I team up with Target, Vital Voices and five other global women leaders for the “A New Day + Vital Voices” capsule collection. Using our lived experiences and work to design a limited collection for women ready and willing to create change. #ad
To learn more about the partnership and where to buy the collection, please visit HERE
“Through the A New Day + Vital Voices partnership, we hope to showcase the incredible work of Vital Voices while empowering and celebrating our guests,” said Michelle Mesenburg, senior vice president, marketing, Target. “It gave us the opportunity to think about collaborations differently, and how we pair the great design of one of our popular owned brands with an organization that’s doing incredible work in communities near and far.”
The women who inspired the collection… here are their stories
Will #MeToo lead to record number of women in 2018 #Congress--early candidate data seems to say yes--369 for House, 41 for Senate. #PowerPanel riffs @TaranaBurke @feministabulous @JamiraBurley pic.twitter.com/R3OEiNqa4U
— Richard Lui MSNBC (@RichardLui) December 11, 2017
Since the Presidential election, followed by the success of the Women’s March – Axios recorded that organizations like Emily’s List and She Should Run, have reported an increase for women interested in running for elected office. In the last few months, there has been additional systematic attacks on the female experience and body. All across the country, women’s health and safety have been threaten by proposed legislation, led by mostly male (white) legislators. Who regardless of the health risk, often seek to limits the rights of what women can do with “their body”.
As documented by the Center for American Women and Politics -- in 2017, women hold 105, or 19.6%, of the 535 seats in the 114th U.S. Congress - 21, or 21.0%, of the 100 seats in the Senate and 84, or 19.3%, of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. This lack of representation persists despite the fact that women are more likely to vote than men and despite the fact that women are the majority of the US population (50.8%).
In many ways we can thank President Trump (The Trump Effect) for this increase, considering many women have referenced Trump as their motivation for throwing their hat into the race. Which isn’t surprising, considering Trump has a less than stellar reputation when it comes to women and women issues. Not to mention the fact that he has publicly admitted to sexual assaulting women, which only give support to the more than a dozen separate public accusations that have come forward during the election and after he took office.
Now sexual assault and harassment isn’t just an issue that’s unique to the President, there have been powerful men on both sides of the political aisle and across industries held accountability for past and present actions. That being said, there are thousands more who haven’t. More work is required to change the rape culture we live in, including electing more women to office and or just putting more women in power – who can help provide diverse perspectives and knowledge on all issues and not just the ones considered to be gender specific.
Below are a few organizations preparing the next cohort of women running for office, please learn how you can join them and or support their efforts.
A few weeks ago, I served as a panelist and workshop facilitator for the Teen Vogue NY Meet Up, which served as an opportunity to empower and inspire the next generation of women leaders. During the event we addressed topics like salary negotiations, voting, education and diverse representation. I had the pleasure of meeting young women and a few good men from all over the Tri-State area, who after recent political events are looking for ways to get engaged and to utilize their voices for change. The NY Meet Up was one of four events leading up to the national Teen Vogue Summit on December 1-2nd in LA, to learn more: Click Here
Please see below for a few pictures from the NY Meet Up: Photo credit David Vollucci for Teen Vogue/23 Storie
I spoke to @sarahbrownuk about creating change for new #BetterAngels podcast episodes. Listen here below:
Description: Sarah Brown talks to American activists and campaigners Jamira Burley, Michael Gibbons and Michael Silberman about the history of extraordinary campaigns for change in the U.S. and how skill-sharing, and thought leadership are moulding the entire social change field today.
"Listen in as Vital Voices President, Alyse Nelson, sits down with human rights defender, social good strategist, and Founder of GenYNOT, Jamira Burley." -Vital Voices