Great Gifts

 … For yourself and others

 

Click here to Purchase

 

“Women of Achievement in Maryland History” by Carolyn B. Stegman ($50, plus shipping and handling). This inspiring hardcover coffee-table book explores the history of women throughout Maryland.  

 

 

Maryland Women’s History Poster ($15, plus shipping and handling). This colorful poster was originally designed by Elizabeth A. Harty in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Maryland Women’s History Project. 

 

  

"We Are Our Mothers' Daughters" 10th Anniversary Edition (Autographed) by acclaimed author, political commentator, and member of the MWHC Honorary Board Cokie Roberts ($25, plus shipping and handling). This book examines the nature of women's roles.  A must have book for every mother and daughter, woman and girl. 

 

 

"Puerto Rican Women" ("Mujeres Puertorriquenas") (Autographed) by Carmen Delgado Votaw, a national and international leader, and current MWHC Board Member ($20, plus shipping and handling). This bilingual book contains biographical profiles of 42 women of Puerto Rican heritage who have made contributions to the cultural, political, educational, economic and social climate of Puerto Rico and the international community.

 

Announcements

Below includes special announcements of events and activities of interest to women and girls, as well as important women’s issues.


"Maryland Women Making History"

In honor of Women's History Month, The Baltimore Sun has posted a photo gallery of renowned Maryland women from the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. Information and photos were supplied by the Maryland Women's Heritage Center.


 

Women's History Month 2010 Proclamations

President Barack Obama issued a proclamation in honor of Women’s History Month 2010 (March 2, 2010).

 

 

 

 

 

The Baltimore City Council issued a resolution in celebration of Women's History Month (March 8, 2010):

In Celebration of National Women’s History Month 2010
FOR the purpose of celebrating National Women’s History Month on the 30th anniversary of the Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980 as the first National Women’s History Week, acknowledging the historic economic, cultural, and social achievements of women worldwide, and expressing appreciation to the women in our lives for the daily selfless contributions they make to promote and maintain the economic, social, and emotional fabric of our families.  


Wage Disparities: Men vs. Women

The Baltimore Sun:  Though wage data show women slowly catching up to the median weekly wages their male counterparts receive in the same job, the women's-to-men's earning ratio peaked at 81 percent in 2005 and 2006, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Overall, women earned about 80 cents per dollar men took home in 2008. The earliest comparable earnings data, from 1979, showed women that year earned about 62 percent as much as men.

The information in these slides comes from a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report of wage data released last year.


In Memory:  Lucille Clifton, Maryland Poet Laureate and Heritage Center Honorary Board Member

The Maryland Women's Heritage Center is sad to announce the passing of former Maryland Poet Laureate and Member of our Heritage Center Honorary Board, Lucille Clifton.

An accomplished and nationally-recognized poet and author, Lucille was recently honored along with two of her daughters at the Maryland Women's Heritage Center's "We Are Our Mothers' Daughters" luncheon with Cokie Roberts on April 29, 2009.
 
Lucille Clifton has been an inspiration to us, through her magnificent writings and her meaningful life. She has been a strong advocate for human rights and justice. We use this passage from one of her poems as a guiding motto as we create the Maryland Women's Heritage Center:

I need to know their names
                 those women I would have walked with...
                   all those women who could have known me.
          Where in the world are their names?

The Maryland Women's Heritage Center will work to assure that the name of Lucille Clifton, and the rich legacy that she leaves, is preserved and transmitted to current and future generations.

Her daughter has given permission for us to establish a fund in her memory at the Maryland Women's Heritage Center. The Lucille Clifton Fund will honor Women in the Arts, with particular emphasis on girls and women of color and those working for social justice. If you would like to donate to this fund in her honor, please click here or send your donation to:

Maryland Women's Heritage Center
Attn:  The Lucille Clifton Fund
P.O. Box 719
Brooklandville, MD 21022-0719

We would also welcome your notes, photos and memories about Lucille Clifton to post and preserve as part of our honoring her and the legacy that she has left to inspire all of us. Please e-mail these to Jill Moss Greenberg or send to the Maryland Women's Heritage Center at the above address.   
 
Sympathy cards and letters may be sent directly to the Clifton family at:

7441 Swan Point Way
Columbia, MD 21045


University of Maryland's Debbie Yow and MWHC Board Member in The Baltimore Sun

Debbie Yow, University of Maryland’s Athletic Director and Board Member of the Maryland Women's Heritage Center, was featured in an article in The Baltimore Sun ("UM's Yow thrives in '24/7' caldron of college athletics") on February 15, 2010. Yow will become the school’s longest tenured Athletic Director on September 1. 


University of Maryland's Tara Heiss Named to the Atlantic Coast Conference's Women's Basketball Legends

From The Baltimore Sun (February 3, 2010):  Former Maryland women's basketball player Tara Heiss was one of 12 players named to the Atlantic Coast Conference's sixth annual class of Women's Basketball Legends to be honored at the ACC tournament March 4-7 in Greensboro, N.C. Heiss played for the Terps from 1974 to 1978. Her 504 career assists rank third all-time at Maryland, and her scoring average of 14.2 points ranks eighth. Heiss also set a school single-game record, which has since been broken, by scoring 34 points against Delaware in 1976. As a junior and senior, Heiss led the Terps in both scoring and assists. In her senior season, Maryland won its first ACC tournament. Heiss was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. After her college career, Heiss played in the World University Games in 1979 and was named to the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.


 

WomanTalk Live " 2010 Girl Gone Great Contest"

WomanTalk Live, a supporter of the Maryland Women's Heritage Center, is accepting submissions for the "2010 Girls Gone Great Scholarship Essay Competition" through December 31, 2009.

Female high school juniors and seniors from throughout Maryland are invited to submit an essay describing how they are making a difference in their community, why making a difference is important to them, and how their actions support their vision for the future.   

The "2010 Girl Gone Great" will win a $1,000 scholarship donated by WCBM-AM, will be interviewed on WomanTalk Live, and have a write-up, photo and her winning essay in On Purpose Woman Magazine. For more information about the contest and to submit a "Girl Gone Great," click here.


Baltimore County Fire Department Honors First Female Firefighter

The Baltimore County Fire Department honored its first female firefighter, Division Chief Danelle England-Dansicker, by naming a room at Fire Department headquarters in Towson in her honor on December 16, 2009. She passed away in April 2009 at the age of 52. Read the press release about the honor.

About Fire Department Division Chief Danelle England-Dansicker:

Fire Department Division Chief Danelle England-Dansicker was the first female member of the career service (as well as a lifelong volunteer at Pikesville VFC) and the Department's highest-ranking female member.

She joined the career department in 1978. England-Dansicker was an apparatus driver, a cardiac rescue technician and a member of the high-rise evacuation aerial team, a precursor to today’s Advanced Tactical Rescue team. She moved up through the ranks and became the first female battalion chief in 1995 and the first female division chief in 2001. She retired in 2005, and died on April 21, 2009, at age 52 of complications from an autoimmune disease.

 


Baltimore County "Woman of the Year" and "Young Woman of the Year" Awards

The Baltimore County Commission for Women is accepting nominations for its annual "Woman of the Year" and "Young Woman of the Year" awards. The award honors female residents of Baltimore County who serve as role models for other women. Deadline for nominations is Friday, January 15, 2010. Visit the Baltimore County Commission for Women Website for a nomination form and more information.


Jean Cryor: 1938-2009  

The Maryland Women's Heritage Center is sad to announce the passing of former Maryland State Delegate and Commissioner of the Montgomery County Planning Board, Jean Cryor. Jean was a wonderful public servant, as well as a Board Member of the Maryland Women's Heritage Center. She was also a commissioner on the Maryland Commission for Women.
 
Condolences can be sent to:

11700 Ambleside Drive
Potomac, MD 20854

 


MWHC Presentation

 

 

Linda Shevitz, Executive Board Member of the Maryland Women's Heritage Center, gave a presentation about the Center at a Delta Kappa Gamma meeting on Saturday, November 7, in Ashton, MD.

 


Shriver Report

 

 

The Center for American Progress (CAP) recently announced the release of "The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything," a study by CAP and Maria Shriver, the first lady of California and a former NBC News correspondent.
 
The Shriver Report is an in-depth study of the American worker, who today is just as likely to be a woman as a man---a definite change from the past.
 
The Report is the beginning of a national conversation about how America adapts to the way American families live and work today; how can government, business, media, and faith leaders modernize their institutions to catch up with the permanent new reality of American life? 
 
For more information and to read the Shriver Report, click here.

 


 

Congratulations to Carol Greider for Winning the Nobel Prize

The Maryland Women's Heritage Center congratulates Carol Greider for winning the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine along with colleagues Elizabeth Blackburn and Jack Szostak. Greider is a molecular biologist at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
 
This year, a record of five women won Nobel Prizes. In the past, only 35 women have been awarded Nobel Prizes.  Furthermore, Greider and Blackburn were the first women to simultaneously win the prize in medicine.

The three other 2009 female winners include Ada Yonath, who is sharing the Nobel Prize in chemistry; Herta Mueller, who won the prize in literature; and Elinor Ostrom, who is sharing the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. Ostrom is the first woman to win the economics prize.

 


 

Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame


The Maryland Commission for Women and the Women Legislators of Maryland are seeking recommendations for outstanding Maryland women for induction into the 2010 Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame. The Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame was established in 1985 and honors Maryland women who have made unique and lasting contributions to the economic, political, cultural and social life of the state, and who provide role models for tomorrow’s female leaders. These women are honored in March during Women’s History Month. The Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame will be housed at the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center.

To receive an official nomination form or for more information, contact the Maryland Commission for Women at 410-767-3049 or mcw@dhr.state.md.us.

 


School Girls Unite

 

 

The Maryland Women's Heritage Center has been working with School Girls Unite and its visionary sponsor, Wendy Lesko, almost since its formation. The members of the initial group were Maryland middle school students. As they continued their education, they maintained their commitment to School Girls Unite - and to action for all girls. They have now come out with a marvelous handbook that is useful for girls throughout the world - and informative to those of us well past our girlhoods!

More than a dozen teenagers with School Girls Unite in the United States and students in Mali, West Africa, have authored "GIRLS GONE ACTIVIST! How to Change the World through Education." In poor countries, the majority of girls do not even finish elementary school and many become child brides. This action guide-written by youth for youth-describes how to become a global activist and why educating girls is crucial to building a smarter, healthier and more peaceful world. These inspiring stories and successful advocacy strategies, such as clever video petitions and street theater, will convince anyone age 12 and older to get active in solving this human rights catastrophe and achieving gender equality. Written in English and French with over 100 pictures, this 120-page paperback is available for $12, or can be downloaded, without charge, as an eBook on the School Girls Unite Website. For more information, call 1-800-KID-POWER or e-mail info@schoolgirlsunite.org.        

“The Future of the World depends on an educated society---especially girls---because we know the crucial role of women in eradicating poverty.”

-Bintou Soumaoro, 19, President of Les Filles Unies pour L’Education Mali

“Educating girls will save the world by creating more scientists to solve global warming, lawyers to make the world fairer, and leaders to resolve conflicts without war.”

-Joanne Conelley, 17, Founding Member of School Girls Unite USA  

 

 


 

Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet

 

The National Women’s History Project (NWHP) and the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center are honoring Maryland women who have taken the lead in the environmental or “green” movement throughout 2009. Click here for more information about Maryland women who are taking the lead to save our planet. Sign this Environment Pledge developed by the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center.

 


 

Pauline Menes Memorial Fund

The Maryland Women's Heritage Center is sad to announce the passing of former Maryland State Delegate, Pauline Menes. A pioneer in the role of women's politics, she served in the Maryland legislature for 40 years making her the longest continuously serving delegate in Maryland. She was also one of the 15 founding members of the Women Legislators of Maryland, the first state women's legislative caucus in the United States, and was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame in 2008. Her daughters, Sandra, Robin, and Bambi, in conjunction with many of her colleagues in the legislature, have begun a fund in Pauline's name in order to develop a program in her name at the Maryland Women's Heritage Center. The Menes family is asking that donations in Pauline Menes' name be made to this fund. Donate online or mail check to: 

The Pauline Menes Fund
Maryland Women's Heritage Center
P.O. Box 719
Brooklandville, MD 21022

 


 

Women’s Equality Day

Women's Equality Day is August 26. First instituted in 1971, Women's Equality Day commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which grants women the right to vote. It is also a day to celebrate women's continuing efforts toward full equality. For more information about Women’s Equality Day, visit the National Women’s History Project Website. Although women did not fully gain the right to vote until 1920, Margaret Brent of St. Mary's City, MD, was the first colonial woman to ask for the right to vote in 1648.

 


Title IX

 

 

June 23, 2009, marked the 37th anniversary of Title IX. This landmark legislation outlaws sex discrimination in schools and education programs receiving federal funds. For more information about Title IX, visit the National Women’s Law Center.
To commemorate the day, a White House Roundtable on Title IX was broadcast live with participation by national leaders from several areas, including education, sports, law, and science. Dominique Dawes Olympic champion and member of the Honorary Board of the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center, joined U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, White House Senior Advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett, and legendary tennis star Billie Jean King.

Click here to view the entire Title IX Roundtable video (one hour).

Click here to view an interview about Title IX with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.


 



Visit Our Blog

 

 

Follow MDWomensCtr on Twitter

Three members of the Maryland Women's Heritage Center have recently released new books.

 
Susan Shaffer, an Executive Board Member of the Maryland Women's Heritage Center, has co-authored, Too Close for Comfort: Questioning the Intimacy of Today's Mother Daughter Relationships, with psychologist Linda Perlman Gordon. The book explores how it can be unhealthy for mothers and daughters to act as best friends and shows mothers and daughters how to develop rewarding, rather than agonizing relationships.

 
Ginny Gong, a member of the Advisory Board of the Maryland Women's Heritage Center, has published, From Ironing Board to Corporate Board: My Chinese Laundry Experience in America, which chronicles her life as a Chinese immigrant growing up in America since age six.

 
Maryland Women's Heritage Center Board Member Juanita Tamayo Lott has written Filipinos in Washington, D.C., with Rita M. Cacas. This book tells the stories of the founders of the Filipino communities in Washington, D.C.