Imagine for a moment that you are a parent of three daughters.  These three young ladies are your pride and joy.  You have worked tirelessly to teach them important life lessons.  You want nothing but the best for them.  Picture them.  Do they look like you?  Do they look like your partner?  Does your oldest have your sense of humor but your partner’s nose?  Is the middle daughter brilliant like your grandfather with your mom’s eyes?  Does your youngest have your father’s zest for life and your partner’s quick wit?  You love these ladies differently but equally.  See them.  Now, decide which one will be the high school dropout, the one who will live most of her life below the poverty level, the one who everyone will say did not “live up to her potential.”  Why?  Because one in three teen girls become pregnant before they are 20. Teen moms are significantly less likely to graduate from high school and significantly more likely to earn below the poverty level.  Unfortunately, those are only two of the difficulties teen moms often face.

Many people like to believe that teen pregnancy happens to other people’s families or that it only happens to the “bad kids.”  The truth is that teen pregnancy can happen to any sexually active teen.  It doesn’t matter what color her skin is, what grades she earns in school or what socioeconomic status her parents have, it can happen to her.  So how do you protect your precious daughter from this unfortunate fate?  Education…not that 1+1=2 kind, she needs honest, accurate sexual health education. 

The Whitehall Yearling High School Teen Pregnancy Peer Education Team knows the importance of this education.  These young women are trained to deliver medically-accurate, non-judgmental information about contraception, pregnancy prevention, and staying healthy in general to their peers.  Studies have shown that people are most likely to accept information from someone they view as a peer rather than an authority figure.  These young ladies educate both one-on-one and through classroom experiences to make sure their peers have the most up to date information about what they are up against and how to help protect themselves. This group of 14 teenage women believe that it is necessary to empower young women to make healthy decisions for themselves and not be swayed by their partners to engage in risky behaviors.  “Young people themselves can take a more proactive role in delaying pregnancy until they are ready to become parents” said Dr. Vanessa Cullins, Planned Parenthood Federation of America vice president for external medical affairs.

On a recent team retreat, they decided to plan a Female Empowerment Day in their community.  As a team, they agreed to plan a community Walk for Women, an information campaign concerning Women’s Issues at their school, and a rally in a community park to educate people on Women’s Issues.  They envision this day to be a way to motivate and educate their community members on the strength, worth, intelligence and power of women.

Take the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy Quiz: http://www.stayteen.org/quiz

Written by: Lynn Feils

Observing Equal Pay Day on April 17^th isn’t just some arbitrary choice by the powers that be at the National Committee on Pay Equity. April symbolizes the point in the year when a woman’s wages catch up to a man’s wages from the previous year. And Tuesday symbolizes the day in the week when a woman’s earnings match a man’s earnings from the previous week.

Nationally, women are currently earning 77% of what men earn, according to the most recent Census. Here in Ohio, women make just under 75% of what men make. To delve deeper into the issue, African American women nationally make 67.5%, Asian American women make 90%, and Latina women make 57.7%, all for doing the same work as their male colleagues.

The working woman is no longer some wild, mysterious thing. As of 2010, women make up 56.7% of the workforce.  And yet despite having the skills, drive, and long, arduous working hours to rival any man, women are continually underrated in the workplace, given less pay with no real rationale, and undercut by unfair health care policies and benefits plans.

But this day doesn’t exist just to complain about the inequities — it’s here so we can bring visibility to the pay disparity, make changes for a better future, and yeah, get a little angry. Because that’s when changes happen.

The ball is slowly rolling. The Paycheck Fairness Act was reintroduced to Congress by the Obama Administration in 2011, but has yet to move beyond its referral to the House’s Education and the Workforce Committee. The bill aims to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 in order to further protect women from discrimination in the workplace by:

-          Requiring employers to provide bona fide reasons for any pay differences other than sex, such as education, training, or experience

-          Ensuring that women can seek the same remedies as those who face racial discrimination at work

-          Prohibiting employees from getting fired for discussing salaries with colleagues

-          Creating negotiation skills programs for women

Ohio U.S. Congress members Marcia Fudge, Marcy Kaptur, Dennis Kucinich, Tim Ryan, and Betty Sutton are all cosponsors of the bill. You can drum up support by writing to your representatives to let them know that you’re in support of the Paycheck Fairness Act.

It should be mentioned that these statistics don’t accurately portray the wage gap between white men and men of color. Women aren’t the only group suffering from workplace discrimination. Pay inequity is a problem faced by minority groups across America. So don’t let the issue die after today — write to your representatives, learn the facts, and talk loud and talk often.

For more information, visit The Institute for Women’s Policy Research. and for statistics concerning the state of equal pay in Ohio, visit the National Women’s Law Center.

Written by Leah Driscoll

Katley has had the privilege of watching her mother reach her full potential, and now she can be a catalyst to stop the cycle of poverty.

It is important to talk about the larger picture of social change, but it is also equally important to acknowledge the strides individual women and girls have made toward their potential. We would like you to meet Madelynn. We are in awe of her and her courage to break out of the cycle of poverty to create a future for herself and her daughter.

When asked where she was five years ago, she replied: “stuck.” As a single mom living with a disability, her income was limited. She describes it as living in survival mode— feeling like she had nothing to offer except trying to get by and supporting her daughter.

In 2006, Madelynn enrolled in a parenting class offered at Mental Health America of Licking County. During the last few sessions of the class the teacher asked her to facilitate, which was a life-changing opportunity for Madelynn.

Shortly after finishing the program, Madelynn decided to participate in the Getting Ahead Class, a program based on the book Bridges Out of Poverty, by Ruby Payne, Philip DeVol, and Terie Dreussi Smith.

This program, funded in part by The Women’s Fund, focuses on empowering people who live in poverty to reflect on their lives in a safe environment, make goals and plans for their future, and then create realistic objectives to meet those goals. This class changed everything for Madelynn.

After completing the program, Madelynn had a new view of the world and what she could contribute. Before taking the class, she thought that volunteering was only for people who had money, but she soon came to realize that she had valuable skills to offer—and that people wanted to hear what she had to say. Madelynn decided to go to school to study social work. She now has an associate’s degree in social work and is pursuing an additional degree in criminal justice. Not only that, she volunteered to teach the Getting Ahead class.

Madelynn knows her vision for her daughter Katley’s future has changed. “My daughter now knows that college is a logical next step, something we never even thought was a possibility before.” Madelynn has helped Katley look at options for a future career— something she loves and is passionate about, not just a job to pay the bills. Attending school wasn’t easy for Madelynn. She suffers from debilitating migraines nearly every day, but with her daughter’s invaluable help and support, she’s accomplishing the goals she set five years ago. Katley has had the privilege of watching her mother reach her full potential, and now she can be a catalyst to stop the cycle of poverty.

Madelynn is most proud when people tell her that her story has motivated them to change and pursue their goals. An example of the power of sharing your story: when she quit smoking, she shared her success with her Getting Ahead classmates. Several people quit smoking because they saw someone just like them who was able to quit. Madelynn’s willingness to share her own story is helping others realize their potential and pursue their goals, moving out of survival mode into a world where they are thriving and inviting others to thrive with them.

There is one overarching message Madelynn had to share. We all have something to offer; we all have strengths that can help and empower others. This is what we at The Women’s Fund mean when we say investing in women and girls to reach their full potential. All it took for Madelynn was someone letting her know that she has something very valuable to offer: her story.

Written by Charis Steffel

March 12, 2012 marks the 100^th anniversary of Girl Scouts of the USA!  But the story of the Girl Scouts actually began on March 9, 1912. That’s when founder Juliette Gordon Low famously called her cousin and said, “I’ve got something for the girls of Savannah, and all America, and we’re going to start it tonight.”

In the 100 years since, Girl Scouts has exceeded Juliette’s promise to offer something valuable to every girl. A troop for physically challenged girls was established before 1920; Native American troops were established in the 1920s, around the same time Girl Scout materials were translated into Braille. Girl Scouts reached out to serve the daughters of migrant workers in the 1950s, and was recognized by Ebony magazine for “breaking down racial taboos” in 1952.  The organization welcomed its first African American CEO in the 1970s; its first Asian American CEO in the 1990s; and today Anna Maria Chavez leads the Girl Scouts of the USA.  Girl Scouts remains dedicated to helping girls and women become all they can be.

Because of our commitment to empowering girls, we have forged a strong partnership with The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio.  We are a collaborative partner in the One Girl Initiative, and have received grant support from The Women’s Fund for two previous programs that invested in and supported under served girls.

As we approached 2012, we turned our attention to the problem of girl bullying, which often takes the form of relational aggression – using social skills to harm others by damaging, threatening or manipulating one’s relationships with peers or by injuring one’s feelings of social acceptance. We surveyed girls in Girl Scout day camps and found that more than three-fourths of them had witnessed girl bullying, and almost 70 percent said that they would value after-school programs designed to help them deal with “girl drama” and learn how to get along better.

Thus, thanks to support from The Women’s Fund, we’re introducing Power Up in Fairfield County.  Power Up is a curriculum developed by the Girl Scouts of Colorado Council. It reaches out to girls in grades 3 through 5, sensitizes them to relational aggression issues, and empowers them to resist bullying and defend against it. The program emphasizes that it is not OK to stand by and do nothing when bullying occurs.

We originally planned to offer the program only at the after school program of the Fox Family YMCA in Lancaster, but thanks to support from The Women’s Fund, we were able to expand to Lancaster South Elementary School and Millersport Elementary School. The principals at the two schools are so excited about this offering that they are each holding an all-school assembly to build interest before we begin. One principal is even donating a $50 gift card to be given away in a drawing to reward girls who have perfect attendance at the Power Up program.

Once we have run the program in Fairfield County, we plan to expand it into many of the other 29 counties we serve.  Because of the assistance we received from The Women’s Fund, we will eventually reach far beyond Fairfield County and the ripple effect will empower girls throughout Central Ohio. By teaching girls to stand up for one another, we continue to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place and honor the enduring legacy of Girl Scouts.

Written by: Susan Emerson

Today Sarah sits in her seventh grade history class with her hand raised. She has a question which much too often goes unasked, “Where can I find the people like me?” Sarah knows that she too has a history although it may not be in her textbook. She knows there was a long line of women who fought to get her in that seat with her hand raised. And Sarah knows that she has an incredible future ahead.

Looking back on our historical timeline, we stumble across the stories of amazing women who have paved the way for all of us today. We may find the story of Susan B. Anthony who in 1868 published The Revolution, a weekly journal which promoted women’s and African American’s right to vote, giving voice to these groups which had previously been silenced. The legacy of Shirley Chisholm may be uncovered as we come to learn that in 1968 she became the first black woman elected to Congress and in 1972 was the first woman to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Piece by piece, we uncover the stories of each woman, who has through her struggles shaped our present.

We look out into our world and see the political battles which seem to pervade our minds. We constantly see all that is broken, but we must also in that same frame see all that is working or undergoing repairs; we must honor the leaders of our past by becoming the leaders of the present. As we look at our community, we see programs like NEW Leadership Ohio moving college aged women into the political arena, encouraging them to run for public office and support women candidates. We see programs like the Capital Park Women’s Empowerment Project helping to move informal leaders into formal leadership, advocating for the safety and well being of women and children within the Somali community and beyond. These seemingly small programs today are transforming the lives of the women and girls of tomorrow.

On this International Women’s Day we, like Sarah, must take a moment to ask ourselves what is our history and what will be our legacy. Together we honor our past, believe in the present, and celebrate our future. Donate now to invest in this potential.

Written by: Kathleen Kishman

That’s right, it’s WHOOPI! We can barely believe it too. We all have our favorite moments: from Sister Act to The Color Purple, from Ghost to The View, whether it’s her stand up or her outlook on the world, we all love Whoopi. And now she’s visiting us in our own backyard (our very large, arena of a backyard). So mark your calendars because at 7pm on Friday, June 29^th you want to be at Nationwide Arena for Keyholder featuring Whoopi Goldberg!

Purchase your tickets today by visiting http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/05004854975CC44C

It was a perfect match. They exchanged roses, shared secrets, and talked about their plans for the future. It was a Saturday afternoon get-together, not a date or a formal engagement, just 36 pairs of amazing women meeting for the first time at Otterbein University as participants in a new mentoring program that matches college students with local women leaders from the corporate and non-profit sectors.

This mentor match day was part of a larger new local initiative: The Otterbein Women’s Leadership Network. The “NET” was created to provide Networking, Educational, and Transformational leadership opportunities for local girls, students, and community leaders to cultivate a collaborative system of support that will increase the number of women ready to take on leadership positions in the future.

Let’s face the facts: Ohio needs more women leaders and the time is right. The results of a new baseline study on leadership in central Ohio issued by The Institute on Women  uncovered an immediate opportunity to change the local economic landscape by increasing the numbers of women in key leadership positions. However, without the social, emotional, and economic capital to participate in pathways to independence, our community will continue to be under-resourced in university-educated women to move into leadership roles.

We have so many incredible young women ready to create change in our community; we aim to equip them with the tools necessary to reach their full potential.

So what resources do these young women need to propel them forward? Connections, experience, opportunity.

The Otterbein “NET” offers university women a portal to an intergenerational network of community women who will serve as both mentors and partners as students begin to examine possible pathways to leadership.

For students, the journey begins with Otterbein President Kathy Krendl’s Women and Leadership Course, a first year seminar punctuated with panel discussions each week by local women leaders who share their life strategies and help students understand how to navigate and negotiate gendered social, cultural, and political obstacles.

After completing the course the students transition into leadership roles on campus, co-designing new community service programs with local girls, coordinating special women-focused events, and serving as interns at local women’s organizations. Scholars also facilitate Girl’s Clubs at a local middle school, engaging ‘tweens in “girltalk” about self-esteem, body image, friendships, politics, work, and other topics identified as important to the girls.

These scholars are now helping to coordinate an upcoming event, Otterbein’s Women and the New American Dream Summit on March 9^th and 10^th.  The summit is a call to action for all of us who are committed to ensuring that women and girls have multiple opportunities to create a NEW American Dream where they can succeed, flourish, and reimagine their futures.  Registration is now open for the summit — for more information visit the website at:  www.otterbein.edu/opportunitynation.

If you are interested in joining the Otterbein Women’s Leadership Network as a community partner, internship site, or friend, please contact Dr. Melissa Kesler Gilbert at Otterbein:  mgilbert@otterbein.edu.

Written by Melissa Kesler Gilbert

“Sometimes it seem like to tell the truth today is to run the risk of being killed.  But if I fall, I’ll fall five feet four inches forward in the fight for freedom.  I’m not backing off.” -Fannie Lou Hamer

February is Black History Month and this year’s theme is “Black Women in American Culture and History,” chosen by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.  We are urged to reflect on the many contributions of African American women in shaping our nation and history.

One notable woman, Fannie Lou Hamer, the youngest of twenty children, was born to a sharecropping family in 1917 in Montgomery County, Mississippi.  Hamer dropped out of school at the age of twelve to work in the fields and in 1961 was sterilized by a white doctor without knowledge or consent as part of an initiative to decrease the number of poor blacks in Mississippi.

Hamer’s life took a turn in August 1962 when she heard Reverend James Bevel speak in Ruleville, Mississippi.  Bevel, an associate of Dr. Martin Luther King and an organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), appealed those at the meeting to register to vote – a request that if acted upon could result in physical beatings, loss of jobs, and even death.  This was the first time Hamer learned that it was legal for blacks to vote in Mississippi.  She volunteered without hesitation and later said, “I guess if I’d had any sense, I’d have been a little scared – but what was the point of being scared? The only thing they could do was kill me, and it seemed they’d been trying to do that a little bit at a time since I could remember.”

Later that same month Hamer traveled on a bus with others who responded to Bevel’s appeal to Indianola, Mississippi to register to vote.  After registering to vote Hamer lost her job, received death threats, and was severely beaten by the police, but this did not intimidate her.

Hamer went on to organize voter registration drives and the “Freedom Summer” initiative, helped create a new political party in Mississippi, worked to help blacks achieve financial independence by starting food cooperatives, and ran for Mississippi Senate in 1971.  This captures only a small portrait of Hamer’s significant impact on the American Civil Rights movement, and African American history.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s story is one of many, that when weaved together represent the passion and power of women working together to change history.  Her story teaches us that creating change is not easy, but it is possible.  We’ve highlighted one woman’s story, but we want to honor all African American women who’ve worked to make impossible things possible; Ella Baker, Carol Moseley Braun, Shirley Chisholm, Septima Poinsette Clark, Toni Morrison, Vivian Malone Jones, Phillis Weatley, Constance Baker Motley and countless others who fought to reach their full potential and, through their legacies, empower others to do so as well.

Written by: Charis Steffel

Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. It is a day to offer support to victims of human trafficking, recognize the triumphs and resiliency of its survivors, and celebrate the amazing work being done in our communities to bring about awareness and restoration. Let us introduce you to our grant partner doma International and Freedom a la Cart.

FREEDOM

Freedom is hummus.  Perhaps not to you.  But to me, hummus is what Freedom tastes like.  The relationships I have built with survivors of Human Trafficking have propelled me to redefine Freedom, as it exists from their perspectives. Watching a survivor taste hummus for the first time brought so much joy to me. In a room of 25 survivors, no one had ever tasted it; many were hesitant to even dip a chip in it, let alone a carrot stick or pita bread.   But the wide smile on the face of the first survivor who ‘dove in’, was all they needed to form a new love for this strange chick-pea blend.   And that one smile led the rest of the women into a new world of ‘healthful’ eating.  It was a bold move early on by one of our volunteers—but she knows that part of her volunteer work is to continue to introduce the survivors to freedom and choices that have been unknown and unavailable to them.

Their lives have been filled with abuse, neglect, pain, control, slavery, and trauma starting at such a young age—most entering into forced and coerced sex trade (trafficking) at an average age of 12-14.  At these unmentionable ages, many had freedom taken away from them.  So I have taken much delight over the last few years observing and participating in the newfound freedom that empowers them on so many levels of existence – food being one of them.

Freedom a la Cart is the new doma initiative to continue introducing survivors to more and more “Freedom”.  (THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS, and particularly to THE WOMEN’S FUND OF CENTRAL OHIO!)

Freedom now tastes like fresh, local, and organic food. Freedom is learning how to chop vegetables and slow cook meats.  Freedom is learning the word, ‘Chimichurri’ and roasting red peppers. Freedom is networking with local businesses and the community, and even problem-solving and thinking through, “Where can I park a food cart in the winter, and make money selling our amazing food?”  Even better yet—Freedom is owning a “Carhartt” jacket to keep warm (volunteers and survivors alike!)  Freedom is the warm, genuine smile on two survivors’ faces as they greeted our first customers at the first Gallery Hop of the year downtown at our cart debut last Saturday.  (And it’s a pretty snazzy cart, if I must say so myself.  You’ll have to come visit it in person to see our dazzling twinkle lights…)

Freedom is opening a bank account, saving, and learning how to budget.  Freedom is buying a car for the first time, and then asking your support network of mentors and friends to help you get a license.  Freedom is driving to a custody hearing to fight for the relationships that mean so much to you.

Freedom is dreaming!  Freedom is saving up money to go to college.  And perhaps Freedom is starting a business, or maybe running the register at our first standalone Freedom restaurant, or branching out and having a franchise of a Freedom cart.

But most of all, Freedom is having choices.  And Freedom is having new choice, when at one time, all choice was taken from you.

Happy 2012 and National Human Trafficking Awareness Day!   This is truly going to be a “FREE” year.

And a shameless plug:

Call us for catering gigs at 614-343-3442.  Email us at freedom@domaconnection.org.   Find us on facebook and twitter:  freedom a la cart. Visit doma’s website- domaconnection.org.  Invite us to set up at lunchtime at your business—or beg and bug your business to let us in.  Consider becoming an investor or a ‘careholder’ in a standalone Freedom restaurant, which we’re looking to launch in a few months (contact julie@domaconnection.org)  One taste of our food, and you’ll wonder where this Freedom has been all your life.

Written by Julie Clark

The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio is proud to announce our 12 new 2012 Grant Partners

CMAA Refugee Services: Capital Park Women’s Empowerment Project

The Capital Park Women’s Empowerment Project will impact 380 families living in Capital Park Apartments by empowering and training Somali refugee women to become leaders around the issue of safety in their surrounding neighborhood.

Doma International: Freedom a la Cart

Freedom a la Cart is a social enterprise project which will provide women exiting the sex trade with workforce development skills through a catering and food cart business. Women will train for a family-sustaining livelihood while the general public becomes educated about human sex trafficking.

Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council, Inc.: Power Up: Doing Nothing? Not an option!

The Power Up program will reach third-through-fifth-grade girls in Fairfield County, empowering girls to resist bullying and defend against it. Girls are specifically taught how to move from a bystander to a powerful, confident defender of girls.

Hard Hatted Women: Leadership Development for Tradeswomen TOOLS

This program will train women working in underrepresented fields, such as energy, utilities, transportation, construction, logistics, and skilled manufacturing, to become speakers, mentors and advocates. These women will then work with employers to increase the number of women working in high-wage earning fields, while helping build the pipeline of women coming into the trades.

HelpLine of Delaware & Morrow Counties and Youth to Youth: Thank Goodness I’m Female (TGIF): The Year of GAL

A teen led and developed approach, Thank Goodness I’m Female (T.G.I.F.), emphasizes the development of healthy female friendships and peer relationships. High school and middle school girls use open dialogue, skill building, youth mentoring, art exhibitions, a social-norm campaign, and social networking “Youtube-like” videos to change aggressive attitudes and behaviors among girls.

John Glenn School of Public Affairs: NEW Leadership Ohio

NEW Leadership Ohio is a week-long residential summer program for college students throughout the state, addressing the underrepresentation of women in elected office. NEW Leadership Ohio inspires and challenges women to run for office, take on public leadership roles, and support other women in their endeavors to do the same.

Mental Health America of Licking County: Licking County Bridges Out of Poverty Initiative

Bridges Out of Poverty engages the whole community in conquering the systemic causes of poverty. Women in poverty learn the hidden rules of the middle class, public institutions change policies reinforcing poverty, and businesses, churches, and other organizations volunteer as Allies to help low-income women escape from poverty.

Otterbein University: Women’s Leadership Network

The Otterbein Women’s Leadership Network will provide educational, networking, and transformational leadership opportunities for middle school girls, college students, and community leaders to create a pipeline of support that will increase women’s upward social and economic mobility.

PAST Foundation: The GEM Project: Girl Empowerment Mural

The Girls Empowerment Mural (GEM) will help young women of the Linden community create and manage community murals. Public art as social change will transform the perception of girls’ roles in the community, redefine their place in Linden, strengthen their community, and provide a unifying voice for women to continue to be agents of change.

Planned Parenthood of Central Ohio: Peer Education Project

PPCO will engage teenage women as Peer Educators, developing them into informed leaders that will provide comprehensive sex education to their female peers and advocate for change in government and school policy. The educators focus on delaying sexual activity, non-violent relationships and protection from sexually transmitted diseases.

Ruling Our Experiences, Inc.: Ruling Our eXperiences Empowerment Program for Girls (ROX)

The ROX Ruling Our eXperiences program empowers young women on issues of self-esteem, self-concept, body image, gender roles, female leadership, career development, dealing with harassment and discrimination, healthy relationships, sexual violence, and physical self defense.

Rwandan Women in Action: Refugee Women Transitional Support Program

Refugee Women Transitional Support, in collaboration with Children’s Hunger Alliance, will certify refugee women to become childcare providers and start their own cooperative daycares.

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,

and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

~Melody Beattie

As we approach this season of giving thanks, we recognize and pay tribute to the many sources of support in our lives. We are grateful for the positive social change happening in our community each day. We are grateful for our shared vision of a world where all women are empowered and all voices are heard. We are grateful for you.

Thank you for your continued belief in our mission to transform the lives of women and girls, by mobilizing the collective power and passion of all women working together.

The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio and The Limited share very similar missions; we both believe in empowering women and investing in their potential.

Plan some time for shopping and social change. Join us this weekend during The Limited Easton Town Center location’s Grand Re-Opening. A percentage of all sales from the weekend, Friday, November 4th through Sunday, November 6th, will be donated to The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio.

As the Chinese proverb states, “Women hold up half the sky.” Although women are half the world’s population, we bear the brunt of injustice around the world.   

 The John Glenn School of Public Affairs will host Pulitzer Prize winner, Sheryl WuDunn at The Barbara K. Fergus Women in Leadership lecture series. The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio is proud to sponsor the event.

Sheryl WuDunn is co-author of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a New York Times best-selling book about the challenges facing women around the globe. Half the Sky is a passionate call to arms against the global oppression of women.

Together we will hear the heart wrenching tales of the major abuses of women throughout the world, listen to the inspiring stories of extraordinary women turning their oppression into opportunity, and learn how together we can make a difference-- join us.

When:  Monday, November 14, 2011at 4:00 p.m.

Where: Ohio Union, Archie Griffin Ballroom

1739 North High Street

Columbus, OH 43210

The lecture is free of charge and open to the public, but seating is limited. Follow this link to reserve your space today!