Week in Review

	CELEBRATING A POWERFUL PARTNERSHIP: WOMEN AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY "This month we celebrate the invaluable contributions and historic strides that women in this country and around the world continue to make. Recently, we mourned the immeasurable loss of several courageous women, including Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks and Betty Friedan. While these tenacious and graceful women are irreplaceable, the changes they helped bring about will continue to improve the opportunities of women and girls in America and elsewhere. And their enduring legacy in inspiring succeeding generations of women to stand up and speak out, empowers us for the fights that lie ahead. Women are more than half of all Americans and the core of the Democratic Party. I am personally proud of our record on women's rights and the numerous leadership roles women have assumed within our party. But I believe we cannot rest until women not only a have a seat at the table, but more importantly, a place on the ticket." Democrats will continue to lead the fight for equal pay for every American woman, quality education for every American child, and affordable health care for every American family. We will continue to fight to protect a woman's right to make her own personal health care decisions. It is my belief that while women's history month serves to celebrate the great legacy and accomplishments of women, we should work to honor these same ideals and values everyday, in all that we do. - DNC Chairman Governor Howard Dean LEARNING OUR HISTORY - CELEBRATING OUR PARTNERSHIP Check out the Women's History Month webpage, from Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi - which features important issues such as health care, prescription drugs, and the Democratic "Innovation" agenda as well as historical information on Women in Congress. You can find an analysis of women and the Bush FY2007 budget - perfect to share with women in your networks AND use to start an important letter to the editor campaign in your community. "Women's History Month reminds us that women can, and do, change the course of history for all of us." - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) "Women's History Month is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the accomplishments and contributions of famous women ... but there are many untold stories of women ... whose names we don't know and whose lives have made America a place of strength, freedom, and hope. Their stories are echoed in the contributions that women across the country make every day, whether at home, in the community, in the workplace, or on the battlefield. More than just to paying them tribute, I am committed to honoring them by fighting for a more just, prosperous, and worthy nation." - Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D- NV) Activities to celebrate Women and the Democratic Party Organize a voter registration drive in your community. Help empower people to make a difference by helping them utilize their most powerful tool: their vote. Make every voice count by organizing a voter registration drive at your neighborhood supermarket, shopping mall, or town square. The 2006 elections are upon us and every woman's vote matters. Celebrate at your civic organization or Democratic group with a reception or speaker. Help educate women leaders in your community about the Democratic Party by inviting a local woman leader to speak. A mayor, state legislator, or successful businessperson might inspire leaders to get involved. Use the DNC website to find or Host an Event: Using this tool, you can create and publicize an event you're hosting - no matter how big or small, no matter whether it's to organize or socialize. http://www.democrats.org/events Get involved in public service. Consider running for office or seeking appointment to a board or commission. Women's voices are needed on county commissions, in state legislatures, on the local school or parks board and in Congress. View state by state facts about women officeholders and learn about organizations that exist to increase those numbers! Center for American Women and Politics at: http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/ Become a precinct leader. Governor Dean reminds us that the only way to take back our Party is through a 50 state strategy. To do that EACH precinct in EACH state needs women to step up to lead our revitalization efforts. What are our goals - simple ground work. Our goals are to recruit new Democrats, motivate 'occasional' voters to come out in 2006 and persuade folks who might not have voted our way last cycle to come out for Democrats. If we had turned out just TEN more votes in each precinct in 2004 we would have won Ohio, Iowa and New Mexico! Click here to find your state party and let them know you are available! Organize a letter writing campaign. Encourage your friends and colleagues to write letters to their local papers raising awareness of the devastating cuts for women's programs in the Bush budget proposal. An informative fact sheet from House Leader Nancy Pelosi is available on the Women's History Month website. We cannot rely on anyone else to get our message out for us. The DNC's letter to the Editor online tool will put you in contact with editors of national, regional and local newspapers so you can make your voice heard. Get the talking points on various Democratic agenda items and write a letter to the editor today. Inform yourself and other women in your community about the issues Democrats are fighting for. Encourage your friends to sign up for the Women's Vote Center Week in Review at: http://www.democrats.org/page/s/wir . The Week in Review newsletter has been the DNC's weekly communication with women leaders across the country since 2001 and you are one of over 120,000 subscribers!. Visit the DNC Women's Community website at: http://www.democrats.org/a/communities/women where you can view recent news, blogs and newsletters and learn more about the Women's Leadership Forum. Post on the Blog. Everyday, exciting conversations are happening about the future of the Democratic Party in the blog's vibrant community. The blog provides a transparent look into the day-to-day workings of the DNC and the rest of the Democratic Party, complete with photos, videos, and stories from women working for change across the country. Be the first to read about breaking news and discuss it with Democrats from all fifty states by posting a comment and making women's voices heard in a national forum: http://www.democrats.org/blog DEMOCRATS TAKING THE LEAD 2006: THE NUMBERS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES In 2006, 81 women serve in the U.S. Congress. Fourteen women serve in the Senate (14% of the 100 seats), and 66 women serve in the House (15.4% of the 435 seats). The number of women in statewide elective executive posts is 79 (25.1% of the 315 available positions). 1,680, or 22.8%, of the 7,382 state legislators in the United States are women. Women hold 408, or 20.7%, of the 1,984 state senate seats and 1,272, or 23.5%, of the 5,411 state house seats. Of the 1,680 women state legislators serving nationwide, 331 or 19.7% are women of color. They include 310 Democrats and 21 Republicans. Women of color constitute 4.5% of the total 7,382 state legislators[Center for American Women and Politics website]. DID YOU KNOW? SOME 'FIRSTS' FOR WOMEN For a full historical look, visit: http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/ Frances Perkins was the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet, Appointed Secretary of Labor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. She remained in office until 1945. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the House Democratic Leader, is the first woman to lead a major party in Congress. The first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate was Rebecca Latimer Felton (D-GA), appointed in 1922. The first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives was Jeannette Rankin (R-MT), who served from 1917-1919 and again from 1941-42. A pacifist, she was the only person to vote against U.S. entry into both World Wars. (Don't you think she would have been a Democrat today?) The first woman of color in Congress was Representative Patsy Mink (D-HI) who served from 1965-1977 and again from 1990 until her death in 2002. An Asian-American, Mink was a leader at a young age, as an officer in Young Democrats of America and a pioneer for Title IX which enhanced women and girls participation in education and athletics. The first African-American woman in Congress was Shirley Chisholm (D-NY), who served from 1969-1983. In 1972, Chisholm ran for president in the Democratic primaries. At the party's national convention, she won 151.25 delegate votes. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA 47) and Linda Sanchez (D-CA 39) are the first sisters to serve together in Congress. Nellie Tayloe Ross (D-WY) was the nation's first woman governor, picked by her party to run in 1925 after her husband died. Her two-year term began 15 days before Miriam (Ma) Ferguson (D-TX) became the second woman governor, elected as a stand-in for her impeached husband. Governor Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) is the first woman to succeed another woman as governor of a state. Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) is the first woman governor whose father (John Gilligan, D-OH) was also governor of a state. Washington is the first state to have both a female governor and two female US Senators at the same time. Looking at the above historical statistics, we celebrate a Powerful Partnership - Women and the Democratic Party.
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