's resolutions -- and 2022 means an election year -- so staying healthy is more important than ever this year. Check out our WPLN Facebook Live on how to stay mentally and physically fit, on and off the campaign trail. Read more.

WATCHING | Yellowjackets, a Showtime series starring Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey, and Christina Ricci: This new series follows a high school girls soccer team whose plane crashes in 1996 -- and the lives in 2021 of those who survived. When news broke a few years ago about an unrelated planned remake of the 1954 book Lord of the Flies, many doubted that girls could be as barbaric as boys. This skepticism intrigued Yellowjackets co-showrunner Ashley Lyle, who knew from her own experiences from her youth that teenage girls could be ferocious. Learn more.

LISTENING TO | AEI's Banter podcast episode with Diana Schaub: AEI senior fellow Diana Schaub joins the podcast to discuss America's founding and her new book Lincoln's Greatest Speeches. Learn more.

EXCITED FOR | The launch of WPLN's Impact Council: We're launching the Impact Council, a coalition of men and women from across the United States interested in engaging, supporting, and fortifying a network geared towards equipping and elevating center and right-leaning women seeking public office. The Impact Council provides critical guidance and feedback to the WPLN Team on outreach efforts and programmatic activities to ensure the organization is using a wide lens when designing and implementing its efforts. Click here to learn more and apply to be member of our National Impact Council.

• Betsy Ross, seamstress who is credited with making the first American flag (January 1)
• Lucretia Mott, suffragist and abolitionist who helped organize the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention (January 3)
• Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching God (January 7)
• Fanny Bullock Workman, explorer and writer who was one of the first professional women mountaineers (January 8)
• Betsy DeVos, 11th U.S. secretary of education (January 8)
• Carrie Chapman Catt, suffragist leader who founded the League of Women Voters (January 9)
• Alice Paul, suffragist, abolitionist, and one of the leaders of the American women's suffrage movemvent (January 11)
• Charlotte Ray, suffragist and the first Black woman lawyer in the United States (January 13)
• Edith Green, politician who represented Oregon in the House of Representatives and helped pass the 1972 Equal Opportunity in Education Act ("Title IX") (January 17)
• Ava Belmont, American suffragist who co-founded the National Woman's Party and served as its president (January 17)
• Michelle Obama, a lawyer who became the first Black First Lady of the United States when her husband became president (January 17)
• Kay Granger, politician who was the first Republican woman to represent Texas in the House of Representatives (January 18)
• Dolly Parton, singer and humanitarian whose children literacy nonprofit program has donated more than 100 million books to children (January 19)
• Nimrata "Nikki" Haley, politician who served as South Carolina's first woman governor and as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (January 20)
• Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman to obtain a pilot license (January 26)
• Georgia Neese Clark Gray, first woman Treasurer of the United States (January 27)
• Jeanne Shaheen, politician who was the first woman to represent New Hampshire in the United States Senate, the first woman elected governor of New Hampshire, and the first woman to win elections for both governor and U.S. Senator (January 28)
• Muna Lee, writer, feminist, and activist (January 29)
• Oprah Winfrey, talk show host and philanthropist who was at one point ranked the most influential woman in the world (January 29)

FEBRUARY 4 and 5 | WPLN Inaugural National Summit: WPLN is holding its inaugural National Summit in New Orleans! Our summit is designed for women from across the country who are engaging at any stage of the political process. Learn more.

MARCH 10 | "Does Your Community Know Your Name?" workshop by Colorado Women's Alliance: Join our training partner Colorado Women’s Alliance (CWA) for Colorado Women’s Day on Thursday, March 10, to celebrate! CWA will be hosting a workshop titled "Does Your Community Know Your Name?" Learn more.

Support WPLN programs and resources by making a contribution today!

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.