Kim Gandy, President of NOW, in Kansas
“I was not able to make it to the lecture, but was able to watch it full below.”
(The full video of Gandy's lecture for the Jana Mackey Distinguished Lecture Series can be viewed here)
Yesterday, April 20, 2009, 3:11:49 PM | kansasjackass@gmail.com (Jason)
Last Wednesday, while the rest of the world was teabagging, I was having lunch and attending a lecture with one of the bright lights in the women's right's movement in the United States- Kim Gandy, the President of the National Organization of Women.
Let me tell you- it was an honor.
I tell the pro-choice lobbyists at the Statehouse that I was raised by feminists and that's absolutely true. My mother and grandmother and all of my various aunts made sure I knew as a very young boy that women can do anything men can and that supporting women as they struggle to gain equality in society with men is of supreme importance.
Because of that upbringing, nothing scares me or riles me more than when Republicans start screwing around with the rights of women, and I do everything I can to bring their manuvering to hurt women out front and center. Yes, this 25-year-old male blogger takes particular pleasure in screaming from the rooftops about the men in the Legislature who work every day of every session to limit a woman's rights.
I think (I hope) I've been helpful, and I think my friends in the pro-woman lobby think I have been. I was truely honored to be the guest of Kansas NOW at the invitation-only luncheon with Gandy and other supporters of women that Wednesday before we all traveled to the Dole Institute to hear her deliver the very first in a lecture series named after my friend Jana Mackey.
From the Lawrence Journal-World:
“Jana was an incredible, amazing young woman who has left a legacy for so many people who come after her,” Gandy said, “and I hope to inspire some people to follow in Jana’s footsteps and really work to make change.”
[...]Gandy’s main message for the crowd that packed Wednesday night into the Dole Institute of Politics was that there is still a lot of work to do to achieve one of Jana’s main goals: Equality for all.
Gandy said some of the biggest issues women face today include pay equity and job segregation.
She said 16 seems to be the magic number: only 16 percent of partners in law firms are women, 16 percent of firefighters and police are women and 16 percent of the United States military are women. When it comes to Congress, 17 percent of our congressional representatives are women.
Gandy said getting more women into leadership roles is something we, as a society, need to address.
But the issue that was on everyone’s mind, given Jana’s tragic death, was the issue of violence against women, something Gandy called “an epidemic.”
“Jana’s life and her death really send a lot of messages to us, and one of them is that no one is immune to domestic violence,” Gandy said. “The fact that someone who worked as an advocate for domestic violence victims becomes one herself, really tells us that no one is immune and this has got to be something that we all work to change.”
16 percent of partners in law firms are women, 16 percent of firefighters and police are women and 16 percent of the United States military are women. When it comes to Congress, 17 percent of our congressional representatives are women.
Gandy said getting more women into leadership roles is something we, as a society, need to address.
But the issue that was on everyone’s mind, given Jana’s tragic death, was the issue of violence against women, something Gandy called “an epidemic.”
“Jana’s life and her death really send a lot of messages to us, and one of them is that no one is immune to domestic violence,” Gandy said. “The fact that someone who worked as an advocate for domestic violence victims becomes one herself, really tells us that no one is immune and this has got to be something that we all work to change.”
Great strides have been made in efforts for equality in our society over the last 100 years for women, gays, and racial minorities. None of those groups, though, have achieved real equality, because people continue to believe it's OK to hate because we're different and people believe it's OK to treat someone different because they aren't the same as they...for hundreds and hundreds of reasons people aren't all treated equally under the law and by their brothers (and sisters) in our society.
Because we still have work to do, it's wonderful we have leaders like Gandy at the forefront leading the way.
I want to relate one little thing from the luncheon that I got a kick out of- when I introduced myself to Gandy, I said, "Hi, I'm Jason Croucher, I write a progressive blog here in Kansas called 'Kansas Jackass,'" and Gandy said, "Oh, I've read you."
I said, "Oh, no you haven't!"
She said, "Do I need to let you check my browser history?"
I guess she'd read the little blog when she was doing research about the efforts to approve the Kansas Equal Rights Amenemdnet, since it got scant mention in the mainstream press.
I'm flattered to be Gandy's source for the good work of Kansas women, and I'm proud to be there for the women of the state I love so much.
(The full video of Gandy's lecture for the Jana Mackey Distinguished Lecture Series can be viewed here)
