Special Report – White House Conference Call

From Joanne Marti
Because I was a active AAUW member on Facebook, I was invited to listen to a special White House Conference Call August 16.
Our speakers were Tina Tchen, Executive Director of the White House Council on Women & Girls and Chief of Staff to First Lady Michelle Obama; Lynn Rosenthal, White House Advisor on Violence Against Women; and Steve Robinson, Special Assistant at the White House Domestic Policy Council.   It was especially interesting to hear these prominent people express their support of AAUW and its research and support of women’s causes.  It was a great one hour of my time!
Here are some resources mentioned in the call:

AAUW resources:

·         Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – Steve Robinson, Special Assistant to the President at the White House Domestic Policy Council, praised Why So Few? when he talked about what needs to be done to promote women’s and girls’ participation in STEM fields!

o   Check out video from the research briefing when Why So Few? was released!

  • ·         Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School – Lynn Rosenthal, White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, called AAUW’s research “the gold standard” on sexual harassment in schools.
  • ·         Blog post: AAUW Rallies for Inclusive VAWA – Lynn Rosenthal reiterated the White House’s support for the Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act, which includes key campus safety provisions that AAUW strongly supports. Read AAUW Public Policy Intern’s blog post recapping a VAWA rally we attended this summer!

o   Take action: AAUW strongly urges Congress to pass the Senate version of VAWA, which addresses the needs of all victims of violence and includes the Campus SaVE Act. Ask your representative to support the Senate version of VAWA!

  • AAUW’s preventive care celebration – Join AAUW’s month-long virtual party to celebrate coverage of women’s preventive services without copays, as Tamia Booker, External Affairs Specialist for the Department of Health and Human Services, detailed on the call. Our party focuses on a different aspect of the preventive care requirements each week, so you can sign the guestbook as many times as you want!

White House resources mentioned on the call:

·         “1is2Many” Public Service Announcement – In June, the White House debuted this PSA to raise awareness about dating violence. The PSA features President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with Eli Manning, Jeremy Lin, Jimmy Rollins, Evan Longoria, David Beckham, Joe Torre, and Andy Katz. Learn more about Vice President Biden’s “1is2Many” initiative here.

·         President Obama’s STEM Master Teacher Corps – Last month, the Obama administration announced a $1 billion Master Teacher Corps program for teachers, which will focus on improving student success in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The Master Teacher Corps is part of the administration’s ongoing efforts to produce 100,000 additional math and science teachers in the next 10 years to help close the gap between American students’ success in STEM and that of their international peers.