AAUW Kingston Branch Scholarship Winners

(L to R) Yuvelca Reyes, Irwin Rosenthal, and Marie Daniels

We had a great opportunity to meet with our two 2010 scholarship winners at the annual picnic this month. Both earned associates degrees from Ulster Community College this month and will use their scholarship money to pursue their bachelor degrees.

Yuvelca Reyes has enrolled with SUNY Empire to pursue her degree in therapeutic recreation, a major of her own design. Yuvelca believes that our lives and the world would be better if we all found things to do that we enjoy. Her quest is to help people find those things that are right for them. She's especially interested in using her motivational skills to engage residents in Newburgh in constructive fun -- an alternative to the gangs and crime we've been following in the news. To that end, she's been organizing a July 4th tournament. Yuvelca is full of energy and ideas; now she wants to learn how to make them work.

Marie Daniels has enrolled at SUNY New Paltz. Her plan is to get a degree and teaching credentials in earth science and teach. But that's just the first step. Marie loves library science and plans to pursue a graduate degree to become a librarian. (Librarians love AAUW. There were three at the picnic, all ready to provide Marie guidance and support.)

Both these young women are mid-career students with children at home. They are following in the footsteps of many of us, balancing family and children, pursuing the love of learning and the need to support our families doing the things that we love.


Irwin Rosenthal and Doris Goldberg, Education Foundation co-chairs, coordinated selection of our 2010 recipients. You won't find Doris in the picture. Why? She had to leave early for a library board meeting!

Congratulations to Marie and Yuvelca. The branch has given them student memberships to AAUW so we hope to see a lot more of them and follow their career.

Pay Equity Updates

While Fair Pay Day has come and gone, the issue remains. AAUW Washington Update has cited several news items of late that you should be aware of.

Department of Labor Announces Top 20 Fields for Women According to a recent report by the Department of Labor, secretaries, administrative assistants, and registered nurses are the nation's leading occupations for employed women.  Among the 20 fields listed, findings show a lack of women in non-traditional, STEM careers, as well as a median salary of $657 per week for women 16 years and older.

Federal Government Not Hiring As Many Women According to a new report by Federally Employed Women, the number of women in top positions within the federal workforce is much lower than that of men. While that number nearly doubled between 1992 and 2003, there has been relatively no change since 2006. The report cites a lack of training and cross-training as major reasons for the lack of women in top positions, and that training funds are typically cut under budget restraints.  Thus, in today's economic climate, women are provided fewer opportunities to advance to top federal positions.

Wage Gap in Academic Medicine Women in academic medicine earn significantly less than their male counterparts, according to a study released in April's Academic Medicine. Researchers sampled at random 3,000 life science employees at the top 50 academic medical centers funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) looking to explain the gender wage gap.  The study found that over a 30 year period, full-time female faculty members made almost $215,000 less than men of equal standing, and nearly $700,000 less over a full career.  Professors Eric Campbell, PhD, and Catherine DesRoches, DrPh, have linked their work on the study with the need for a systematic change in the field.

The Harvard Business Review has  a quick slide show Investigating the Pay Gap by Sarah Green.

AAUW's Washington Update is emailed to subscribers every Friday. It covers the Washington developments related to AAUW Public Policy issues. Washington update is another benefit of your AAUW membership; you can subscribe to it here.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Gender Gaps Persist in Pay st Academic Medical Centers (nlm.nih.gov)
• Female Researchers Paid Less than Males: Study (abcnews.go.com)
• A Live Webcast of Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (womensbioethics.blogspot.com)

2010-11 Reading List

Image via Wikipedia

AAUW BOOK CLUB Reading List for Sept. 2010 to June 2011

Sept.21  The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon.. This takes place in Sitka Alaska where a fictitious Jewish community has been established after WW2 to welcome survivors of the Holocaust.

Oct. 19  Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. A young asthmatic boy named Rueben Land narrates the story of his family after his brother Davy kills two bullies who had targeted him and their family. When  Davy escapes prison Rueben and family follow Davy to the Badlands with many adventures.


Nov. 16 Howard’s End by E.M. Foster. This was first published in 1910 and is about class struggle in turn-of-century England. The motto of the book is “only connect”.


Dec 14  We will read and discuss poetry selections assembled by Vivi Hlvasa. Please note we are meeting on the 2^nd Tuesday to accommodate the Holiday Schedule.


Jan. 18,2011 Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. Once again into the trenches of WW1, a long term illicit love affair and a hero who finds hope and meaning despite the anguish.


Feb. 15  The Help by Katherine Stockett. A Southern woman writes about the connections between black maids and their white women employers in the 1960’s in a small Georgia town.

March 15  Frances Perkins: The Woman Behind the President by Kirsten Downey.  Frances Perkins was the first woman to serve in an American  Presidential Cabinet . She was instrumental in securing “New Deal” legislation and served 12 years as FDR’s Secretary of Labor.

April 19 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery. This was first published in 1847-48. It satirizes early 19^th century British society. The title comes from Paul Bunyan’s allegory, Pilgrim’s Progress. Vanity Fair refers to a stop along pilgrim’s progress: a never ending fair in a town called Vanity.

May 17  Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. This fiction published in 1881 is considered one of James’ finest. The Lady is Isabel Archer, a young American heiress victimized by two American Machiavellian expatriates.

June The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich. The author with a German, American, French, Ojibwa background, writes from an Indian reservation perspective. This is a story of passion and compassion about a priest who meets an Indian Elder who possesses love medicine.
 

Happily compiled by Marjorie Regan with a little help from Wikipedia and other online sources.