In honor of Women’s History Month, local women’s groups are seeking to change Tennessee legislation in order to strengthen civil rights and liberties for women.
The University of Memphis’ Center for Research on Women, the Academic Women’s Alliance and the Women’s Foundation all banded together Sunday at Lindenwood Christian Church on Union Avenue for a panel discussion on community, workplace and political activism.
The groups’ concerns stem from disturbing statistics on Tennessee women.
According to a status report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), Tennessee ranks 44th in the nation for the percent of women with college degrees and 39th for health and well-being.
The statistics also showed that more than 15 percent of Tennessee women live in poverty.
“We have to make a way for women to do better,” said Franketta Guinn, commissioner of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division. “Women are not recognized for their skills. It is our responsibility to elect representatives who are sensitive to our issues.”
According to reports by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), current Tennessee representatives and senators have repeatedly voted against issues supported by the AAUW.
Those issues include reproductive rights, education spending and managed care reform.
Four of Tennessee’s nine congressmen have voted in conjunction with the AAUW’s positions.
Thus far, Bob Clement, Harold E. Ford, Jr., Bart Gordon and John S. Tanner are the only four democrats.
Neither of the two senators, Bill Frist and Fred Thompson, voted in support of AAUW’s causes.
“You cannot be in politics and be afraid to lose,” said Gale Jones Carson, the first African-American to serve as an officer for the Tennessee Democratic Party and currently the executive assistant to Mayor Willie Herenton. “We need more women to step up to bat and run for office.”
The IWPR’s status report concluded that Tennessee reflects many of the obstacles faced by women around the country.
The report also stated that while women as a whole have seen changes in recent years in their access to political, economical and social rights, women by no means enjoy equality with men.
Women still lack many of the guarantees that would allow them to achieve that equality, according to the IWPR.
“What I’ve learned from (my experience),” said Jocie Wurzburg, a local political activist, “is that all these ‘isms’ sort of work the same. There are just different types of prejudice to be dealt with.”
