While International Women’s Day has been informally celebrated since the early 1900s, the United Nations officially recognized it in 1975, marking it as an annual observance to commemorate the importance of the woman in all aspects of society. In many countries, International Women’s Day has graduated to the status of national holiday, including Afghanistan, Armenia, Cambodia, Cuba, Georgia, Eritrea, Mongolia, Russia, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, among others.

We commend the efforts made these past several years in the United States towards raising the position of women. Federal agencies, including USAID or the state, defense, and justice departments, have taken heed to President Obama’s December 2011 Executive Order to establish a U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security to ensure women’s participation in preventing conflict and keeping peace. In August of 2012, we celebrated the introduction of the Women, Peace, and Security Act to ensure that this National Action Plan would become more than just an executive order, that we would eventually see its implementation as national legislation.

Most recently, Congress passed the historical Violence Against Women Act. This strengthened our justice system and social services to ensure that women can protect themselves from violence within our own borders, that we can reduce the high rates of physical and sexual violence, so women can safely participate in all aspects of society without fear of attack.

In terms of women’s political participation, an historical number of females were elected composing 18.9% of the 113^th United States Congress—or 101 of the 535 seats (20 Senators, 81 House Members). To name a few significant achievements, Massachusetts saw its first woman elected to Senate (Elizabeth Warren). Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay and female politician to the Senate. New Hampshire became the first state with an all female delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives.

And yet, there is still much to worry about. We may have seen historical gains, but we still fail to rank up to many other countries. While we may have 18.9% participation in Congress, many other countries charge ahead, including Iraq with 25.2% female composition of Parliament or Afghanistan with 27.7%. The Inter-Parliamentary Union ranks the United States as 77th out of 190 countries in terms of female participation. This is unacceptable for a country that prides itself on equality.

In the early 1900s, International Women’s Day focused on improving women’s status in the labor force. Certainly we have achieved much progress in this area since that time. However, women continue to be unfairly discriminated against in the workplace. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women have lost 454,000 federal, state, and local government jobs compared with 267,000 by men since the end of the recession in June 2009 (Bloomberg News).

Even this past January, government payrolls cut approximately 8,000 positions for women compared with 1,000 for men. This imbalance is bound to continue as sequestration descends upon our economy, possibly trimming growth by 0.5% and prospectively eliminating 350,000 more jobs, according to Bloomberg News.

Take a moment this International Women’s Day to remember all that women have achieved and that still more needs to be done. Take part in the celebration of women by finding an event near you. We must remember that equality and protection for women means stability worldwide.

-Hannah Wheeler, Communications and Development Intern – Boston College Class of 2012

WAND members participated in this national campaign by presenting their own preferences, holding up signs in solidarity with protestors across the country. Some of these demands included investing in early childhood education, or healthcare spending, college tuition, job training for teens, medical research, and many others. It was a day to reflect on the escalating size of the Pentagon’s budget and refocus war expenses on programs that really matter. As an example, the Pentagon plans to invest almost $2.6 billion in constructing excess submarines. Instead, this money could be dedicated to domestic AIDS relief or global health and development funding. It could be used to improve American infrastructure or invigorate clean technology. The “Pull the Pork from the Pentagon” campaign was just one important step to reduce the swelling Defense spending and redirect it into human needs.

Click here for more pictures of the "Pull the Pork" campaign!

Today, the House of Representatives passed, by a margin of 286 to 138, the bi-partisan Senate version reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) legislation which puts forth means toward the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes against women and imposes automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted. This marks a change of heart by House Republican Leadership who held up the reauthorization last year by refusing to bring the Senate’s version to the floor, passing its own version which left out important provisions, which stalled in bi-cameral reconciliations negotiations.

This year’s newly reauthorized VAWA contains new clauses not included in the original legislation from 1994 or subsequent reauthorizations in 2000 and 2005, extending protections to LGBT and Native American victims of domestic violence, and shining more light on the prevention of sexual assault.

House Republican Leadership did bring their own bill without these provisions to the floor before the Senate version giving their members an opportunity to vote on the record for a version they did agree with, even though it was known that they wouldn’t have the votes to pass it. Indeed it failed with 166 yes-votes and 267 no-votes.

And just to complicate things, this is all taking place during the impending threat of sequestration – across-the-board indiscriminate federal budget cuts slated to take effect tomorrow, March 1, if Congress does not take action to stop it. Funding for programs that directly address violence against women, like domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, children’s services, prevention, community outreach, and other state and local programs that provide services for victims and families, are all on the chopping block. We need Congress to get its act together and figure out a balanced way to cut our deficit that will not sacrifice the well-being of American women. Maybe they should look at the Pentagon budget, where outdated programs that military leaders have said they no longer want or need somehow continue to receive funding. We need Congress to reshape federal budget priorities and AND the way we care for our female citizens.

This is a case where “almost” just isn’t good enough. We must do our part to make sure ALL American women are safe and secure, reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act is just the first step.

Published: 2/8/2013 by the Augusta Free Press

Published: 2/12/2013 by the Capital Times

Published: 2/14/2013 by the Great Falls Tribune

Valentine’s Day was taken over long ago by cards and flowers, candy and dinners. It is now a cash cow holiday for merchandisers. In addition, for many, it has become a day to honor women and girls in a fresh way. V-Day, introduced to the world by Eve Ensler in 1998, demands an end to violence against women and girls.

Ask anyone and they would no doubt admit that they would love to be loved every day of the year, not just on one day. Ask anyone if they think violence is a way to show love and the answer would be no. Yet one in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. That amounts to more than 1 billion women and girls.

This Valentine’s Day, the V-Day movement is sponsoring ONE BILLION RISING to spread awareness. One suggestion for all those participating in this V-Day Rising is to send a letter to lawmakers demanding that they prioritize legislation that protects women and girls from violence.

Congress determines how our tax dollars are spent. President Obama, in his inaugural address, exhorted, “You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course. You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time — not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.”

You might be weary of the sequester, fiscal cliff, deficit and debt palaver. But this is your chance to have a say in what you want saved in the federal budget. Many programs that protect women and girls are in that budget. Right now, the Violence Against Women Act is being debated. VAWA programs have enhanced federal, tribal, state and local responses to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking, and other laws support lifesaving emergency shelters and services for domestic violence and other crime victims.

Does anyone doubt that domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centers, children’s services, prevention, community outreach, and other state and local programs that provide services for victims and families are needed? Does anyone think that states or charities alone can organize, pay for and deliver all these services? In fact, states and communities depend on the federal funds to help support their local efforts. All of this is on the chopping block.

If we could end violence against women and girls, that would eliminate the need for these services and their costs. Even Obama’s budget for 2012-13 is $26 million less than is needed to cover the needs, according to the Campaign for Funding to End Domestic and Sexual Violence.

For every service and cost today, there must be a reduction in spending or a new tax. A new tax is unlikely at best, but reductions are possible. The Pentagon has made headlines for being out of control in its spending habits: cost overruns are legendary; a lack of an audit is incredible; unneeded weapons systems astonish us; high ranking military with huge staffs loom over the needs of veterans and force structure.

The problem is that Pentagon contractor lobbyists and CEOs are protecting their own oversized incomes and driving dollars to be spent on costly Cold War era weapons that even the Pentagon and military leaders dismiss as outdated and unnecessary. Instead, we need a smart defense that is sustainable and addresses 21st century security needs. With this smarter, fiscally responsible approach at the Pentagon, we could save dollars we need to invest in ending violence against women and girls.

On Valentine’s Day, I’ll join with the 1 billion people around the world, men and women, boys and girls, raising our voices against violence. I’ll also be calling on my congressional representatives to make responsible budgeting choices that support 21st century security needs including an end to violence against women and girls.

Click here or here to see WAND staff celebrating One Billion Rising!

If you missed the speech (maybe watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show – what an adorable winner) or want to review it again, please see the transcript here.

Overall the agenda that the President laid out looks pretty bold and wonderful to us at WAND and here is a sampling of a few things we especially liked:

• We agree that looming automatic “sequester” cuts are bad and especially agree that “some in this Congress have proposed preventing only the defense cuts by making even bigger cuts to things like education and job training; Medicare and Social Security benefits.  That idea is even worse.”
• We really like the commitment to provide high-quality preschool for every child. Maybe we’ll send the President one of our “Children Ask the World of Us” posters. We liked many other new efforts supporting education and jobs and needed investments – including raising the minimum wage and increasing the number of high-tech investment hubs. Analysts have been wondering where the funds for these new investments will come from – especially since the President promised not to add to the deficit.  We’re a bit curious about this too but would like to recommend one good place to look for cost savings: the Pentagon.
• When it comes to Afghanistan, we are glad to hear the President’s intent to remove 34,000 troops during this year, but note that still leaves too many. Further, as the transition in Afghanistan moves forward, it is essential to plan how to help Afghanistan create a sustainable peace. One necessary ingredient is the leadership of Afghan women in this peace building effort.
• We were glad that the President highlighted (at least briefly) commitments to reduce nuclear weapons: “We will engage Russia to seek further reductions in our nuclear arsenals, and continue leading the global effort to secure nuclear materials that could fall into the wrong hands – because our ability to influence others depends on our willingness to lead.”  Indeed, and part of our leadership should be moving forward to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) enabling us to more effectively lead in detecting, deterring and confronting nuclear tests like those recently conducted in North Korea.
• It was great that the President noted the Senate’s recent passage of the Violence Against Women Act and called upon the House to do the same. We hope for swift reauthorization of VAWA this year.

The President ended by noting that as citizens, we all have obligations: “Well into our third century as a nation, it remains the task of us all, as citizens of these United States, to be the authors of the next great chapter in our American story.” As WAND women we are ready to take on the role of citizen authors again this year as we work for sound budget priorities for a safe, secure and thriving America.

Many of WAND/WiLL Women in Congress commented on the President’s State of the Union Speech, to see a sampling of these click here.

The event both celebrated the progress that has been made integrating the U.S. NAP into the efforts of the State Department, U.S. AID, and the Department of Defense, and the sharing of knowledge and  experience between civil society organizations and government agencies. Particularly evident was the government-wide commitment to implementation of the women, peace, and security agenda. The event was also used as an opportunity to honor Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer, who will transition from the Administration back to civil society as the new Director of Georgetown’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security.  Ambassador Verveer’s persistence, professionalism and profound effect on the lives of women and girls all over the world were echoed by many of her colleagues and friends.  At the event, the Ambassador also announced that President Obama had committed to making the Ambassador of Global Women’s Issues a permanent position within the State Department, securing U.S. efforts to ensure the progress and protection of women and girls globally.

WAND’s work to secure full implementation of the U.S. NAP through its policy and advocacy efforts, and partnership with David Cortright, director of Policy Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, to promote the inclusion and protection of Afghan women through the withdrawal of U.S. troops, was highlighted at the U.S. CSWG Open House and Reception following the event.  Along with its 20+ U.S. CSWG partner organizations, representing a broad range of expertise, WAND hosted a resource table and shared information about our women, peace, and security work with representatives from government agencies, policymakers and congressional staff.

WAND Senior Public Policy Director Kathy Crandall Robinson manning the WAND table at the USIP Reception

WAND Public Policy Director Tanya Henderson with Ambassador Verveer

On that day in 2009 few foresaw just how serious and deep a recession we were entering. State budgets were slashed just as more and more people needed services to prevent economic catastrophes in their own lives. Congress engaged in heated debates about spending, and almost allowed the government to shut down. We at WAND were pleased to see that after a decade of unchecked growth in the Pentagon budget, there was finally some action in Congress to limit Pentagon spending, but there is still much more to be done. We will continue to work with members on both sides of the aisle to bring fiscal discipline to Pentagon spending. We cannot afford to spend money on weapons we don’t need and pad Pentagon contractors’ pockets. We must fight for investments in the things that make us strong here at home and counter the influence of Pentagon lobbyists.

President Obama campaigned for an end to the Iraq War and he quickly followed through on that promise. He is also bringing an end to the war in Afghanistan. Yet we know that even as our troops come home, we must ensure that women and children in Afghanistan do not lose the gains they have made. We must continue to work for political, not military, solutions to the conflict in Afghanistan. We can
also do more to ensure the rights of women all over the world with ratification of CEDAW, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and passing legislation in support of the National Action Place on Women, Peace, and Security.

Successful, bipartisan ratification of the New START Treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a huge victory in December 2010. We will continue to push for ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. President Obama’s speech in Prague in the spring of 2010 was a reminder that while we may have a long road ahead of us, a world free of nuclear weapons is a goal worth working for. First up, we must stop pouring billions of dollars into maintaining and modernizing these Cold War-era relics. WAND has been working for a world safe from the threat of nuclear weapons for over thirty years. We’ll continue this fight in the next four years of President Obama’s administration.

Finally, how could we not celebrate the record number of women entering Congress this year? We are eager to get to work with returning champions on our issues and bring newly elected women into critical debates about our national security and budget priorities. This year’s Inauguration Day falls on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. As he so powerfully said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” We may be starting this term with less unbridled optimism, but we know that our priories are worth fighting for and we will continue to work hard with all of our WAND members for a better country and a better world.

61 women in the House Democratic Caucus

On Thursday, January 3, 2013, new and returning members were sworn in to the 113^th Congress of the United States, including 81 women in the House of Representatives and 20 women in the Senate. Ten of these women were endorsed by WAND: Tammy Baldwin (WI-Sen)*, Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09)*, Julia Brownley (CA-26), Elizabeth Esty (CT-05), Lois Frankel (FL-22)*, Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Tammy Duckworth (IL-08), Ann Kuster (NH-02), Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01), and Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01). Thirty-nine of the women previously endorsed by WAND will also return to Congress next year.

WAND is excited to celebrate another “year of the woman” as a historic number of women take their seats at the table of power. We still have a long way to go before political parity is reached but we know that these new and returning women will be great champions for women and WAND’s issues. We can’t wait to get to work with them!

You can read more about the newly elected women, especially New Hampshire’s all-woman delegation, in this great New York Times article! http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/us/politics/from-congress-to-halls-of-state-in-new-hampshire-women-rule.html

Many of the new members of Congress held open houses and receptions to welcome the public into their new offices and introduce themselves to Washington, D.C. WAND/WiLL staff members attended many of these events hosted by new WAND/WiLL Women in Congress:

Rep. Cheri Bustos (IL-17)

Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02)

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01)

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09)

Senator Elizabeth Warren  (MA)

WAND Executive Director Susan Shaer and Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02)

WAND/WiLL Program Manager Maureen Campbell and Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-02)

But hang on for the ride – there will be a few more fiscal “cliffs,” “curbs,” “mudslides,” “berms,” or whatever bumpy metaphor you might like to use. Decisions about spending cuts of the so-called “sequestration” were not part of this deal. Instead they were passed off to the next Congress being sworn in on January 3, 2012 to figure out with a new March 1 deadline. And by the way, the budget for Fiscal Year 2013 was never completed. Instead Congress passed a stop-gap Continuing Resolution funding the government until March 27. We need a deal by then to keep the government running. In addition, we are reaching the debt ceiling. Without congressional agreement to raise the debt ceiling, we risk government shutdown, defaulting on loans and economic disasters.

Ready for more? In the midst of this roller coaster start to 2013, there will be plenty of need to raise the issue of budget priorities. We cannot afford to make cuts to everything else while letting the bloated Pentagon budget escape fiscal discipline. Fortunately, some new voices are starting to recognize this, too. Conservative leader of Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist, says that, “Serious conservatives need to declare that they, that taxpayers, are looking at the entire budget and saying, ‘where can we be more efficient and more effective?’ We have a rather large Pentagon budget, larger than most of the other countries in the world that have armies, navies, and air forces combined.”

Nevertheless we know well that the defense industry lobbyists are ready to make the case for more nuclear weapons, more F-35s, maybe even more bayonets and a cavalry, too.

We hope you are as ready as those lobbyists – ready to make the case for budget priorities that will lead us to safety, strength and prosperity, even if we have to make it through a few bumps and spins to get there.

Published: December 4, 2012 by The Hill's Congress Blog

Republished: December 22, 2012 by NJ Today

With the campaigns over, our leaders must roll up their sleeves and get to work on the serious financial decisions facing the nation. Congress has known for more than a year that automatic budget cuts and tax increases loom in January, but they’ve left all the work to be done at the last minute. They need to hear from us that we expect them to make a balanced deal to preserve programs that strengthen our nation while making sensible budget cuts to programs that are wasteful or unnecessary.

As state legislators, we battled to maintain critical investments in our states as revenues plunged with the start of the Great Recession. We provide many services to our communities in partnership with the federal government, so the possibility of further deep cuts to these programs is of great concern. Education, health care, housing, and transportation, along with an array of lesser known but equally important programs, are critically important to meet the needs of our citizens.

These programs are especially important right now as people still face significant struggles to recover from the down economy. Millions have lost their jobs, or face the daily fear of layoffs, decreased hours and reduced wages. It’s often said that we can’t afford to meet these needs and rebuild the economy, but really we can’t afford not to. It’s simply a question of government spending priorities that serve the greater good versus a handful of special interests.

Our leaders must recognize the need for investments that promote jobs and build the economy, even as we cut back on spending. Unlike most other areas of spending, the Pentagon budget has grown unchecked for the past decade. But it is not clear that these dollars are the investment we need for the 21st century. Reshaping Pentagon spending, which currently eats up more than half of the discretionary spending that Congress allocates annually, will be crucial to any deal on the federal budget.

America maintains a large and expensive nuclear arsenal from the Cold War era. For the cost of just one new nuclear submarine, we could provide body armor and bomb-resistant Humvees to all our troops overseas, house and treat every homeless U.S. veteran, and still have $2.2 billion left over to pay down debt. Our troops and security should come before pork-barrel programs.

Our national security priorities must include a reduction in drawn-out expensive wars with massive price tags and lasting negative effects felt here at home and in the nations where wars are waged. We are still stuck in Afghanistan – America’s longest war. We need an exit strategy that focuses on a political solution in Afghanistan, with particular concern for the welfare of women and children.

Responsibly reshaping Pentagon spending would free up money for much-needed investments here at home. Programs that keep us safe, like border security, disaster relief, and air traffic control, and programs that are investments in our long-term economic stability, like education, all face cuts in the coming year. Necessary funding to state and local communities is also on the chopping block. This November and December, we must urge our leaders to find a balanced approach to the so-called “fiscal fiasco” that does not exempt Pentagon spending at the expense of crucial domestic programs.

We are at a critical crossroads in deciding how we as a nation want to spend our money and build our economy. Do we want to invest in education? Roads and bridges? Safe communities and safe borders? Or do we want to continue pouring money into wasteful programs that the Pentagon doesn’t want or need? Will we reshape the Pentagon budget to address 21st century threats, or continue to waste money on Cold War-era weapons?

The good people of Georgia and all fifty states are relying on Congress to find a balanced approach to put us back on the path to prosperity. Our vote on November 6 expressed a belief that Americans, working together, can craft solutions and rebuild our national economy. The votes have been counted. Let’s get to work.