Let’s Make 2023-2024 the Year of State Advocacy!
Whether you connect virtually or face-to-face, meeting with national and state legislators is a great way to build relationships and cultivate influence on the issues that matter most to you.
AAUW has many resources to support your advocacy:
- Use the How to Hold a Meeting with Your Elected Officials resource to engage with lawmakers. The guide includes advice on arranging virtual or in-person meetings and preparing for your discussions with legislators.
- Stay up to date on the issues by reviewing the AAUW Public Policy Priorities and perusing the Policy Center for topic-specific information on where we stand.
The AAUW Arizona’s Public Policy program underscores the mission of advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.
While our branches may adopt separate issues to focus on, at the state level, we are focused on five policy issues at this time:
- support for ERA,
- full funding for public education,
- equal pay,
- stop sexual harassment
- access to health care for women.
September was challenging in Washington, DC.
We were saddened to learn about the passing of Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The longest-serving woman in the U.S. Senate, she was a tireless advocate for gender equity. We have also seen some extremely challenging moments in Congress, narrowly averting a government shutdown and an unprecedented removal of a Speaker of the House. The partisan tensions threaten the ability to advance any bipartisan legislation, including what we hope would include a budget that invests in programs that support access to higher education and protect civil rights.
New data from the Census Bureau also showed us that the gender pay gap not only persists but is devastating to certain groups of women. For example, Latinas in the U.S. are paid 48% less than white men. This is unacceptable.
We will continue to fight for expanded educational opportunities, address biases and inequities within the education system, and advance equal pay laws at the state and federal level. It will take concerted effort to close the gap, but we can do it, together.