NWHM PRESIDENT JOAN WAGES HONORED BY LIFETIME TELEVISION

     On March 20, 2009, NWHM President Joan Wages was honored by Lifetime Television as part of its Remarkable Women series. Click here to view the video.

AUTHOR KIRSTIN DOWNEY SPEAKS ABOUT HER NEW BOOK ON FRANCES PERKINS

     Amazingly, most Americans have forgotten her name, and even some historians have overlooked her importance, but as the first woman to be appointed to a cabinet level position, Frances Perkins was one of the most important social reformers in U.S. history.

     On March 25, 2009, Kirstin Downey, an award-winning journalist for the Washington Post for 20 years, discussed her new biography of Frances Perkins, “The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and his Moral Conscience,” a work completed after almost a decade of research that sought to plumb the secrets of Frances Perkins’s success.

     One of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s closest friends, and the first female secretary of labor, Perkins capitalized on the president’s political savvy and popularity to enact most of the Depression-era programs that are today considered essential parts of the country’s social safety network. Her legacy is vast: the 40-hour workweek, the minimum wage, the nationwide unemployment insurance program, the growth of the American labor movement, the federal abolition of child labor and the creation of Social Security.

     Frances Perkins enacted her program systematically and comprehensively, as part of a lifelong plan she began envisioning as a young woman, when she had the single shocking and transformative experience of witnessing the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in Manhattan in 1911. A passionate woman with a wide network of famous friends, Perkins did much of her most important work while juggling complex responsibilities as a wife and mother.

    Downey's book illuminates the life of Frances Perkins, a woman who should not have been forgotten, but who is truly unforgettable.

 

NWHM NATIONAL ADVISOR BECKY SCHERGENS HONORED

Becky Schergens was honored by the Section for Women in Public Administration as the 2009 Joan Fiss Bishop Award winner. This is awarded to an individual who, by example and action, has promoted increased participation of women in the public service profession, exhibits a defined contribution to increased involvement in the public sector, innovative leadership and accomplished professionalism in the individual's own public service career, and commitment to the public administration profession through membership in American Society for Public Administration. Click here to read more.

NWHM UNVEILS NEW EXHIBIT

On August 1, NWHM launched its newest exhibit "Chinese American Women: A History of Resilience and Resistance" at the Organization of Chinese American's national conference. The exhibit is available online here.

NWHM VIDEO ON "FIRST BUT NOT THE LAST" NOW AVAILABLE

NWHM has posted a short video clip from the "First But Not the Last" event in March. Click here to view the video. Please keep checking back for new videos.

A NEW ARTICLE BY DORIS WEATHERFORD NOW AVAILABLE

The article, entitled "Prehistory", is available here.

NWHM IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE ITS NEWEST COALITION PARTER: SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL OF THE AMERICAS

To read more about Soroptimist, please go to our list of Coalition partners, available here.

NWHM HOSTED "FIRST BUT NOT THE LAST: WOMEN WHO RAN FOR PRESIDENT"

On March 6, NWHM hosted "First But Not the Last" at the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum. The panelists included a historian, professor and two former campaign managers of women's presidential campaigns. C-Span covered the lively discussion on women’s roles in politics. Keep checking the C-Span listings to see when the program will air.

 

 

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