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HISTORY
1974-2004
The Clearinghouse On Women's Issues marked its 30th
anniversary in 2004. With the growing interest in recording
the history of the second and third waves of the women's
movement, it is timely to chronicle the activities of CWI with
input from some of the original members.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ........................................................... i
Introduction ................................................................... 1
The Foundation and Structure ....................................... 4
Early Years (1974 – 1987) .............................................. 7
Newsletter and Brochure ................................................ 9
Mid 1980’s ................................................................... 11
Late 1980’s and 1990’s ................................................ 14
Twenty-first Century and Beyond ................................. 21
Conclusion ................................................................... 24
Appendix 1: Speakers & Programs ............................... 25
Appendix 2: Organization Members Past and Present... 44
Appendix 3: Boards of Directors ................................... 47
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The CLEARINGHOUSE ON WOMEN'S ISSUES marks its 30th
anniversary in 2004. With the growing interest in recording
the history of the second and third waves of the women's
movement, it is timely to chronicle the activities of CWI with
input from some of the original members.
The Clearinghouse also sought a fitting way to honor the
memory of our longtime member, Mary O'Connor, to whom
this report is dedicated.
A special acknowledgment is made to Dvora Lovinger who
conducted the substantial research of our records and the
interviews; Lovinger organized and wrote the basic narrative
of this publication. Many thanks are due to Brett Geranen
for his valuable assistance in the publication process.
Additional appreciation goes to Joy Simonson, Harriett
Harper, Roslyn Kaiser, and Ruth Nadel of the CWI Board of
Directors, who brought institutional memory and editorial
judgment to the final document.
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INTRODUCTION
The Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues was incorporated
in 1974 in Washington, DC, by a diverse group of women
and representatives of women’s organizations to provide
a channel for exchange and dissemination of information
on a variety of issues of mutual concern. As we
approach the 30th anniversary of the founding of the
Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues (CWI), it becomes
apparent that a look back at the history of this
organization is a window into the history of the women’s
movement.
It was a time of great ferment in the burgeoning feminist
movement. At the time that CWI was organized, there
were few sources of easily available information on the
fight for women's rights. Organizations and newsletters
that addressed specific issues in the women's movement
were just emerging. As a source of news on feminist
progress, CWI filled an important need.
The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, the Equal
Rights Amendment was sent out to the states in 1971,
and Title IX was passed in 1972. The international
women’s agenda was evolving at this period also. The
founding year was one of preparation for the United
Nations First World Conference on Women that took
place in 1975 in Mexico City. CWI’s contributions to the
women’s agenda through discussion and clarification of
issues continued through the International Women’s
Year, the UN Decade for Women, the 1980 Copenhagen
World Conference, the 1985 World Conference in Nairobi,
the 1995 Fourth World Conference in Beijing, and in New
York in 2000, Beijing + Five. Evidence of Clearinghouse
influence is to be found in the number of CWI members
who helped plan and attend these meetings, as well as
those who were officials and organization delegates at
these historic events.
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The women who formed the Clearinghouse, like the
current members today, were committed to the core
values of feminism: to achieve political, economic, and
social equality for women.
Out of this commitment
The women who came a shared dedication
formed the to social change,
education, and
Clearinghouse...were sisterhood. For almost
committed to the core thirty years, a changing
values of feminism… group of people – women
and some men – have
participated in the
Clearinghouse monthly meetings and discussions about
women’s issues, sharing ideas, thoughts, and concerns
about the ongoing problems that women face in America
and abroad. The topics discussed during the early
meetings are remarkably similar to the ones being
discussed today.
CWI members continue to gather on the fourth Tuesday
of the month at 12 noon in Washington at a free, brown-
bag lunch meeting, to learn about and discuss the
continuing struggle for women’s rights. Members today
are every bit as committed, energized, and excited to
hear speakers who are at the cutting edge of issues
related to equity and gender discrimination.
Nevertheless, despite much progress in 30 years, the
goals of the women’s movement remain as challenging as
they have been since the founding of the Clearinghouse.
The Clearinghouse receives a flow of letters from all over
the country, such as from women in prison, inquiries
about employment, students seeking information for
term papers and reports, and requests for funding. Jean
Linehan, longtime corresponding secretary, responds to
letters sent to the Clearinghouse and provides helpful
information whenever possible. This is further evidence
of the organization’s contributions both to its members
and to the larger community over the years.
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A striking characteristic of the Clearinghouse is its
longevity. With modest dues, a minimal budget, no paid
staff or formal office space, CWI has outlasted many
other national and local women’s groups, based solely on
committed members and volunteers dedicated to its
goals and activities. Many present-day CWI members
have been attending meetings since the early 1980’s,
forming lasting friendships and professional associations
with people they might otherwise not have met.
TOPICS OF CWI MEETINGS OVER THE YEARS
The subjects addressed in the monthly CWI meetings
reflect the breadth of members’ interests. Analysis by
categories of some 200 meetings from the 80’s to today
shows the following areas of concern (in order of
frequency).
1980’s: Employment issues, such as pay equity, home-
based and part-time work, and the glass ceiling; health
including mental health and reproductive choice;
political topics such as women's voting patterns, election
outcomes, and congressional agendas; women and the
economy, budget, and taxes; and childcare and welfare.
1990’s and later: Women's health and women in
politics; employment; international topics, especially
those related to the several United Nations world
conferences; education issues at various levels, poverty
and welfare, violence against women, and women in
prisons.
Appendix 1, which lists the topics and speakers from
1981 through 2002, also reveals a wide range of
additional subjects, including the environment, the
courts, older women, civil rights, the media, and the
military. The roster of speakers attests to the benefits
that CWI reaps from the great resources available in the
Washington area. Clearly, CWI members have always
focused on major public policy issues.
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THE FOUNDATION AND STRUCTURE
CWI was formed as a non-profit organization within the
limitations of section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code so that its purpose and activities would be solely
educational, scientific, literary, or charitable in nature.
The initial articles of incorporation dated March 27,
1974, list the incorporators of the Clearinghouse as:
Bobbie Deister, Kerry A. Thalhim, and Alison A. Bell.
The first board of directors were: Alison Bell, Bernice
Frieder, Ellen McCartney, Helen Tibbitts, Marjorie
Blaufarb, Jan Liebman, Pearle Eisenberg, Abigail
McCarthy, Gloria Johnson, Mary Lou Hennessy, and
Marge Gates. The original bylaws established that CWI,
“would not take any action or position in the name of the
group” (this was changed in 1992). The bylaws stated
that CWI, “would merely provide the machinery by which
member organizations and individual members
interested in a given measure can pool their efforts” and
they outlined that CWI would focus on the following
issues, particularly as they affect women:
- Relief of the poor, the distressed or the
underprivileged;
- Advancement of education;
- Elimination of prejudice and discrimination;
- Defense of human and civil rights secured by
law;
- Lessening the burdens of government, by
disseminating non-partisan educational
materials related to government policies
affecting women and assisting in locating groups
researching the impact of government policies;
- Aiding in the scientific education of college or
university students, as pertains to public and
private policies;
- Conducting public discussion groups, forums,
panels, lectures, or other similar programs on
public and private policies;
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- Printing, publication or distribution of
Clearinghouse material or the distribution of
materials printed or published by others relating
to public or private policies as enumerated
above exclusively.
Regrettably, other than the original bylaws and articles of
incorporation, there is virtually no existing written
material dating from the
early days of the
Clearinghouse.
A significant change
for the Clearinghouse In August 1982, the board
revised certain sections of
was the decision to CWI’s bylaws. These
allow CWI to take an changes included
organizational position simplification of the
on certain issues. lengthy list of pertinent
issues, allowing for a more
focused organizational
purpose. The re-worded
mission called for the dissemination of non-partisan
educational materials and information on issues
affecting women, specifically:
- Advancement of educational opportunities;
- Elimination of prejudice and discrimination;
- Conducting public discussion groups, forums,
panels, lectures, or other similar programs on
public and private policies;
- Printing, publication or distribution of
Clearinghouse material or the distribution of
materials printed or published by others relating
to public or private policies.
Other changes to the bylaws were a new section under
membership which stipulated that the board of directors
could establish dues, elimination of the assistant
treasurer position, an additional meeting during the
month of June, elimination of the personnel committee,
and a change in the beginning of the fiscal year from
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January 1 to July 1. The new bylaws were approved and
passed on September 10, 1982.
More changes were made to the bylaws in 1986. As
explained in the May 1986 newsletter, “the original
bylaws for CWI…were lengthy, formal, legalistic and
highly structured. After years of experience they were
found to be too cumbersome and impractical, given the
nature of the organization.” A new version was adopted
on May 1, 1986. The primary changes were to:
- Eliminate the Corresponding Secretary position
(subsequently restored).
- Change titles of officers from Chair, First Vice
Chair and Second Vice Chair, to President, Vice
President for Membership and Vice President for
Program, respectively.
- Change date of annual meeting to June instead
of May so that new officers can have the
summer months for transition of duties.
- Change the term of office of members of the
board of directors from three years to two years.
- Assure that at least one member of the board of
directors is an organization representative.
- Eliminate the requirement that membership
applications be approved by the board of
directors.
- Increase the number of members of the board of
directors from four to six (in addition to the
officers). Three will be elected in even-
numbered years and three in odd-numbered
years.
- Require that to be eligible for office, an
individual must have been a member in good
standing for at least one year.
One of the most significant changes for the
Clearinghouse resulted from the board of directors’
decision in 1992 to allow CWI to take an organizational
position on certain issues as long as those positions
align with CWI’s stated goal – combating discrimination
against women. The amendment to the bylaws, adopted
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in July 1992, stated: “The CWI, by a two-thirds vote of
the members of the board of directors, may support
positions central to the well-being of women.” The first
instance of CWI using this power was in October 1992
when Elaine Newman, as president of the Clearinghouse,
sent a letter to Governor William Donald Schaefer of
Maryland urging him to retain the Maryland Commission
for Women which had been set to lose two and a half
positions due to budgetary constraints. The board of
directors exercised this power extensively over the next
10 years, adopting numerous positions on an array of
women’s issues, both foreign and domestic.
The board of directors made another update to the CWI
bylaws in April 1997. Of the minor changes, the most
significant was dividing the role of “secretary” into two
positions – corresponding secretary, the person who
would conduct the general correspondence of the
organization, and recording secretary, the individual who
would be responsible for recording the minutes of board
meetings.
EARLY YEARS (1974 – 1987)
Although there is scant information on the first years of
the Clearinghouse, it is believed that Abigail McCarthy,
wife of former Senator Eugene McCarthy, was the
founding president, as reported among her
accomplishments in her obituary in the February 2001
Washington Post. The article noted that McCarthy had
been interested in women’s and human rights issues for
most of her life, also serving on the board of the Women’s
Equity Action League (WEAL). A 2001 issue of the CWI
newsletter carried an article on McCarthy’s death and
included the following information on the founding of
CWI in the early 1970's: Daisy B. Fields, who later
served as a CWI president and editor of the CWI
newsletter, was involved in CWI in the early 1970’s. She
reported that Arvonne Fraser organized a group of
friends (McCarthy among them) who were interested in
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women’s issues. Fields and Catherine East then joined
the informal group as did Mary Keyserling, who later
served a term as CWI president.
Arvonne Fraser was subsequently director of the Women,
Public Policy and Development Project at the Hubert H.
Humphrey Institute of
Public Affairs; Daisy Fields
was active in Federally Even in its earliest
Employed Women (FEW);
and Mary Dublin Keyserling days, CWI had a very
was a former director of the important role in the
Women’s Bureau at the dissemination of
Department of Labor. They information on
and others met informally to
discuss women’s issues and women’s issues.
to take the information back
to their various
organizations.
Gloria Johnson, long-time president of the Coalition of
Labor Union Women (CLUW) and also a founding
member of CWI, remembers very distinctly that the
Clearinghouse was, “unlike any other organization at
that time.” She recalled that the founding members
wanted a forum to raise and discuss issues of
importance to women. Johnson lauded the range of
issues that CWI covered at such an early stage of the
women’s movement and also enjoyed the fact that
members could suggest specific topics to be discussed,
thus creating a cooperative yet challenging environment
for the meetings.
Keyserling, then a consulting economist, became
president of CWI in October 1981. She said that she did
so despite an already heavy workload because, “I feel
strongly that the CWI now confronts exceedingly urgent
challenges.” Her goals consisted of working, “actively
together to strengthen CWI and mobilize our efforts to
the fullest extent possible to educate the public on where
women are, what has been affecting their basic interests,
and to do all we can as individual and organizational
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members to achieve gains and knock out losses. This is
no moment for CWI to weaken or disappear.” Keyserling
proved to be a strong and inspirational leader of the
organization, serving as a board member until 1988.
At the December 1, 1981 CWI meeting Keyserling spoke
about "Where Working Women Are in Our Economy –
The Outlook." She ended her presentation of statistics
and trends with these words: "The CWI has many
challenges to respond to. We should do much to inform
national, state and local organizations about where
women are, are going and should be going in the interest
of equity and justice and society. The Board will do all it
can to expand CWI membership, increase its funds, and
extend its outreach." CWI boards have continued to
follow her path to the current day.
Ruth Shinn, a former CWI board member, began
attending meetings immediately after the group was
formed. Through her position at the Women’s Bureau,
she was able to provide CWI members with crucial
information on upcoming legislation affecting women.
She found CWI meetings extremely helpful because of
the exchange of knowledge among members, many of
whom worked in various organizations at the forefront of
the feminist movement. Even in its earliest days, she
added, CWI had a very important role in the
dissemination of information on women’s issues. The
high quality of speakers was a great draw for
participants from government as well as non-government
organizations, she said, noting that the excellent quality
of programming has continued over CWI’s 30 year
history.
NEWSLETTER AND BROCHURE
The CWI newsletter has been a major asset in the
development of the organization, serving not only as the
vehicle to inform members of upcoming meetings but
providing a detailed report on the past meeting. Many
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out-of-town members continue membership in order to
receive the newsletter and keep informed on current
issues.
Although a short version of the CWI newsletter was
reportedly published as early as 1974, the earliest
available newsletter is from June 1981. That issue
recounted the May 1981 meeting, entitled “Opportunities
for Women in Government,” with speakers Wendy
Borcherdt, Associate Director of Personnel at the White
House, Ann Zabaldo, a free lance researcher and trainer,
and Carmen Maymi, Director of Equal Employment
Opportunity for the Office of Personnel Management.
The report stated: "There was general agreement among
the participants that effective training for management
and career development are essential for women in the
1980’s. It was also agreed that women must continue
building and using their network and support systems
for gaining access to positions and moving between the
public and private sector." The newsletter also
announced the topic of the June meeting to be “Role of
Voluntary Organizations in Public Policy” with Diana
Lozano, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy
Director of the Office of Public Liaison. Clearly, as early
as 1981, although CWI was less than ten years old, the
organization was already able to attract high-level
professional speakers to address its members. This
demonstrates the group’s early importance and set the
stage for its successful future.
Sometime between 1982 and 1984, the first brochure of
the Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues was published.
The brochure gave a brief history of the organization, its
purpose, guidelines for membership, and a list of the
current board of directors. It also included a section on
areas of interest and listed equality in the workplace,
equal legal rights, advancement of educational
opportunities for women, women and health, protection
of human and civil rights, and problems of low income
women, all of which remain as the primary concerns for
members into the 21st century. Some issues listed that
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were later deleted were the status of the homemaker,
problems of older women, and the National and World
Plans of Action, though a general topic area of global
issues affecting women was added in their place.
The November 1983 CWI newsletter was the first issue to
list events or announcements in addition to a short
account of the previous CWI meeting. This newsletter
also included an announcement for an AAUW conference
that CWI had been asked to co-sponsor. The conference,
to be held in New York City in October 1984, would cover
the, “critical issues affecting women today and in the
future” and would be the first major conference co-
sponsored by the Clearinghouse. The newsletter also
included an announcement for a new book, A Woman’s
Guide to Moving Up in Business and Government, written
by CWI’s vice-chairperson, Daisy Fields, as well as the
publication of Choices: A Teen Woman’s Journal for Self-
Awareness and Personal Planning by CWI member
Mildred Wurf, and Consumer Activists – They Made a
Difference – A History of Consumer Action Related by
Leaders in the Consumer Movement, which included an
introduction written by CWI board member Caroline
Ware and a chapter by CWI President Mary Keyserling.
MID 1980’S
The October 1984 newsletter included information on
recent legislation that affected women. A short summary
detailed the new Retirement Equity Act, which was a key
part of the 1983 Economic Equity Act. The bill expanded
private pension coverage for workers and guaranteed
pension rights for homemakers whose working spouses
die before retirement. The October newsletter also had
an announcement for a seminar sponsored by the
Federation of Organizations for Professional Women on
“Career Success Skills and Strategies” as well as a
course on “Stress Management and Professional
Women.”
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The Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues newsletter
underwent many positive changes in 1985. From that
year onward, the newsletter consistently included
additional news articles, reports of recent publications,
and announcements of conferences or meetings of
interest to CWI members. This greatly enhanced the
value and usefulness of the newsletter. Members outside
of the Washington area commented on the benefit of
receiving the newsletter.
In January 1985, for example, the newsletter
summarized an article that many CWI members would
have found very pertinent to their daily work. The
article, published in December 1984 in the New York
Times, explained the guidelines used to detect patterns of
discrimination in employment, and was an important
addition to the Clearinghouse newsletter. The February
1985 newsletter contained an announcement of the
release of a report on women’s mental health by the
American Psychological Association Women’s Programs
Office, a notice from the Women’s Pension Project
seeking women who may have been left out of pension
plans, as well as a short message regarding Women’s
History Week and activities planned by the Washington
DC Commission for Women.
In the April 1985 issue of the CWI newsletter, Mary
O’Connor, the recording secretary, included a section
entitled “Bills Introduced in Congress” and described
three bills affecting women: a Social Security earnings
sharing bill, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1985, and
the reintroduction of the Equal Rights Amendment.
The monthly publication underwent even more changes
in 1986. The newsletter now regularly included sections
for coming events and other publications, helping to keep
members informed and connected to other Washington
activities and events regarding women’s rights and
additional issues of concern. On March 9, 1986 many
CWI members took part in the National March for
Women’s Lives in Washington, DC, spearheaded by the
National Organization for Women. They participated in
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many other conferences, including the Bureau of
National Affairs’ conference on work and family. The
newsletter also occasionally included quick and
interesting facts:
for instance, the
May 1986 issue
CWI joined with more than reported a survey
50 national organizations to by the Bureau of
reactivate the Coalition for Labor Statistics
which found that
Women’s Appointments. women held
6,938,000 of the
13,847,000 jobs in
50 professional occupations. However, the story also
reminded readers that the wage gap between men and
women continued at an astonishing rate as professional
men earned $851 per week compared to $419 for
professional women.
In 1987, the CWI newsletter chronicled additional news,
including an announcement of the new Director of the
Women’s Bureau, Shirley Dennis. She promised to
continue advocating for employer-sponsored child care
programs, which had been developed under the
leadership of future CWI President Ruth Nadel.
One conference in which CWI members took part during
1987 was the Spirit of Houston Tenth Anniversary of the
National Women’s Conference: A Decade of Achievement,
a meeting to commemorate the groundbreaking 1977
conference and to review progress in implementing the
Plan of Action passed by that first national women’s
conference.
The September 1987 newsletter also contained an alert
regarding the nomination of Robert Bork to the US
Supreme Court. Bork’s ultra-conservative record and
beliefs on civil rights, civil liberties, and women’s rights
were considered a serious threat to women and people of
color. According to an analysis of Bork’s record by the
National Women’s Law Center which was quoted in the
CWI newsletter: “Judge Bork has precluded the
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application of the two constitutional rights, equal
protection and privacy, that have formed the cornerstone
of legal protections for women under the Constitution.”
Newsletter editor, Daisy Fields concluded the section on
Bork by stating: “If your freedom and existing rights
mean anything to you, you will immediately write to
every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and
voice your opposition” and she provided a list of the
members of the committee. Robert Bork, of course, was
eventually defeated, due in large part to concerted efforts
by women and the women’s movement.
The last newsletter in 1987 closed with a New Year’s
resolution to continue working on the unfinished agenda
for women’s issues, including the passage of the Equal
Rights Amendment and of legislation on non-
discrimination in insurance, the Reproductive Health
Equity Act and improvement of child care standards.
LATE 1980’S AND 1990’S
1988 brought a change of venue for CWI meetings. From
the early 1970’s, the Clearinghouse had held its monthly
lunch discussions at the American Association of
University Women’s board room at 2401 Virginia Avenue
NW, but in February 1988, AAUW instituted a new policy
that banned any food in their board room. For the
remainder of the year, most of the CWI meetings were
held at the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees’ board room at 1625 L Street NW.
From October 1993 onward the American Council on
Education at One Dupont Circle was host to the CWI
meetings.
The Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues joined with more
than 50 national organizations in September 1998 to
reactivate the Coalition for Women’s Appointments. The
coalition, similar to the one first developed in 1976 to
pressure the incoming Carter Administration to include
more female appointments, worked to identify qualified
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women to fill key policy-making positions within the next
administration. Fields served as the CWI representative
on the Civil Rights, EEOC, Labor, Office of Personnel
Management, and Merit Systems Protection Board Task
Force.
On April 9, 1989, many members of the Clearinghouse
participated in the National Organization for Women’s
National March for Women’s Equality and Women’s
Lives, called by some: “The most important mass
demonstration for women’s rights in the decade.” The
march was a rally to save legal abortion and birth control
rights and to gather more support for passage of the
Equal Rights Amendment. Later in 1989, many
members also attended the 10 th Anniversary Conference
of the National Committee on Pay Equity.
CWI members experienced a sad loss when Marguerite
Rawalt, a longtime advocate for women’s rights and
member of CWI, died in 1989, at the age of 94. She
retired from the federal government after a 33-year
career as an attorney for the Internal Revenue Service.
She was also a member of President Kennedy’s
Commission on the Status of Women and a founding
member of the National Organization for Women and its
Legal Defense Fund. The CWI newsletter said: “She was
an inspiration to those of us who were privileged to know
her and work with her. We will long remember her
commitment to equality for women, her sense of humor,
and her warmth, caring, and concern for others.”
CWI suffered two more losses in 1990. On April 5, Dr.
Caroline Ware, a past board member of the
Clearinghouse and a staunch supporter of women’s
rights, passed away at the age of 91. Though frail and
legally blind, she rarely missed a CWI meeting and
remained active on women’s issues right up until her
death. Several months later in October 1990, Olya
Margolin, a longtime board member of CWI, also died.
The Clearinghouse members missed the inspirational
and spirited presence of both women at their monthly
discussions.
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In 1991, faced with increased postage and printing costs,
CWI board members made the difficult decision to raise
membership dues for the first time in more than 10
years. An individual membership went to $18.00 from a
modest $15.00 per year and organization dues rose to
$35.00 from $30.00 per year.
CWI members received well-deserved commendations in
1992: Joy Simonson, a former CWI board member and
future CWI president,
was inducted into the DC
CWI signed on to Women’s Hall of Fame for
her long and varied
amicus briefs professional career and
submitted on behalf of volunteer work, and
women in various Carmen Delgado Votaw,
cases. later a board member,
was inducted into the
Maryland Women’s Hall
of Fame for her role as a
national and international leader on civil rights,
particularly for Hispanics and women.
Many CWI members participated in the 1993 Health for
Women in the 21st Century Conference, the 40th annual
forum of the National Health Council, to examine the
impact of changing demographics, forecasts of
advancements in medical research, and other major
health trends affecting women. Members also attended a
conference sponsored by the National Council of Negro
Women entitled “Challenges in an Aging Society: A
National Conference on Older Women” held in September
1993 in Washington, DC.
In 1993, the Clearinghouse became a member of the
Council of Presidents (later called the National Council of
Women’s Organizations), a group composed of heads of
national women’s organizations who collectively take
positions on current women’s issues. As a member of
the Council, CWI signed on to amicus briefs submitted
on behalf of women in various cases, some of which
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involved breaking the glass ceiling and supporting the
Family and Medical Leave Act.
In November 1993, CWI received word that Dr. Caroline
Ware had bequeathed $1,000 to CWI for such purposes
as the board of directors deemed appropriate.
Accordingly, the board established the Ware Grant to
provide for the award of that money to an individual or
organization member of CWI for new or ongoing research
on an issue of concern to women. An application form
for the grant appeared in the January 1994 newsletter
and, in May 1994, the Ware Grant Committee, composed
of board members Mary O’Connor, Colleen Challenger,
Jean Linehan, and Felice Sorrett, awarded the money to
CWI member Mary Haney for her project of developing an
instructive history of U.S. preparation for and
participation in International Women’s Year, the UN
International Women’s Year Conference in Mexico City
(1975), and the First National Women’s Conference in
Houston (1977). Haney interviewed women who were
instrumental in the organization and outcome of these
meetings.
CWI members took part in a new initiative of the
Women’s Bureau in the spring of 1994 called “Working
Women Count,” an effort to find out how America’s 58
million working women felt about their jobs and what
they would change if they could. CWI President Ruth
Nadel said of the initiative: “In keeping with CWI’s
ongoing commitment to our women members and to
working women across the country, we are proud to join
this landmark effort to give voice to women’s views
through the ‘Working Women Count’ questionnaire.” The
Clearinghouse distributed the Women’s Bureau
questionnaire, which asked women questions about
issues ranging from pay and benefits to job training and
opportunities for promotion, in the April newsletter and
responses ultimately were reported to President Clinton,
Congress, and the public. Women’s Bureau Director
Karen Nussbaum said: “We are delighted that CWI has
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joined this unprecedented effort to help define the critical
issues women face in today’s workplace.”
August 1995 marked the 75th anniversary of women’s
suffrage. There was a huge women’s rights march in
Washington, DC, to celebrate the milestone. Many
Clearinghouse members participated in the march and
other activities planned around the anniversary and
helped in the efforts to relocate the woman suffrage
statue from the depths of the Capitol Crypt to a
permanent place of honor in the Capitol Rotunda.
1995 was the first year that the Clearinghouse made
several organizational “sign ons,” when the board agreed
to add CWI’s name to a letter or cause that furthered the
goals and mission of CWI. In 1995, along with 58 other
women’s organizations as part of the Council of
Presidents, the Clearinghouse signed on to a letter
urging President Clinton to continue his support of
affirmative action. CWI also wrote to President Clinton
and Senators Edward Kennedy, Nancy Kassebaum, and
Robert Dole in support of the nomination of Dr. Henry
Foster for Surgeon General of the United States, as well
as other letters in support of Title IX and a fair minimum
wage.
Sadly, in August 1996, Catherine East, a leader in the
women’s movement who was instrumental in the
formation of the National Organization for Women and a
recurring speaker at CWI meetings, died of congestive
heart failure. That loss was felt not only among
Clearinghouse members, but by all people fighting for
women’s rights.
Throughout the year, the Clearinghouse remained active
in national issues by supporting various initiatives
concerning women’s rights. CWI wrote letters urging the
Senate to pass minimum wage legislation, signed on to
testimony presented by the President of the Women’s
Legal Defense Fund (along with 65 other organizations)
in support of the Family and Medical Leave Act, urged
President Clinton to continue the Interagency Council on
- 18 -
Women which was set to expire at the end of 1996, wrote
to numerous Senators regarding the Istook Amendment,
a proposed bill which would put additional restrictions
and record-keeping burdens on non-profit organizations,
and urged members of Congress to maintain funding for
the Women’s Educational Equity Act. Many CWI
members also took part in the UN Women’s Conference
One Year Later, held in Washington, DC, in September
1996 to address the progress since the Fourth World
Conference on Women.
In 1997, the Clearinghouse received a $1,000 grant from
The Women’s Institute at American University, a non-
profit education organization established in 1975 by Dr.
Dorothy Ferebee and Meg Connor. CWI board members
Daisy Fields, Florence Perman, and Mary O’Connor had
been very active with the Institute. During its 22 years,
the Women’s Institute established the Myra Barrer
Library Collection on Women at American University’s
Bender Library and also sponsored several scholarships
for female students as well as a variety of conferences
and seminars on women’s issues. However, recognizing
that its mission to address the International Women’s
Year objectives had been accomplished, the board of
directors of the Women’s Institute dissolved the group
and distributed its assets to worthy organizations, one of
which was the Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues. In the
award letter, Rita Johnston, President of the Women’s
Institute, wrote: “The Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues
has been designated to receive a grant from us to
continue your work in providing a channel for
dissemination of information on a variety of issues of
mutual concern to diverse women’s organizations.”
The Clearinghouse continued to be very active on
national women’s rights issues, writing to Senators
regarding the re-authorization of the Perkins Vocational
Education Act and encouraging funding for international
family planning programs. CWI was also an official
supporter of the 150th anniversary of the women’s rights
movement.
- 19 -
CWI experienced another sad loss in 1997 with the
passing of Mary Dublin Keyserling, a past president and
board member of the Clearinghouse and former director
of the Women’s Bureau.
Keyserling’s book, Windows
on Day Care, launched a CWI sent letters to
national debate over national and
publicly funded day care
facilities. She was a lifelong international leaders
fighter for women’s rights. on gender apartheid in
Long-time editor of the CWI Afghanistan and the
newsletter Daisy Fields Equal Rights
retired in November 1998. Amendment.
In her last issue, she wrote:
“As a founding member of
CWI, I worked for and watched it grow from a dozen
women to the nationwide membership we enjoy today. I
have served the organization as program chair, president
for two terms, and newsletter editor for the past 16
years. It has been a significant part of my life and I have
enjoyed every minute.” Although Fields’ hard work, skill,
and sense of humor would be greatly missed on the
pages of the CWI newsletter, Roslyn Kaiser volunteered
to fill her position as newsletter editor. Kaiser, a recent
retiree from the US Department of Transportation with a
strong background in writing and public affairs, was a
natural replacement for Fields.
In 1998, the Clearinghouse signed on to numerous
letters and causes to advance women’s rights, among
them a letter to Senators urging support of the Patients’
Bill of Rights, a National Women’s Equality Act, and a
fair minimum wage. CWI also signed on to two amicus
briefs. The first was a brief filed by the National
Partnership for Women & Families in support of the
appellant in Thomson v. Ohio State University Hospital, a
case involving important issues for state employees who
need protection under the Family and Medical Leave Act,
filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit. In the second case, Smith v. NCAA, the
- 20 -
Clearinghouse, along with the National Women’s Law
Center, argued to the Supreme Court that the NCAA is
subject to Title IX and is prohibited from discriminating
on the basis of sex in its governance of intercollegiate
athletics.
During 1999, the Clearinghouse sent letters to national
and international leaders on topics of gender apartheid
in Afghanistan and the Equal Rights Amendment, and
signed on to an amicus brief in Neal v. The Board of
Trustees of the California State University, another Title
IX case defending the legality and constitutionality of the
"three-part test" and, in particular, the proportionality
test.
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY AND BEYOND
In 2000, CWI President Joy Simonson was elected to the
National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO)
steering committee, a testament to the importance of the
Clearinghouse. The Council had become a coalition of
some 150 women's organizations representing millions of
women nationwide. Also that year, the Clearinghouse on
Women’s Issues was a co-sponsor of the historic
Feminist Expo 2000 in Baltimore, organized by the
Feminist Majority Foundation. This conference attracted
thousands of feminists from around the globe and
featured more than 100 symposia, roundtable
discussions, and training seminars. Simonson, who
attended the event, said: “The presence of women from
many countries reinforced the spirit of sisterhood
throughout the gathering….An enormous number of
young women were there from colleges (and some from
high schools) in all parts of the country.…Their active
participation in workshops and long plenary sessions
was heartwarming evidence that feminism is far from
dead, as some have said. One could virtually see the
torch being passed from the veterans of the early battles
through the ‘mature’ fighters for the Equal Right
- 21 -
Amendment to their daughters who will be fighting for
their vision of women’s rights.”
The Clearinghouse was very active in 2000, having co-
sponsored Equal Pay Day and signed on to letters
opposing changes to pension nondiscrimination rules,
supporting the Women’s Health Office Act of 2000, and
endorsing the October World March of Women 2000.
CWI also signed on to a Supreme Court amicus brief in
Brentwood Christian Academy v. Tennessee Secondary
School Athletic Association arguing that high school
athletic associations are state actors and thus covered by
the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
The Clearinghouse was a co-sponsor of the National
Council of Women’s Organizations’ September 2001
conference, the Women’s Equality Summit. This major
event brought activists from around the country to
Washington to lobby Congress on important women’s
issues. Also in 2001, after the tragic events of
September 11th, CWI sent a letter to members of
Congress urging them to remember the long-standing
needs of women and children and not put those issues
on the “political back burner” while addressing issues of
terrorism.
In September 2001, Mary O’Connor, who served as CWI’s
treasurer for more than a decade, died in her sleep, after
a long and impressive career fighting for women’s rights.
She worked for the Women’s Campaign Fund and later
for WEAL. She served on the board of several women’s
organization including Girls’ Club of America, Centennial
Branch, and DC State AAUW, the Women’s Institute, and
US Committee for UNIFEM. As recalled in the CWI
newsletter: “Mary was a witty, loyal friend and devoted to
feminist causes…She will be missed by all who knew
her.” Contributions in her memory facilitated this
report.
In June 2002, CWI sent a letter to the US Department of
Education regarding proposed amendments to Title IX.
It explained that CWI members were convinced that Title
- 22 -
IX, along with other Constitutional protections, has been
responsible for much of the progress toward gender
equity in education made in the last few years and that it
was premature and unnecessary to amend Title IX.
Clearinghouse members rejoiced at the Education
Department’s decision the
next year not to alter its
interpretation of Title IX.
CWI also wrote to Secretary CWI sent a letter to the
of State Colin Powell urging US Department of
him to support hearings and
ratification of the United
Education regarding
Nations Convention for the proposed amendments
Elimination of All Forms of to Title IX.
Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), to
Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao regarding funding for
training and technical assistance services provided by
Women Work!, to members of Congress urging them to
co-sponsor the Chance to Succeed Act, a bill that would
provide much needed assistance to poor women and
their families, and to the Office of Management and
Budget in support of a letter to federal contractors
ensuring compliance with non-discrimination
requirements.
The National Council of Women’s Organizations
organized a Women’s Equality Summit and
Congressional Action Day in 2002 to develop a
“scorecard” on congressional voting records and
sponsorship of NCWO’s key issues. As part of the
conference, the NCWO developed a Women’s Agenda
which included protecting Social Security and ending its
disadvantages for women, securing affordable, quality
child care, improving access to health care, including
family planning and abortion services, ratification of
CEDAW, fair pay legislation, and ending violence against
women. The event was a huge success and many CWI
members participated in the activities and celebrations.
- 23 -
CONCLUSION
The Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues has been on the
front lines of feminism for 30 years. One can trace the
growth and development of the women’s movement by
reviewing the history of CWI meetings. The programs
reflect the range of public policy concerns that are most
relevant for women.
Some issues recur, year after year: gender discrimination
and women in the workplace, women and girls in
education, the Equal Rights Amendment, reproductive
rights, Social Security, welfare, and equal pay.
Unfortunately, these problems remain on the agenda,
but CWI has not given up on the search for new
solutions.
Ruth Nadel, a former president of the Clearinghouse,
observed that CWI programs have consistently presented
expert speakers who have brought meaningful
perspective as well as information to the discussions.
She said: "Our members, mostly professionals and
activists, have been involved in the women's movement
for many years. They are not just colleagues, but friends
as well. Also, we have been fortunate to have a top-notch
newsletter and excellent leaders who were committed to
the group's goals."
The Clearinghouse, although a relatively small
organization, has made a significant impact through its
networking outreach. Its continuing activities and
contributions to national and international campaigns
for women's rights make CWI a respected voice on
women’s issues.
- 24 -
APPENDIX 1:
SPEAKERS & PROGRAMS
1981
Women in Government
Wendy Borcherdt, Associate Dir., Personnel, White House
Ann Zabaldo, researcher and trainer
Carmen Maymi, Dir., Equal Employment Opportunity, Office of
Personnel Management.
Role of Voluntary Organizations in Public Policy
Diana Lozano, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Dir.,
Office of Public Liaison
1982
Passing the Equal Rights Amendment
Mariwyn Heath, former Coordinator, Equal Rights Amendment
Abortion
Bill Hamilton, Dir., Washington Planned Parenthood Federation of
America
Concerns for Older Women
Nelson Cruikshank, Advisor on the Elderly to President Carter
Midge Marvel, Co-founder, National Coalition on Older Women’s
Issues
Equity in Employment and Education
Leslie Wolfe, Dir., Women’s Educational Equity Act Program
Carole Wilson, Associate General Counsel, International Union
Electrical Workers
Comparable Worth and How the Budget and Tax Bills Affect
Women
Geraldine Ferraro, US Representative, 9th District of New York
Women’s Political Action Committees (PACs) in the 1982
Elections
Marie Bass, Dir., Government Relations, NARAL
Jonelle Davis, National Women’s Campaign Fund
Laurie Westley, National Women’s Political Caucus
Molly Yard, NOW
- 25 -
1983
Changing Role of Women in the Economy
Dr. Janet Norwood, Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Women in China
Dr. Janet Hunt, Associate Professor of Sociology
Dr. Jessie Bernard, author
Women in the 98th Congress
Patricia Reuss, Legislative Liaison, Women’s Equity Action League
1983 Social Security Amendments for Women
Dr. Robert Ball, former Commissioner, Social Security
Administration
Women in the Labor Force
Evelyn Dubrow, Vice President, International Ladies’ Garment
Workers’ Union
Gender, Insurance and Pensions
Mary Gray, Professor and Chair, Department of Mathematics,
Statistics and Computer Science, American University, and
President, Women’s Equity Action League
Civil Rights
Dr. Mary Berry, Professor of Law and History, Howard University
Women Candidates in 1984 and the Gender Gap
Kathy Wilson, Chair, National Women’s Political Caucus
Women and Consumer Programs
Esther Peterson, former Dir., Women’s Bureau and Assistant
Secretary for Labor Standards
1984
Women’s Coverage by the Media in an Election Year
Catherine East, Legislative Dir., National Women’s Political
Caucus
Women Workers
Gloria Johnson, Dir., Education and Women’s Activities
International Union of Electrical Workers
Military Budget and its Impact on Human Services
Gordon Adams, Dir., Defense Budget Project, Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities
Johanna Mendelson, Dir. of Public Policy, AAUW
Patricia Smith, Public Policy Associate, AAUW
- 26 -
Women and the Courts
Honorable Rita Davidson, Associate Judge, Maryland Court of
Appeals
Women in the Economy
Arvonne Fraser, Senior Fellow and Dir., Women, Public Policy and
Development Project, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public
Affairs
Female Vote in 1984
Celinda Lake, author
Developing a Political Agenda for Women
Bobbie Greene Kilberg, former Associate Counsel to President
Gerald Ford
Ann Lewis, Political Dir., Democratic National Committee
1985
Women’s Agenda, 99th Congress
Ann Radigan, Executive Dir., Congressional Caucus on Women’s
Issues
Patricia Smith, Dir. of Public Policy, AAUW
Kathy Webb, National Secretary, NOW
Catherine East, Legislative Dir., National Women’s Political
Caucus
Women and Tax Policy
Laurie Mikva, Tax Analyst, WEAL
Martha Phillips, Deputy Chief of Staff, Ways and Means
Committee
Ruth Ruttenberg, Senior Economist, Ruttenberg, Friedman,
Kilgallen and Associates
Women and Budget Policy
Dr. James Rotherham, Senior Specialist, Human Resources
Programs, House Budget Committee
Dr. Sara Rix, Dir. of Research, WREI
Joy Wilson, Staff Dir., Health and Human Resources Committee,
National Conference of State Legislators
Chris DeVries, Chair, Coalition on Women and the Budget
Women and Social Security
Pat Dilley, Senior Analyst, Subcommittee on Social Security,
House Ways and Means
Cathy Straggas, Staff Assistant to Congresswoman Mary Rose
Oakar
Edith Fierst, Chair, Technical Committee on Social Security
Paul Cullinen, Senior Analyst, Congressional Budget Office
- 27 -
Nairobi World Conference on Women
Virginia Allan, member, US Delegation
Vivian Lowery Derryck, Program Dir., National Democratic
Institute for International Affairs
Phyllis Kaminsky, Dir., UN Information Center
Women and the Health System
Valerie Williams, Executive Dir., Public Health Service,
Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health Issues
Reflections and Projections after the Nairobi World Conference
Joan Goodin, Deputy Dir., Overseas Education Fund
Representative Claudine Schneider
Betty Shapiro, Project Member, “Planning for Nairobi”
Joy Simonson, House Government Operations Committee
Changing Nature of Poverty in America
Robert Greenstein, Dir., Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Susan Kinoy, Grants Officer, Villers Foundation
Sima Wali, Dir., Refugee Women in Development Project
1986
Media Treatment of Women
Eileen Shanahan, journalist and former Washington Bureau
reporter, New York Times
Jean Gaddy Wilson, Professor of Journalism, University of
Missouri
Kathy Bonk, Dir., Women’s Media Project, NOW LDF
Reproductive Rights
Susan Cohen, Associate for Policy Development, Alan Guttmacher
Institute
William Hamilton, Executive Dir., Washington, DC office of
Planned Parenthood
Dr. Sharon Camp, Vice President, Population Crisis Committee
Women and the Judicial System
Nan Aron, Chair, Judicial Selection Project
Suzzane Meeker, Staff Attorney, National Women’s Law Center
Stephan Michelson, President, Econometric Research
Pay Equity
Alice Cook, Professor Emeritus, School of Industrial and Labor
Relations, Cornell University
Heidi Hartmann, Study Dir., Committee on Women’s Employment,
National Academies of Science
Christine Owens, Newman & Owens
Dianna Rock, Dir., Women’s Rights Programs, AFSCME
- 28 -
Parental Leave
Leslie Gladstone, Analyst, Congressional Research Service
David Waugh, Deputy Dir., Washington Branch, International
Labor Office
Michelle Lord, Counsel, Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues
Susan Hager, President, Hager, Sharp & Abramson
Women and the Federal Budget and Tax Policies
Susan Rees, Executive Dir., Coalition on Human Needs
Cathleen Shine, Legislative Assistant for Women’s Issues to
Senator Bob Packwood
Edward Howard, Public Policy Coordinator, Villers Foundation
Tax Law and Pension Changes
Duffy Campbell, Attorney, National Women’s Law Center
Anne Moss, Dir., Women’s Pension Project
Impact of Deregulation on Women in the Airline Industry
Susan Bianchi-Sand, Vice President, Association of Flight
Attendants
How Women Fared in 1986 Elections
Irene Nativadad, National Chair, National Women’s Political
Caucus
Stephanie Solien, Executive Dir., Women’s Campaign Fund
1987
Women’s Legislative Agenda for 1987
Linda Loeb, Counsel, Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues
Linda Tarr-Whelan, Executive Dir., National Center for Policy
Alternatives
Home-based Work
Paula Smith, Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor
Evelyn Dubrow, Vice President and Legislative Dir., ILGWU,
AFL/CIO
Joy Simonson, House of Representatives Employment and
Housing Subcommittee
Child Care
Helen Blank, Dir., Child Care, Children’s Defense Fund
Daniel Lazorcheck, Consultant, Employer Supported Child Care
Wage Gap
Dr. Barbara Bergmann, Professor of Economics, University of
Maryland
June O’Neill, Assistant Staff Dir., Program and Policy Review, U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights
- 29 -
Midlife and Older Women’s Issues
Alice Quinlan, Dir., Office of Public Policy, Older Women’s League
Karen Friedman, Education Dir., Pension Rights Center
Robert Blancato, Staff Dir., Subcommittee on Human Services
Workforce 2000
Kelley Andrews, Dir., Workforce 2000 Project, Department of
Labor
Part-time Employment
Diane Rothberg, President, Association of Part-Time Professionals
Carolyn York, Research Analyst, SEIU
Hormone Research on Women
Dr. Estelle Ramey, Professor of Endcrinology, Georgetown
University School of Medicine
1988
Women’s Legislative Issues, 1988
Patricia Reuss, Legislative Dir., WEAL
Cost to Women if Parental Leave is Denied
Heidi Hartmann, Dir., IWPR
Roberta Spalter-Roth, Associate Dir., Institute for Women’s Policy
Studies
Benefits and Costs of National Health Insurance
Victoria Leonard, Dir., National Women’s Health Network
Robert Damuth, Managing Associate, Robert Nathan Associates
Welfare Reform
Allen Jensen, Committee on Ways and Means
Mark Carl Rom, Research Assistant, Brookings Institute
Financial Planning for Women
Margaret Wheeler, certified financial planner
Domestic Violence
Caroline Sparks, Dir., Feminist Institute
Charlotte Fedders, author
Child Care, Day Care, and Dependent Care
Laura Loeb, Public Policy Dir., Older Women’s League
Amy Wilkins, Program Associate, Children’s Defense Fund
A New National Advisory Council for Women
Sarah Harder, President, AAUW
Mary Grefe, President, AAUW Education Foundation
- 30 -
Women’s Issues in the 1988 Election
Ann Lewis, Political Affairs Columnist, Ms. Magazine
Wilma Goldstein, Dir., American Campaign Academy
1989
Reaching Women’s True Potential
Sara Rix, Dir. of Research, WREI
Cynthia Harrison, feminist author
Health Care, Elderly
Gwen Gampel, Vice President, Health Affairs, Capitol Associates
Judy Park, Dir. of Legislation, National Association of Retired
Federal Employees
Susan Polniaszek, Dir., United Seniors Health Cooperative
How the Press Influences Events of Concern to Women
Sarah McClendon, President, McClendon News Service
Peggy Simpson, Washington Bureau Chief, Ms. Magazine
Feminization of Poverty
Deborah Arrindell, Public Policy Dir., Wider Opportunities for
Women (WOW)
June Wilson, Vocational Education Specialist, Department of
Education in MD
Women’s Mental Health
Nancy Schlossberg, Professor, Department of Counseling and
Personnel Services, University of Maryland
Women on College Campuses
Dr. Bernice Sandler, Dir., Project on the Status and Education of
Women, Association of American Colleges
Current Legislation on Women’s Issues
Julia Hamilton, Legislative Assistant to Representative Mary Rose
Oakar (D-OH)
Jackie Ruff, Senate Committee on Human Resources
Women in the Workforce
Dr. Jeanne Stellman, Dir., Women’s Occupational Health
Resource Center
Deborah Berkowitz, Health and Safety Dir., UFCW
Economic Power as a Strategy for Change
Jo Uehara, Dir. of Public Policy, YWCA
Alisa Gravitz, Dir., Co-Op America
- 31 -
1990
Women in Prison
Ann Bartolo, Chief, Female Offender Section, Federal Bureau of
Prisons
Gene Washington, Associate Dir. of Programs, DC Department of
Corrections
Brenda Smith, Attorney and Dir., Women in Prison Project,
National Women’s Law Center
Women and Voting
Rebecca Tillet, Political Projects Dir., National Women’s Political
Caucus
Dawn Johnson, Attorney, NARAL
Comprehensive Health Plan
Edward Howard, General Counsel, Pepper Commission
Laura Loeb, Public Policy Dir., Older Women’s League
Party Politics and Women’s Issues
Alice Travis, Dir. of Programs, Democratic National Committee
Mary Dent Crisp, former Vice Chair, Republican National
Committee
Cracking the Glass Ceiling
Cari Dominguez, Dir., Office of Contract Compliance Programs,
Department of Labor
Junior Bridge, President, Unabridged Communications
Mark Williams, Bureau of National Affairs
Women’s Strategies in a New Political Age
Juliette McLennan, U.S. Representative, UN Commission on the
Status of Women
Karen Keesling, General Counsel, UN Development Fund for
Women
Effect of Homelessness on Children and Families
David Pollack, Dir., Program Development Division, Department of
Housing and Urban Development
Mary Zolar, DC Coalition, Homeless
Women and Politics in the 90’s
Jane Danowitz, Dir., Women’s Campaign Fund
Maralee Schwartz, Political Writer, Washington Post
Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Illness in Women
Ruth Kirschstein, Acting Dir., Office on Women’s Health Research,
NIH
Joan Kuriansky, Executive Dir., Older Women’s League
- 32 -
1991
How Women Fared in the Election and What’s Ahead
Cynthia Harrison, historian
Donna Lenhoff, Dir., Legal Policy and Programs, Women’s Legal
Defense Fund
Karen Hendricks, Dir. of Government Affairs, Association of
Junior Leagues International
Race, Sex, and Civil Rights
Representative Maxine Waters
Women in Developing Countries
Charlotte Conable, specialist, international women’s issues
Aileen Cooper, Dir. of Program and Public Affairs, B’Nai B’Rith
Women
Women and the Military
Helen Sherwood, Women’s Bureau Regional Administrator,
Women Veterans Project
Sydney Tally Hickey, Associate Dir., Government Relations,
National Military Family Association
Dr. Margaret Feldman, Washington Representative, National
Council on Family Relations
Violence Against Women
Cynthia Anderson, Dir., Abused Persons Program, Montgomery
County
Pat Reuss, Public Policy Adviser, Women’s Legal Defense Fund
Sexual Harassment, Pay Ceilings, and Equity in the Workplace
Winn Newman, civil rights attorney
Claudia Withers, attorney, Women’s Legal Defense Fund
Congressional Agenda for Women
Karen Kraut, Legislative Aide to Congresswoman Olympia Snowe
Ronnee Schreiber, Program and Policy Department, AAUW
Supreme Court and Women’s Issues
Ruth Marcus, Washington Post
Ellen Vargyas, Senior Counsel, National Women’s Law Center
Women and AIDS
Kathleen Stoll, Dir., National Resource Center on Women and
AIDS
Margaret Copemann, Dir., Education and Volunteer Services, DC
Women’s Council on AIDS
- 33 -
1992
Women, Work and Family
Donna Klein, Dir., Department of Work and Family Life, Marriot
Corporation
Jean Linehan, Consultant, Work and Family Programs, Bureau of
National Affairs
Women and Social Security
Edith Fierst, Attorney and Chair, Technical Committee on
Earnings Sharing
Mary Jane Yarrington, Senior Policy Analyst, National Committee
to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
Health Care
Judy Waxman, Dir., Government Affairs, Families USA
Foundation
Anne Kasper, Coordinator, Campaign for Women’s Health
Women’s Economic Issues
Dr. Barbara Bergman, Distinguished Professor of Economics,
American University
Do Schools Shortchange Girls?
Anne Bryant, Executive Dir., AAUW
Francie Alexander, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Policy and
Planning, Department of Education
Reducing Prejudice
Unyong Kim, National Outreach Coordinator, National Coalition
Building Institute
The Year, Woman
Mary Beth Lambert, Political Dir., National Women’s Political
Caucus
Ann Chipley, Dir., Program and Public Policy, AAUW
Economic Equity Act
Leslie Primmer, Executive Dir., Congressional Caucus for
Women’s Issues
Donna Talbert, Manager, Women’s Economic Justice Program,
Center for Policy Alternatives
Citizen Activism
Nan Aron, Executive Dir., Alliance for Justice
Sarah McLendon, Editor and Publisher, McLendon News Service
- 34 -
1993
Leadership Training and Shattering the Glass Ceiling
Rosemary Howard, Dir., DOD Executive Leadership Development
Program
Barbara Ivory, Cartographer
Dr. Mildred Donlon, Nuclear Scientist
Gender Fairness in the Courts
Karen Czapanskiy, Associate Professor, University of Maryland
Law School
Denise Neary, Senior Judicial and Legal Education Specialist,
Federal Judicial Center
An Economic Agenda for Women and the Federal Budget Process
Donna Talbert, Manager, Women’s Economic Justice Program,
Center for Policy Alternatives
Robert Greenstein, Executive Dir., Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities
Women’s Medical Rights
Charles Inlander, President, People’s Medical Society,
Political Agenda for Contingent Workers
Joy Simonson, House Subcommittee on Employment and Housing
Polly Callaghan, Research Division, Service Employees
International Union
Mental Health Policy and Women
Dr. Bernard Arons, Dir., Mental Health Working Group
Dr. Susan Blumenthal, NIMH designate, Health Care Policy Task
Force
Women’s Bureau Initiatives, Goals, and Objectives
Karen Nussbaum, Dir., Women’s Bureau, US Department of Labor
Global Campaign for Women’s Rights
Lael Stegall, Senior Fellow, Communications Consortium Media
Center
Women with Disabilities
Dale Brown, Program Manager, President’s Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities
1994
Health Care Reform
Heather Booth, National Organization Coordinator, National
Health Care Campaign
John Gist, Senior Coordinator, Economic Policy, Public Policy
Institute, AARP
- 35 -
Welfare Reform
Dr. Diana Pearce, Project Dir., Women in Poverty, Wider
Opportunities for Women
Sex Discrimination in Higher Education
Ellen Vargyas, Senior Staff Attorney, National Women’s Law
Center
Glass Ceiling Commission
Joyce D. Miller, Executive Dir., Glass Ceiling Commission
Preparing, Fourth World Conference on Women
Arvonne Fraser, U.S. Representative, UN Commission on the
Status of Women
Status, Family
Dr. Paul Cameron, Dir., Family Research Institute
Theodora Oooms, Dir., Family Impact Seminar
Understanding the Backlash
Celia Morris, author and lecturer
Report from the UN – Cairo and Vienna
Frances Kissling, President, Catholics for a Free Choice
Joy Simonson, House Subcommittee on Employment and Housing
Margaret Feldman, National Council on Family Relations
Violence Against Women Act
Pat Reuss, Senior Policy Analyst, NOW Legal Defense and
Education Fund
1995
Congress and Women’s Issues
Elizabeth Symonds, Legislative Counsel, American Civil Liberties
Union
Welfare Reform
Dr. Roberta Spalter-Roth, Research Dir., Institute for Women’s
Policy Research
Celebrating 75 Years of Women’s Suffrage
Anita Perez Ferguson, Vice President, National Women’s Political
Caucus
Entitlement and the Federal Budget
Heather Lamm, Research Assistant, Bipartisan Commission on
Entitlement and Tax Reform
Promise of Women’s Studies
Dr. Claire Moses, Chair, Women’s Studies, University of Maryland
College Park
- 36 -
Women as Political Candidates
Harriet Woods, President, National Women’s Political Caucus
Beijing Conference on Women
Linda Tarr-Whelan, President and CEO, Center for Policy
Alternatives
Carmen Delgado Votaw, Dir., Government Relations, Girl Scouts
of America
Women Voters in 1996
Irene Natividad, Past President, National Women’s Political
Caucus
Follow-up After the Beijing Conference
Sarah Moten, Co-Chair, US Network for Beijing and Beyond
1996
Women’s Issues, 104th Congress
Donna Lenhoff, General Counsel, Women’s Legal Defense Fund
Marjorie Sims, Executive Dir., Women’s Policy, Inc.
Pension Problems and Prospects for Women
Olena Berg, Assistant Secretary of Labor, Pension and Welfare
Benefits Administration
Karen Ferguson, Dir., Pensions Rights Center
Violence Against Women
Bonnie Campbell, Dir., Violence Against Women Office, US
Department of Justice
Political Right
Mary Jean Collins, National Field Service Dir., People, American
Way
Bunnie Riedel, Dir., Chapters and Faiths, Americans United for
Separation of Church and State
Women’s Education Issues, 1996
Donna Shavlik, Dir., Office of Women in Higher Education,
American Council on Education
Jadwiga Sebrechts, Executive Dir., Women’s College Coalition
Federal Government and Women’s Education
Verna Williams, Senior Counsel, National Women’s Law Center
Cindy Brown, Senior Legislative Analyst, AAUW
Supreme Court’s Recent Impact on Women
Cynthia Harrison, Assistant Professor of History and Women’s
Studies, George Washington University
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New National Women’s Action Agenda
Kathleen Hendrix, Deputy Dir., President’s Interagency Council on
Women
Anne Zill, Washington Representative, WEDO
Women’s Impact on the 1996 Elections
Celinda Lake, political strategist and pollster
Nancy Zirkin, Dir., Government Relations, AAUW
1997
Women’s Health Issues
Anne Kasper, Health Consultant, Women’s Health Campaign
Lisa Cox, Program and Policy Dir., National Women’s Health
Network
Pathways out of Poverty
Cynthia Marano, Executive Dir., Wider Opportunities for Women
Cheryl Jackson, Women’s College Assistance Project
Combating Sweatshops and Child Labor
Ann Hoffman, Legislative Dir., UNITE
Suzanne Seiden, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor,
Employment Standards Division
New Action Agenda for American Women
Kathleen Hendrix, President’s Interagency Council on Women
Suzanne Kindervatter, Dir., Division on Advancement of Women
25 Years of Title IX
Marcia Greenberger, President, National Women’s Law Center
Linda Shevitz, Equity Office, Maryland State Department of
Education
Shifting Defense Dollars to Human Services
Representative Barney Frank (D-MA)
Laura Kriv, Legislative Dir., 20/20 Vision
Student-to-student Sexual Harassment
Dr. Bernice Sandler, Director, Project on the Status & Education
of Women, Association of American Colleges
Affirmative Action
Brigid O’Farrell, Coordinator, Council of Presidents Affirmative
Action Task Force
Dale Alston, Chair, Dialog on Race and Racism, Black Women
United for Action
Role of Women in the Trade Unions
Karen Nussbaum, Dir., Working Women’s Department, AFL-CIO
Maria Narano, Organizer, SEIU
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1998
Congress, the Supreme Court, and Women in 1998
Judy Applebaum, Senior Counsel, Women’s Legal Defense Fund
Helen Norton, Dir., Equal Opportunities Program, National
Women’s Law Center
Future of Reproductive Health
Estelle Rogers, Legislative Dir., Planned Parenthood Federation of
America
Stephanie Muehler, Communications Dir., National Abortion
Federation
Welfare Reform
Barry Van Lare, Executive Dir., Welfare Information Network
La Donna Pavetti, Senior Researcher, Mathematica Inc.
Programs to Protect and Assist Women in the World
Margaret Lycette, Dir., Office of Women in Development
Lea Browning, President, WEARE for Human Rights
Social Security and Women
Robert Myers, former Dir., National Commission on Social
Security Reform
Edith Fierst, former member, Advisory Commission on Social
Security
Helping Victims of Mental Illness
Dr. Michael English, Dir., Division of Knowledge Development and
Systems Change, National Institute of Mental Health
Elizabeth Edgar, Dir., State Health Care, National Alliance,
Mentally Ill
Impact of Genetic Research on Women
Joan Weiss, Founding Dir., Alliance of Genetic Support Groups
Judith Benkendorf, Genetic Counselor, Georgetown University
Medical Center
Women in Prison
Brenda Smith, Washington College of Law, American University
Julie Stewart, President and Founder, Families Against
Mandatory Minimums
The Beginnings, Women’s Rights Movement
Cynthia Costello, Dir., Research Center and Senior Editor,
American Woman 1999-2000
Carol DeVita, Demographer, Urban Institute
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1999
Backlash Against Feminism
Diana Zuckerman, public policy consultant
Martha Burk, Dir., Center for the Advancement of Public Policy
New Feminist Agenda
Ellie Smeal, President, Feminist Majority Foundation
American Women, Past and Future
Ann Lewis, White House Dir. of Communications
Allida Black, historian and author
Environmental Justice
Jill Gay, environmental health expert
Frances Dumbrowski, environmental lawyer
New Initiatives in Women’s Health
Susan Wood, Dir., Office of Women’s Health, Health and Human
Services
Marsha Henderson, Health Programs Dir., Office of Women’s
Health, Food and Drug Administration
Refugee Women
Lael Stegall, Dir., STAR
Nancy Lindborg, Mercy Corps International
Homelessness and Poverty in America
Maria Foscarinis, Executive Dir., National Law Center on
Homelessness and Poverty
Laurel Weir, Public Policy Dir., National Law Center on
Homelessness and Poverty
Asylum in the US for Immigrant Women
Molly Groom, Assistant General Counsel, Immigration and
Naturalization Service
Ladan Mirbagheri-Smith, immigration attorney
Beijing Plus Five
Lidia Soto-Harmon, Deputy Dir., President’s Interagency Council
on Women
Suzanne Kindervatter, Dir., Commission on the Advancement of
Women
2000
Balance Between Work and Life
Sharon O’Malley, Editor, Work/Life Today
Judy Dale, Dir., Health and Work/Life Center
- 40 -
Ratifying CEDAW
Kit Cosby, Co-chair, Working Group for US Ratification of CEDAW
Sean Moore, Legislative Assistant to Senator Barbara Boxer (D-
CA)
Women in Brazil and Cuba
Allida Black, Assistant Professor, Women’s Power and Leadership
Program, George Washington University
Ellen Overton, CWI Program Chair
Hispanic and Muslim Women in America
Cecilia Munoz, Office of Research, Advocacy and Legislation,
National Council of La Raza
Sharifa Alkhateeb, Vice President, North American Council for
Muslim Women
After Beijing Plus Five
Lidia Soto-Harmon, Deputy Dir., President’s Interagency Council
on Women
Suzanne Kindervatter, Dir., Commission on the Advancement of
Women
Filing and Pursuing a Sex Discrimination Claim
Nancy Lang, Plaintiff in suit against Voice of America
Bruce Fredrickson, Webster, Fredrickson, and Brackshaw
Women in the Arts
Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, National Museum of Women in the Arts
Dr. Leslie Jacobson, Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance,
George Washington University
Women in the New Administration
Beth Kanter, Political Dir., National Women’s Political Caucus
Anna Ekindjian, Assistant Coordinator, 2001 Women’s
Appointment Project
2001
Women and the Environment
Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General, Environment and
Natural Resources, DOJ
Walker Smith, Principal Deputy Chief, Environmental Section,
DOJ
Title IX
Mary Ann Borysowicz, Executive Dir., National Association for
Girls and Women in Sports
John Thompson, President, Fairfax Athletic Inequities Reform
- 41 -
Women in Science and Technology
Kitty Didion, Executive Dir., Association for Women in Science
Jong-on-Hahm, Dir., National Research Council Committee on
Women in Science and Engineering
Privatization of Social Security
Dr. Catherine Hill, Study Dir., IWPR
Kathryn Olson, Dir. of Income Security, National Academy of
Social Insurance
Pay Equity
Alyson Reed, Executive Dir., National Committee on Pay Equity
Jennifer Woolley, Program Associate, Women and Economy
Program, Center for Policy Alternatives
Women in the 107th Congress
Cameron Gilreath, Legislative Assistant for Representative Judy
Biggert (R-IL)
Joy Raatz, Legislative Fellow for Representative Juanita Millender-
McDonald (D-CA)
Trafficking of Women and Girls
Dr. Marjorie Lightman, Senior Fellow, WREI
Dr. Anne Zollner, International Labor Rights Officer, US
Department of Labor
Global Feminism
Dr. Diane Bell, Dir., Women’s Studies Program, George
Washington University
Barbara Ann Ferris, Founder and Dir., International Women’s
Democracy Center
Mental Health Community Response to Terrorism
Dr. Elizabeth Clark, Executive Dir., National Association of Social
Workers
Dr. Howard Smith, Associate Executive Dir., Professional Affairs,
American Counseling Association
2002
Economic Impact of September 11th
Heidi Hartmann, Founder and President, IWPR
Jane McDonald-Pines, Workforce Development Policy Analyst,
AFL-CIO
Helping Victims of Crime and Abuse
Lydia Watts, Executive Dir. and Co-Founder, Women Empowered
Against Violence
Susan Herman, Executive Dir., National Center for Victims of
Crime
- 42 -
Welfare Reform
Jacqueline Payne, Policy Attorney, NOW Legal Defense and
Education Fund
Carolee Sparks, Field Projects Associate, Women Work!
Gender at the United Nations
Sharon Kotok, International Women’s Program, State Department
Joan Winship, International Management Consultant
Gender Equity in Education
Dr. Susan Klein, Department of Education
Dr. David Sadker, Professor, American University
Occupational Safety and Health
Peg Seminario, Dir., Office of Occupational Safety and Health,
AFL-CIO
Randy Rabinowitz, attorney
Women in Journalism
Barbara Cochran, President, Radio and Television News Dir.
Association
Dr. Maureen Beasley, Professor of Journalism, University of
Maryland
Women’s Issues in the 2002 Election
Terry O’Neill, Vice President, NOW
Dr. Laurie Young, Executive Dir., OWL
- 43 -
APPENDIX 2:
ORGANIZATION MEMBERS PAST AND PRESENT
Advocacy Institute
AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO Industrial Union Dept.
AFL-CIO Human Rights Dept.
Alan Guttmacher Institute
American Association of University Women
American Civil Liberties Union
American Council on Education’s Office of Women in Higher
Education
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
American Jewish Committee
American Jewish Committee, Washington Chapter
American Nurses Association
American Psychological Association
American Women in Radio and Television
Association of Flight Attendants
B’nai B’rith Women
Business and Professional Women’s Foundation
Catalyst
Center for National Policy Review
Center for Women Policy Studies
Children’s Defense Fund
Churches Center for Theology and Public Policy
Coalition of Labor Union Women
Common Cause
Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues
Connecticut Commission on the Status of Women
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
D.C. Federation of Women's Clubs
Democratic National Committee Women’s Division
Displaced Homemakers Network
Equity Policy Center
Federal Women's Program
- 44 -
Federally Employed Women
Federation for Women Judges
Federation of Organizations for Professional Women
Fund for Renewable Energy and Environment
Future Homemakers of America
Girl Scouts of the USA
Girls Clubs of America
Institute of International Education
International Ladies Garment Workers Union
International Union of Electrical Workers
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
League of Women Voters
Media Report to Women
Montgomery County Commission for Women
Mt. Vernon College Center for Women in Politics
National Abortion Rights Action League
National Advisory Council on Women's Educational Programs
National Association of Commissions for Women
National Child Day Care Association
National Commission on Working Women
National Committee on Household Employees
National Consumers League
National Council of Career Women
National Council of Catholic Women
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of Negro Women
National Education Association
National Farmers Union
National Federation of Business and Professional Women
National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs
National Institute for Women of Color
National Institute for Work and Learning
National Interest Research Group
National Organization for Women
National Retired Teachers Association
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
National Senior Citizens Law Center
- 45 -
National Women's Education Fund
National Women's Health Network
National Women's Law Center
National Women's Party
National Women's Political Caucus
Office of Personnel Management
Parents Without Partners
Pension Rights Center
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington
Population Crisis Committee
Population Resource Center
Project on the Status of Women, AAC
Republican National Committee Women’s Division
Social Security Administration
The Women's Institute, American University
United Methodist Church, Women's Division
US Commission on Civil Rights – National Cl. Library
US Labor Department Women’s Bureau
Wider Opportunities for Women
Women in Communications
Women in Community Service
Women’s Campaign Fund
Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL)
Women’s Research & Education Institute
Women's Action Alliance
Women's Bar Association
Women's City Club
Women's Equity Action League
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press
Women's Legal Defense Fund
Women's Studies Program, G.W. University
YWCA
YWCA USA, National Board
Zonta International
- 46 -
APPENDIX 3:
BOARDS OF DIRECTORS
1981 – 1984
Lynn Gallagher Stitt, Chair (1980? - 1981)
Mary Dublin Keyserling, Chair (1982 – 1984)
Daisy Fields, First Vice Chair
Rita Johnston, Program Chair (1981)
Elaine Newman, Program Chair/Second Vice Chair (1982 – 1984)
Felice Sorett, Treasurer
Mary O’Connor, Recording Secretary (1982-1984)
Mary Boyette, Corresponding Secretary
Board Members: Dorothy Height, Caroline Ware, Olya Margolin,
and Gloria Johnson
1985 – 1987
Daisy Fields, Chair/President
Elaine Newman, First Vice Chair/Vice President (Membership)
Sarah Gotbaum, Second Vice Chair (Program) (until 1986)
Florence Perman, Vice President (Program)
Felice Sorett, Treasurer
Mary O’Connoor, Secretary
Board Members: Mary Boyette, Gloria Johnson, Mary Keyserling,
Olya Margolin, Jeanne Simon, Joy Simonson, Caroline Ware
1988 – 1990
Elaine Newman, President
Peggy Anne Hansen, Vice President (Membership)
Nancy Lang, Vice President (Program)
Audrey Marra, Secretary (until June 1989)
Virginia Briggs, Secretary (from September 1989)
Felice Sorett, Treasurer
Board Members: Daisy Fields, Jean Linehan, Mary O’Connor,
Ruth Shinn, Joy Simonson, Mary Keyserling, Caroline Ware
1990 – 1993
Elaine Newman, President
Peggy Anne Hansen, Vice President (Membership)
Ruth Nadel, Vice President (Program)
Virginia Briggs, Secretary (until Jan 1993)
Colleen Challenger, Secretary (after Feb 1993)
Felice Sorett, Treasurer
- 47 -
Board Members: Daisy Fields, Joan Aron, Margaret Feldman,
Cynthia Harrison, Jean Linehan, Mary O’Connor, Joy
Simonson, Mary Keyserling
1993 – 1995
Ruth Nadel, President
Helen Sherwood, Vice President (Program) (until June 1994)
Barbara Green, Vice President (Program) (after Sept 1994)
Linda Fihelly, Vice President (Membership)
Colleen Challenger, Secretary
Jean Linehan, Corresponding Secretary
Felice Sorett, Treasurer
Board Members: Joan Aron, Margaret Feldman, Daisy Fields,
Barbara Green,Peggy Anne Hansen, Cynthia Harrison, Elaine
Newman, Mary O'Connor
1995 –1998
Ruth Nadel, President
Joy Simonson, Vice President (Program)
Linda Fihelly, Vice President (Membership)
Mary Bailey, Secretary
Jean Linehan, Corresponding Secretary
Mary O’Connor, Treasurer
Board Members: Elaine Newman, Daisy Fields, Diane Hampton,
Cynthia Harrison, Margaret Feldman, Peggy Anne Hansen,
Helen Sherwood, Alice Day
1998 – 2000
Joy Simonson, President
Linda Fihelly, Vice President (Membership) (until June 1999)
Gilda Morse, Vice President (Membership) (after July 1999)
Ellen Overton, Vice President (Program)
Alice Day, Secretary
Mary O’Connor, Treasurer
Jean Linehan, Corresponding Secretary,
Board Members: Elaine Newman, Ruth Nadel, Daisy Fields, Diane
Hampton, Cynthia Harrison, Anne Kasper, Joyce Miller, Brigid
O’Farrell, Elinor Waters, Shoshana Riemer, Clara Schiffer
2000 – 2002
Joy Simonson, President
Gloria Ruby, Vice President (Membership) (after June 2001)
Ellen Overton, Vice President (Program)
Gilda Morse, Secretary
- 48 -
Linda Fihelly, Treasurer
Jean Linehan, Corresponding Secretary
Board Members: Shoshana Riemer, Clara Schiffer, Carmen
Delgado Votaw, Elinor Walters, Mildred Kiefer Wurf, Ruth G.
Nadel, Roslyn Kaiser
2003
Joy Simonson, President
Ellen Overton, Vice President (Program)
Gilda Morse. Secretary
Linda Fihelly, Treasurer
Jean Linehan, Corresponding Secretary
Board Members: Harriett Harper, Mickey Klein, Shoshana
Riemer, Clara Schiffer, Elinor Waters, Ruth Nadel, Roslyn
Kaiser
- 49 -
