NFWL Newsletter – February 2016



Monday, February 1st, 2016


Women’s History Month 2016
Working to form a more perfect union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government

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NFWL is proud to launch our 2016 Women’s History Month Program! We are encouraging elected women across the country to celebrate Women in Public Office with not just one, but three program opportunities this year:

1) Spotlight the Women’s Suffrage Movement by hosting your own Movie Night with Alice Paul! NFWL will provide you with everything you need: instructions, a facilitation guide, marketing materials, and a copy of the movie. Click here to download the tool kit and receive your DVD!

2) Inspire young girls with a reading of the storybook Grace for President! NFWL is partnering with the Center for American Women and Politics to bring you everything you need to host a reading of Grace for President, the story of a young girl who decides she wants to run for President! Click here to download a tool kit from CAWP and request your own copy from NFWL!

3) In the spirit of supporting women, share your story with NFWL’s newly launched Share Your Story video project! Just record a short video answering a few provided questions about your experience, (it can even be a selfie video!) and send it to us to share in honor of Women’s History Month. We will do all the editing and video magic! Click here for instructions.


Women in the News
Dress Codes and Distractions: Senator Diane Allen Featured in AP News Article

An Associated Press article recently covered the issue of dress codes in state houses across the country after a male senator from Kansas drew backlash at his suggestion to implement one.

Diane AllenNFWL’s own immediate past chair, NJ Senator Diane Allen was quoted in the article, arguing that equal representation may be the answer.

“If (the amount of women legislators) more closely matched the nation’s demographics, what they wear probably wouldn’t be an issue.”

Over the years, dress codes have been defended as a means of preventing distractions in state legislatures.

As another female legislator from Missouri put it in the article, “To have that emphasis put back on what women are wearing, that it’s ‘distracting’ or whatever, is really diminishing our contributions.”

Click Here to read the full article.

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“We Just Can’t Stop”: Jody Thomas Passionately Calls for More Women in Politics

jody-headshotRecently, one of our own was quoted in the Pittsburgh City Paper. NFWL Executive Director Jody Thomas gave an impassioned call for more women in government in an article about the two women running for statewide office in Pennsylvania–and the need for way more than that.

Women make up 18% of the PA House of Representatives and 18% of the PA Senate. That’s 36 women in the House and 9 in the Senate. Two more women have announced their candidacy recently, but Thomas says that is not enough.
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When she was interviewed for the article, Thomas made sure to note some of the barriers women face in office, including some from NFWL members themselves, such as struggling to juggle family responsibilities, and dealing with sexist comments from male legislators serving alongside them.

“When you think about it, it took 72 years of struggle to get the 19th Amendment to the Constitution,” said Thomas, “This year, we already have two women running for president, so we are making major strides. But we just can’t stop.”

Click Here to read the full article.

Have you made headlines recently? Each month, we dedicate our “Women in the News” section to recognizing the accomplishments of our members.

Send relevant articles to meghan@womenlegislators.org so we can feature you in our next newsletter.


What’s Happening?
Save the Date!

Join us in Orlando, Florida

NFWL 2016 Annual Conference

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November 16-20, 2016

Registration Opens in March!


Host an NFWL Event
Bring NFWL to Your State

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We are bringing elected women together through these NFWL exclusive events! Help us come to your state by hosting an event.

Click one of the event types to find out more!


Upcoming Events
Mark Your Calendars

calendarimageWashington D.C. Dome Tour
Friday, February 26, 2016
11:45am – 1:30pm

The Hamilton
600 14th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005

Hosts: DC Councilwoman Yvette Alexander, NJ Senator Diane Allen, and Baltimore Councilwoman Helen Holton

Wisconsin Spring Symposium
April 22- 23, 2016

Clarion Hotel and Convention Center
2703 Craig Road
Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701

Hosts: WI Representative Kathy Bernier and an NFWL Board Member with Special Guest WI Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch
Sponsored by: Wal-Mart and Xcel Energy


Leadership Development
Unpacking the Seemingly Intangible Qualities of Executive Presence

mcleodlisapicAffect is all about presence. When you walk into a room, what kind of impression can you make? What words, tone, wisdom, and message can you display to your audience in order to further your agenda and leave them with a lasting impact? As a leader, how can you foster a powerful presence that inspires those around you?

Susan Bates, CEO of Bates Communication, recently developed a method of evaluating executive presence, an online tool called ExPI that gauges leadership based three dimensions; character, substance, and style.

“Being a decent communicator and good delegator are no longer enough,” argues McLeod. “Leaders who succeed are those who influence others to take action.”

But how you do achieve this?

McLeod discusses this new tool in depth and outlines important attributes that provide meaningful insight on how to successfully present yourself as leader. She highlights the three dimensions of Bates tool in order to empower and encourage female leaders and executives.

Click here to read the full article

Lisa McLeod is the creator of the popular business concept Noble Purpose and author of the bestseller, Selling with Noble Purpose. She is a sales leadership consultant and keynote speaker. Organizations like Genentech, Google, and Kaiser hire her to help them grow revenue.


Props to Our Partner
Lending a Hand in the Flint Water Crisis

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Flint, Michigan has received national attention with the continuing water crisis; an issue that hits home for Comcast where they have 58 employees and thousands of customers who are impacted.

Comcast is collaborating with state and local government to help out in this crisis situation. The company opened up Wi-Fi hotspots in Flint for the next 30 days so that emergency personnel and volunteers can use their network to communicate with one another as well as the residents, equipped technicians with state-provided filters to carry with them on their trucks to offer customers at every home visit, contributed

Public Service Announcements (PSAs) explaining where residents can get resources and information, and established a special On Demand section called Flint Water that includes a how-to video on installing the state-provided filter.

Additionally, they are holding a bottled water drive for the 4,000+ Michigan Comcast employees, and all bottles collected will be delivered to flint by Comcast technicians.

Lyndsay Moyer, Comcast

For more information on Comcast’s efforts, read the corporate blog post here.


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