Program of the Quarter

AAUW California honors one or more programs in September, December, and March – and recognizes these programs at the state convention? Mission-based programs are designed to educate and inspire members and the community to implement the AAUW mission of advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research.

If you have a program that underscores what makes AAUW unique, inspire other branches by sharing your program details with AAUW California. To ensure your outstanding program will be considered for Program of the Quarter, send your branch newsletter to: [email protected]

Quarter Two (October, November, December)

We were struck by how closely the Women’s Equality, Gender Bias and Feminism category matched AAUW’s mission of breaking through barriers for women and girls.  Therefore nine programs were selected because of their outstanding speakers and ideas.  

They are:

• Alhambra: A speaker from the League of Women Voters presenting on “Obscure Feminism: Underappreciated Aspects of gender inequality.”
• Cabrillo-Diego: McGuire, a TV personality speaking on pay equity and the ins and outs of being a woman in the TV business.
• Carlsbad-Oceanside-Vista: Women Challenging the System with two professor-researchers from the Salk Institute speaking about “What it Means to Stand up to Gender Discrimination” (AAUW National is supporting these women in their lawsuit.).
• Citrus Heights: American River with Sacramento presented the film Equal Means Equal which gave “a compelling argument for ratifying the ERA amendment”.
• Laguna Beach: “Our Heritage, How Women Won the Vote”, women’s suffrage history.
• Lodi: “Famous Women in Art History and How Their Art Made Them Both Feminists and Artists” with a woman speaker from the University of the Pacific.
• Lompoc-Vandenberg: “Gender Bias at Work: What is the problem and how can we fix it?” with a woman professor at UC Santa Barbara.
• Pasadena: “ERA Then and Now” with a speaker who gave the history of the struggle to get the ERA passed.
• San Clemente-Capistrano Bay: Gender Inequality with a woman professor from Saddleback College as the featured speaker.

We would also like to give special recognition to the San Mateo Branch for their ongoing program of helping women in prison.  AAUW members volunteer to teach women prisoners vocabulary to help them pass the GED.

Quarter One (June, July, August) Acknowledgements

• Fremont Branch:  Brenda Ahntholz, professor of communications studies at Ohlone University, spoke about gender equity.
• Lodi Branch: Delaine Eastin, former California Superintendent of Public Instruction, spoke about the importance of women running for office.
• Los Altos-Mountain View Branch: Gyanda Sachdava, an executive with Linked In, focused on the women in STEM leadership roles.
• Roseville-South Placer Branch: Michelle Carter, a journalist and author, spoke about working in Russia in the 1990s.  She was trying to train Russian journalists about the free press.
• Santa Cruz County Branch:  Campbell Leaper, professor and chair of the UCSC Psychology Department, and Christy Starr, a graduate student in psychology, spoke about why girls are under-represented in STEM.