April, 2014
Newsletter of the Northwest Suburban Branch
American Association of University Women
AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy,
education, philanthropy, and research.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
7:00 P.M.
St. Luke’s Lutheran Church
205 N. Prospect, Park Ridge
We often think of the Chicago Tribune as staid, traditional, conservative and one of the bastions of the
“old guard.” You will be surprised to learn some of the interesting things that are true of this Chicago
newspaper – the only one to have survived for many years in the city. Col. Robert R. McCormick, the
editor and publisher for many years, was most progressive in his thinking and early on provided
marvelous opportunities for women in the newspaper world. Our speaker on April 10 will be Laura
Russell, docent at the Robert R. McCormick Museum in Wheaton. Her talk will be on Tracing the Role of
Women at the Chicago Tribune. Some of the names she will mention will certainly be familiar to those of
us who grew up in the Chicago area and found “the Trib” in our homes on a daily basis, although we
probably did not realize then that there was anything unusual for women to have their own columns or
bylines. Come and learn more about this interesting man and what he did to help women move up in the
news world.
We will be meeting at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Park Ridge. The church is located on the corner of
Prospect Ave. and Cedar St. It is two blocks north of Touhy Ave. Prospect is one of the intersecting
streets at the “six corners” intersection in downtown Park Ridge. If you are coming from the northwest on
Northwest Highway, turn east on Elm St. (there is a stoplight there) and go three blocks to Prospect,
which is the second stop sign. Turn right (south) on Prospect and go one block to Cedar St. There is
ample parking, both in front of the church and in the parking lot on the south side of Cedar St. Come and
enjoy the company of your AAUW sisters, as well as a great program. Be sure to invite others to join you,
too, for this interesting evening.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
As I look on the calendar I see spring is on the horizon – finally! Next month, on April 8th we also
acknowledge – not celebrate – Equal Pay day.
Most of us know that women are paid 77% of what men are paid for the same work. AAUW’s “The
Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap” also reports these lesser known truths:
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The pay gap hasn’t budged in a decade
Women in every state experience the pay gap with Washington DC having the smallest
gap at 90% and Wyoming the worst gap at 64%.
The pay gap is worse for women of color with Hispanic women making 53% of white
men’s earnings.
Women face a pay gap in nearly every occupation.
The pay gap also exists among women without children – among fulltime workers one
year out of college women were paid just 82 percent of what their male counterparts were
paid.
While more education is an effective tool for increasing earning, it is not an effective tool
against the gender pay gap.
So what can we do about the disparity in wages? You can join me at the Equal Pay Day rally at Daley
Plaza on April 8 at 12pm. It only lasts an hour and always has top notch speakers. Many groups come
together in the plaza to help raise awareness of this persistent inequity. A flyer announcing the rally is
included with this newsletter. If you would like to attend, call me (847-384-8136) or email me at
cindy@equivoice.com; perhaps we could arrange to go together.
Another thing AAUW is doing to address pay inequity is a program called $tart $mart. This workshop
prepares college women who are approaching the job market with the confidence, knowledge, and skills
they need to negotiate salaries and benefits. Since the pay gap starts with their first job, this is a way to
help balance the scales. You can audit a $tart $mart workshop and also be trained as a facilitator at our
state convention on Friday, May 2nd. More information is in the State newsletter, “The Link,” which you
should have received this month or can find online on the state website.
I hope that 10 years from now we will have put this issue to bed!
I hope to see you all on April 10 at our program.
Cindy
IT HAPPENED LAST MONTH
What a wonderful program we enjoyed on February 22 when we gathered for lunch at the Elks Club in
Des Plaines. Our guest was the renowned aviatrix Amelia Earhart (a.k.a. Leslie Goddard) who arrived in
full flying attire and, both during and after lunch, enthralled us with her story. We thank the Illinois
Council for the Humanities for helping us to have this wonderful program through their “Roads Scholar”
program. A small group like ours could never afford to pay the full price for an outstanding speaker and
program like this. Thanks, too, to Merna Folkers for making the arrangements with the Council and for
contacting Leslie Goddard to determine that she would be able to be with us. It was a delightful way to
spend a wintry Saturday afternoon!
NORTHWEST SUBURBAN WEBSITE
Have you checked out our website? If you are on the Internet, visit: http://nwsuburban-il.aauw.net/
WHAT’S COMING UP?
The District 5 Annual Scholars Brunch, featuring AAUW Educational Fellows will be held on Saturday,
April 12. Since we are a part of District 5, wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a few of our branch
members attend this event? Please contact Cindy Grau if you would like to attend, but do so quickly as
the deadline is imminent! Call Cindy at 847-384-8136 or email her at cindy@equivoice.com. (See the
flyer elsewhere in the newsletter.)
AAUW-IL Convention will be held at Pheasant Run Resort on May 2-3. This would be a great
opportunity for some of us to attend at least a part of the convention, which has been planned by our own
president, Cindy Grau, who is Program Vice President of AAUW-IL. You should have received the
Illinois Link which gives full information about the program. Registration for Saturday only is $65 and is
due by April 14; it includes the keynote speaker, luncheon, business session and breakout sessions in the
afternoon. Cindy is the nominee for a second term as Program Vice President. If you would like to attend,
contact Cindy or Irene.
Saturday, May17: This will be our final meeting for this program year – a luncheon at the Elks Club and
a business meeting. We will also be reviewing the year and looking ahead at plans for next year. Specific
information will be in our next newsletter.
DIRECTORIES
Those who attended our February meeting received directories; those who were not there will be getting
theirs by mail. Please check your information and let Irene Jinks know if there are any errors; she will
publish needed corrections in our newsletter. You will not receive another directory next year but will
receive some supplemental pages containing such information as our program for next year.
MEMBER NEWS
Cindy Grau and Pili Richardson attended the International Women’s Day Luncheon in March and found
it to be both interesting and informative. AAUW had a table at the International Fair there.
Pili has had the interesting experience of attending a meeting of the Kauai Island Branch of AAUW in
Hawaii. It was the sixth annual District Regional Science Olympiad held at Kauai Community College,
involving three junior high schools, two elementary schools and one high school, with over 100 young
people attending. AAUW handled the registration and served pizza, salad and drinks; Pili helped with
that. She was impressed by the varied activities of the members of the branch and their involvement in
work in the community.
Marie Brandt, who was a member of our branch for many years, has moved to The Moorings in Arlington
Heights.
We were pleased to have a guest at our February luncheon, an AAUW member from Abilene, Texas, a
young woman named Hyun Shun Shin who is now living in this area. We certainly hope that she will join
us again.
We have a new member of the branch, Anne Pasieka who is a dual member with the Arlington Heights
Branch. We welcome Anne to our group and hope that all will soon get to know her. Anne’s information
should be added to your directory: Anne Pasieka, 414 W. Hawthorne St. Arlington Heights IL 60004.
Her phone number is 847-398-4831; email is Anne1001@aol.com. She is a graduate of Drake Univ. in
Iowa and has an MS in Curriculum and Supervision. We welcome Anne to our branch.
AAUW-IL District 5
Educational Opportunities Fund
Annual Brunch with Fellows
11:00 a.m., Saturday, April 12, 2014
at Highland Park Country Club
1201 Park Avenue West (off Route 41), Highland Park, IL
Honorees:
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Katherine Good, PhD, Communications Studies, Northwestern U
Cindy Nguyen, MBA, Strategy, Operations, U of Chicago
Kathleen Dupaya, Social Work, U of Chicago
MENU: Cup of Soup, Choice of Salad (Chicken Caesar/Chicken Cobb),
Rolls & Butter, Dessert, Coffee/Tea/Soda
COST: $30 (includes tax & tip)
DEADLINE: Reservations must be received by April 1
Make your reservation by sending this form with a check for $30
payable to: Deerfield Area AAUW
Send to: Kay Madden, 143 Rivershire Lane, Lincolnshire, IL 60069
to arrive no later than Tuesday, April 1. Include your choice of salad on the memo line
of your check. Questions: Contact Kay at 847-955-1708 or kaymadden@comcast.net.
Guests are welcome!
Hope to see you at this outstanding annual event!
----------------------------------------------------Full Name of Attendee:________________________________________
AAUW Branch/Organization:____________________________________
Menu Choice:________________________________________________