Message from the President
Get ready! Vision 2020’s exciting Women 100 programs and events are launching in the first quarter of this year. We will soon invite you to participate in an innovative voter mobilization campaign. Online registration will start for our signature events. And, on March 1, our interactive exhibition “Seat at the Table” will open to the public at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.
Women 100 is the largest 19th Amendment centennial celebration in America. While commemorating the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote, Women 100 is also a celebration of pioneering American women past and present whose achievements have led to progress in fields from government to science to sports.
Yet even more important, Women 100 is an effort to shape the future by creating a bold new agenda to complete the unfinished business of women’s equality. If we are successful, Women 100 and the myriad women-themed events and exhibits across the country this year will create a tipping point in the quest for women’s economic, social and political equality with men.
We’ll provide updates monthly in this newsletter, along with occasional eblasts of timely news. To see the latest developments at any time, visit women100.org and follow our Facebook page.
Lynn Yeakel
President and founder of Vision 2020
Director, Institute for Women’s Health & Leadership
Drexel University College of Medicine
News Briefs and Links
Raise Your Voice: Vote in Your State’s Primary
February 3 through June 6, 2020
Presidential elections draw about 60% of eligible voters to the polls, while 30% or less vote in primaries. Low turnout in the primaries has several causes. Some states exclude independents from voting. Some primaries take place long after an obvious front-runner has emerged. But an inexcusable cause is apathy. The importance of selecting the candidates who will compete to lead our country is second only to the importance of choosing among them Nov. 3. Register to vote, look up the date of your state’s primary and mark your calendar to vote that day.
NPR Station WHYY Airing Profiles of Pioneering Women Past and Present
Weekly throughout 2020
Women 100 Proud Partner WHYY is airing a weekly one-minute spot profiling one of the pioneering women being celebrated this year by Women 100. The spots are narrated by Marty Moss-Coane (pictured), host of the popular “Radio Times” show. Each new spot runs first on a Monday night during “The World,” which airs from 8-9 p.m., and is repeated at various other times during the week. All profiles are archived on the WHYY website.
Women 100 Event Updates
Now’s the Time to Sponsor College Students for Spring Breakthru
March 20-22, 2020
We are asking higher education professionals, nonprofit organizations, and foundations who work directly with undergraduates to sponsor up to four students for the Women 100 Spring Breakthru. Students from across the country will engage with one another in small group discussions and with panels of leaders who are making a positive impact on the gender equality movement. They will be given the tools and resources to become informed advocates for positive social change. Have questions? Email Joyce Lewandowski at jml575@drexel.edu or visit the event website.
U.S. Sen. Snowe and Gov. Granholm Named Co-chairs of Forums
April 1, 2020
Former U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican, and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, will serve as honorary cochairs of the Women 100 Women’s Leadership Forums event. The event will feature three interactive panel discussions about the past, present and future of shared leadership among women and men. Confirmed panelists include Elaine Weiss, journalist and author; Amisha “Amy” Padnani of the New York Times; Angela Dodson, author; Signe Wilkenson, editorial cartoonist; Erin Vilardi of VoteRunLead; Stephanie J. Hull, PhD, of Girls Inc.; and Jean Chatzsky of HerMoney.
Teacher Guide Coming for Class Trips to Seat at the Table exhibition
March through September 2020
Visitors of all ages who experience this free, interactive exhibition will discover what it took for women to win voting rights and how gender inequality persists. To help students in grades 6-12 get the most value from their visit, a free educator’s guide to Seat at the Table will soon be available on the Women 100 website. The website also will have information for teachers on how to book a class trip to the exhibition in the lobby of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia.
Coming Soon: Voter Mobilization 2020
Through November 3, 2020
To honor the legacy of the suffragists who fought for and won women’s right to vote, Vision 2020 is launching a campaign across the U.S. to drive a record number of women to vote in 2020. We will be inviting everyone to join a team from Vision 2020’s national network and take part in our peer-to-peer online competition. Participants can invite their friends and earn points – redeemable for prizes – by preparing themselves and their communities to engage in our democratic process. Stay tuned for more details!
Empowering Message of the Month
From Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams had a powerful message for American women in her acceptance speech for Best Actress in a Limited Series at the 2020Golden Globe Awards (she won for her performance in “Fosse/Verdon”):
“So, women 18 to 118, when it is time to vote, please do so in your own self-interest. It’s what men have been doing for years, which is why the world looks so much like them. Don’t forget we are the largest voting body in this country. Let’s make it look more like us.”
Vision 2020’s National Coalition
We are pleased to welcome the following new Delegates, Allied Organizations and Women 100 Proud Partners to Vision 2020’s national coalition. Many of our Proud Partners are hosting women-themed events in 2020. Check the Women 100 Events Calendar regularly to learn about upcoming events.
New Vision 2020 Delegates
Pennsylvania – Ilene Wasserman, president, ICW Consulting Group Wyoming – Susan (Suzy) Scarlata, public engagement specialist, Town of Jackson
New Vision 2020 Allied Organizations
Women Voters Inc.
Jill Melmed-Buzzeo Award
New Women 100 Proud Partners
Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra
Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority
Center City Proprietors Association
Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library
Rose Parade Features a 19th Amendment Centennial Float
Representatives from three Vision 2020 Allied Organizations were among the women dressed as suffragists marching with the 19th Amendment centennial float in the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day. California Delegate Dawn Dyer (NAWBO), New York Delegate Teresa Younger (President and CEO of Ms. Foundation for Women), and Sylvia Acevedo (CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA) were among the national leaders marching to honor 100 years of women’s voting rights.
D.C. Delegate Participates in Leadership Institute
Marni Puente, Washington, D.C., Delegate, is a member of KPMG’s Executive Leadership Institute for Women. A panel in Tysons Corner, Virginia, attracted over 100 female executives from the DC metro area to discuss resiliency and gender equality in the workplace.
Ready to Run Training to Be Offered Feb. 8
A Vision 2020 Allied Organization, Pennsylvania Center for Women & Politics, is hosting a Ready to Run campaign training for women in Philadelphia on Saturday, Feb. 8 from 8am to 5pm.Learn more or register.
