Welcome!

March is Women’s History Month.  We celebrate and honor the many women who brought us into the 21st Century and helped to advance and protect our rights. When someone asks me what a feminist is, I reply, “A feminist is a person who believes that women and men are equal.”

”The Palm Springs Area Chapter of the National Organization for Women” was formed in 1980 by a group of dedicated women who believed in equality and feminism.  We honor women who have broken down barriers for other women.

Jacqueline Cochran, the founder and director of the Women's Air Force Service Pilots during World War II and the first woman to break the sound barrier. Gerty Theresa Radnitz Cori, the first American woman to receive a Nobel Prize in the sciences, her research significantly advancing the treatment of diabetes. Olympic Gold-Medalist Gertrude Ederle, who in 1926 became the first woman to swim the English Channel. Marian Anderson, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, who opened doors in music as the first African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera.  Juliette Gordon Low, who encouraged community service and the physical, mental, and spiritual development of America's young women as founder of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

We celebrate significant accomplishments that have forever changed society. 

–      1864 - Rebecca Lee Crumpler graduates New England Female Medical College, first African American woman doctor

–      1893 - first collegiate women’s basketball game played at Smith College

–      1917 -Navy authorizes enlistment of women

–      1933 - Frances Perkins becomes first woman on a President’s Cabinet, as Secretary of Labor; she was also essential in building the New Deal programs which pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression

–      1933 - Eleanor Roosevelt hosts her first news conference for female reporters at the White House

–      1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act passed (although I don’t know how equal it is with white women still making  $.77 on the dollar that men make, black women $.67 and Latino women $.59 for doing the same job in 2010!)

–      1973- First women begin training as pilots in the U.S. Navy

–      1974 - Helen Thomas named first female reporter to cover the White House

–      1998 - Eileen Marie Collins named first woman to command a space shuttle

As we work to advance freedom and peace and fight the war on terror, American women in uniform are serving in posts at home and across the world, taking great risks as they make our Nation more secure. We women of the 21st Century have a legacy of courage and determination left to us by these pioneering women of yesterday and today.

Today we need to help our young women further their education to carry on the work of the women who led the way before us.  One of our proudest achievements locally is the Salm Educational Awards Program. Each year two winners are given an award of $1,500 each to further their education.  Among our past recipients are women who are now making a difference in our local community in positions of responsibility.  Established by an endowment from long-time member, Barbara Wade Salm, I find it very rewarding that we can help young women who want to pursue their dreams and who are committed to improving life for women everywhere.  I want to acknowledge and thank the Salm Scholarship Committee, and chair Lori Adler, for the long hours and challenging decisions in choosing our winners.

We need to continue our fight for equality and reproductive freedom from the tyranny of those who want to take our rights away. We are here for you.  Call Melinda for information about meetings and events. 760-333-8304

 

Melinda Tremaglio
President, PSNOW

 

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If you would like to attend a meeting please call Melinda for
dates and time at (760) 320-6355.