“It’s All About the Mission”

by Kathy Quinn

Attendance was impressive at this year’s AAUW-PA’s Summer Retreat on July 27. The 80 participants included representatives from 20 branches, as well as four at-large members, with a significant number of first-time attendees. The retreat was the only membership meeting this year, the State organization having moved to a schedule of summer retreats in odd years with April conventions in even years.

After introducing the new State board, AAUW-PA president Ann Pehle started the meeting with an update on AAUW National. Faced with continuing deficits, National has taken drastic measures to get its fiscal condition under control. The budget was cut by $6-7 million to bring it in balance and 18 staff positions were eliminated. National will also no longer be holding any in-person conventions. Less than one percent of the membership usually attended and the events were always run at a substantial less.

To compensate, National is holding a series of virtual events for members and a scaled down event in Washington, DC, in April 2020. The organization I also focusing on a limited number of strategic areas on which efforts will be concentrated. The focus for this fiscal year is “Economic Security and Equal Pay,” especially Work Smart, a salary negotiation training program, available both online and through in-person classes and funded in part by a large grant from CocaCola. .

The “Members Mobilize a Million” campaign calls on all members to promote the Work Smart program by taking the on-line training themselves and spreading the word to other women. A bookmark, social media shareables and email templates are available for use.

National is also particularly encouraging donations to the “Greatest Needs Fund,” money that can be used as opportunities arise.

At the state level, AAUW-PA is concentrating on five areas:

1. 1. Passing Equal Pay legislation at the state level.
   2. Implementing AAUW Work Smart workshops across the state.
   3. Providing scholarships to the National Conference of College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL).
   4. Developing fair legislative district lines in Pennsylvania through participation in two other organizations: Fair Districts PA and Draw the Lines.
   5. Demonstrating support for public education in Pennsylvania in conjunction with Friends of Education Voters PA (educationvoterspa.org) and PA Schools Work (paschoolswork.org).

Most impressively, the is a project underway with the Pennsylvania Commission for Women to hold  Work Smart workshops in urban areas across the state including Harrisburg, York, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. AAUW-PA has also joined with a project by the Pittsburgh Gender Equity Commission to replicate a Boston initiative.