Women’s History Month in San Mateo County

In honor of Women's History Month, we are highlighting prominent women and organizations that are making a difference in our country. These committed leaders are building on the efforts of women's rights leaders from the past and working to improve the future for women today.

San Mateo County is proud to represent the 2007 inductees for the county's Women's Hall of Fame, the organization's 23rd class since it began in 1984. The inductees will be recognized at a ceremony next week on March 22 at the South San Francisco Conference Center. The public is invited to attend this inspiratrional evening. For more information please visit www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/hr/csw

Meet the 2007 honorees:

- Betty Carlson, volunteered for decades at local hospitals and is an advocate for parents whose children have been victims of violent crime.

- May Gee, a former U.S. Women's Army Corps sergeant who has volunteered with local health, education and senior programs.

- Judith Heyboer, who works with at-risk women and children and assists with domestic violence programs.

- Jennifer Horne, who started the Teen Parents Project at the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County.

- Rosalyn Koo, who developed programs for county seniors and the Chinese community.

- Shirley LaMarr, who has been the director of the Choices Program that helps incarcerated women transition back into society.

- Barbara Liedtke, who has worked to make housing affordable and accessible.

- Georgi LaBerge, former Redwood City mayor who has promoted education and the environment.

- Karen Philip, who is Superintendent of the Millbrae Elementary School District and was nominated by her school board as a remarkable leader.

- Georgette Sarles, who has spent 43 years with the Daly City/Colma Chamber of Commerce.

Four young women are also being honored in 2007:

-Lizeth Chavez, Sequoia High School senior

-Tiffany Ling Ho, Westmoor High School senior

-Kristin Costello,Terra Nova High School senior

-Jasmine Nachtigall, Hillsdale High School junior

About Women's History Month

We celebrate Women’s History Month in March. It was established in 1908 by the Socialist Party of the United States to honor women who impacted our lives throughout history. Today, we continue to recognize and honor women who are changing society and making a difference. March 8th is celebrated across the globe as International Women's Day. Its origins trace back to protests held in the US and Europe to honor and fight for the political rights of working women.

This year marks the 159th anniversary of the first women's rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York. The convention is considered a pivotal moment in the foundation of the women's suffrage movement, establishing Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton among others, as prominent names in American history. Their work, along with the dedication of thousands of other women eventually resulted in the ratification of the 19th Amendment 1920, allowing women the right to vote.

The League of Women Voters was formed in 1920 to encourage women to vote. San Mateo County has two active chapters who register voters, provide community forums where impartial analyses of the issues before voters are discussed, televise local debates, and publish a thoughtful review of the issues entitled, "Pros and Cons."  They also belong to the League's online statewide voter information website, www.smartvoter.org.

Women making a difference today in the USA

This year we have chosen to share with you five nominees from the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), America's only organization representing the interests of all women entrepreneurs in all types of businesses. This organization is a supportive group of over 8,000 women entrepreneurs nationwide. Their mission is to:  strengthen the wealth-creating capacity of members, create innovative and effective changes in the business culture, build strategic alliances, coalitions and affiliations, transform public policy and influence opinion makers. http://www.nawbo.org

An award will be given to one NAWBO member who has used unique ways to  overcome obstacles, create jobs, grow a successful business, and help her community. The winner will have demonstrated integrity in business ownership, support of NAWBO's vision and mission, and commitment to her community. The awardee will be recognized at NAWBO’s 2007 Women’s Business Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, May 31-June 2, 2007.

Consider the contributions of these amazing women entrepreneurs in our country:

C. Diane Howell, Ph.D.
CEO, Black Expo Ltd
Publisher, Black Business Listings
Producer, Black Expo 2004

Howell graduated from Hyde Park High School in Chicago and went on to attend Barnard College, Columbia University in New York City where she received her B.A. in Psychology. She attended the University of California at Berkeley and became, to her knowledge, the first Black woman to receive a Ph.D. from the Psychology Department at the University of California Berkeley.

Since 1997 Black Expo weekend begins with the African American Excellence in Business Awards and Scholarship Gala which honors small businesses and major corporations for their excellence in business, mainly in relation to the African American community.

Meg Whitman
President & CEO, eBay Technologies

eBay is one of the Internet's most popular sites. President of eBay Meg Whitman, was ranked 22 on Fortune's Most Powerful Women of 2006 list.  Since establishing eBay in March 1998 Whitman has helped navigate the Internet company through publicizing  computer and personnel problems. She also serves on the boards of DreamWorks Animation and Procter & Gamble.

Whitman grew up in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA. After high school, from which she graduated a year early, she attended Princeton University, where she earned a degree in economics in 1977. She completed her education with an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1979.

She is one of only five women on Earth to have been repeatedly ranked among the world's most influential people by Time magazine.

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton was born on  October 26, 1947.  She is married to Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, and was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Clinton was elected to the United States Senate in 2000, becoming the first First Lady elected to public office and the first female senator to represent New York.

On January 20, 2007, Clinton announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee for the United States presidential election of 2008.

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah is truly a pronominal women.  At the age of 19, she became the youngest person and the first African-American woman to anchor the news at Nashville's WTVF-TV. Oprah’s debut in 1985 as "Sofia" in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple, is when she won two Academy Awards.

She is also well known for her talk show Oprah which aired in 1986, becoming the highest-rated talk show in television history. In April 2000, Oprah introduced O, The Oprah Magazine, a monthly magazine that has become one of today's leading women's lifestyle publications.

Oprah is co-founder of Oxygen Media, which operates a 24-hour cable television network for women that launched in 1998 and is currently available in more than 69 million homes across America.

Maria Blanco
Girl Fest Bay Area Co-Director

Maria Del Pilar Blanco was born in the Republic of Panama in May 25th, 1977. She founded the first social events website and e-magazine “Paseotablado.com” in Panama City in 1999. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Advertising from the Universidad del Istmo in Republic of Panama in 2000.

Maria is also a philanthropist donating to the Advertising Campaign to the Amigos Foundation (Children with Cancer and Leukemia) which is an annual event catered to teenagers targeted to the Panama Youth.  Maria also runs a Marketing Promotions company called Pilar Marketing in San Francisco, CA. Pilar Marketing is a growing marketing agency that is targeted to the Latin, Community.

Local Celebrations for Young Women

The 2nd Annual Girls Fest is coming to the San Francisco July 19-22nd to unite Bay Area girls and motivate them to gain knowledge in education and violence as well as expose them to positive role models and receive valuable resources.

"Preventing violence against women and girls through education and art."

Girl Fest has been working to prevent violence against women and girls since 2003 with it’s headquarter festival in Hawaii. Girl Fest uses arts and education to prevent violence in the community.

Girl Fest also has uses alternative approaches to education through outreach workshops.

Girl Fest exposes young women to positive role models, encouragement, choices on how to avoid violent relationships and information on resources available to them in counseling, support, shelter and legal advice.

http://www.girlfestbayarea.org/

Women Who Changed America

The March Birthdays of Women who have made a difference

• March 3, 1962 - Jackie Joyner-Kersee - Considered the world's greatest female athlete; most decorated woman in U.S. Olympic track and field history with sixth Games medals overall.
  
  
• March 5, 1931 - Geraldyn (Jerrie) Cobb - Record-setting aviator; first woman to pass qualifying exams for astronaut training, 1959 but rejected as military did not allow female jet pilots at the time.
  
  
• March 7, 1938 - Janet Guthrie - Pioneering woman auto racer; first woman to compete in Indianapolis 500 (1977) and Daytona 500 (1977); only woman to place in top 10 finish at Indy 500 (1978)
  
  
• March 9, 1928 (1987) - Graciela Olivarez - Chicana activist; first woman and Latina law graduate from Notre Dame Law School; first woman chair of Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF)
  
  
• March 16, 1933 - Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Supreme Court Justice
  
  
• March 18, 1964 - Bonnie Blair - Speed skater; the most successful Winter Olympian in US history and 5 time gold medalist
  
  
• March 23, 1857 (1915) - Fannie Farmer - authored famous cookbook, "The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook", including accurate and specific ingredient measurements for the first time that would become standardized cooking measurements
  
  
• March 23, 1924 (1980) - Bette Nesmith Graham - invented Liquid Paper in her kitchen; sold her company to Gillette Corp. for $47.5 million; created 2 foundations to help women find new ways to make a living
  
  
• March 24, 1826 (1898) - Matilda Joslyn Gage - Suffragist, women's rights activist and theorist, historian
  
  
• March 24, 1912 - Dorothy Height - Served over 40 years as President, National Council of Negro Women; 2002 NWHP Women's History Month honoree
  
  
• March 25, 1935 - Gloria Steinem - Women's rights activist and journalist; founding editor of Ms. Magazine; helped found National Women's Political Caucus, the Women's Action Alliance, and the Coalition of Labor Union Women
  
  
• March 26, 1930 - Sandra Day O'Connor - First woman to join Supreme Court as justice (1981)
  
  
• March 27, 1924 (1990) - Sarah Vaughan - World renown jazz singer and pianist known as the "Divine One"
  
  
• March 31, 1889 (1975) - Muriel Wright - Choctaw Indian; fought for recompense for First Americans

Learn how they've made a difference in San Mateo County