RezaRitesRi.com

RezaRitesRi Special Election Coverage

By Reza Corinne Clifton

(Can you spot the voters or nonvoters? The feminists or misogynists? The Women’s Fund of RI galvanized a get-out-the vote effort following a survey of RI women’s voitng patterns commissioned this summer, and last month they organized a conversation to hear what young feminists were thinking.)

PROVIDENCE, RI - Feminism and Voting. The good news? According to The Women’s Fund of RI (WFRI), “a strong majority of women said they planned to vote” on Tuesday—“up to three-quarters.” The bad news, reports the organization? “Less than half”—47% it estimates—“felt their vote had any impact locally.”

WFRI is out to prove otherwise, according to the organization’s Executive Director, Marcia Cone-Tighe, who says “that is just not a reflection of reality.” But what is the Women’s Fund of RI? How do they know about these statistics, and what are they doing to combat this perception?

WFRI was launched in 2001 by The Rhode Island Foundation—RI’s 90-year old, primary center of philanthropy—and “a team of influential women.” With its creation, the Fund linked RI to “a global movement to improve the status of women and girls,” for they joined more than 100 other Women’s Funds throughout the US and world who all have the same improvement aims.

The Fund awards unique grants to nonprofit organizations registered as tax-exempt, 501 C status or to groups that are working with nonprofits, “positioning funding for women and girls as an essential investment to build sustainable communities.” Past award recipients include Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), English for Action’s VozMujer, and the Southside Community Land Trust—three out of the seven selected last year in September 2005, out of 45 Letters of Intent received by the organization that February.

The work of WFRI does not stop at distributing grants. The Fund also underwrites studies, like the one entitled “Status of Women in Rhode Island,” an independent study conducted by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research in Washington, D.C. Along with other conclusions, data in this study showed that women in RI “have the highest levels of health insurance coverage in the country,” yet “have among the worst mortality rates from heart disease, lung cancer, and breast cancer,” ranking last in New England for overall health. The study also found that while women have “among the highest levels of political representation through institutional resources,” they have “among the lowest levels of elected representation in state and national offices in the country.

The Fund offered an opportunity to hear more about some of these issues recently, when the organization acted in another of its roles: as “convener.” WFRI periodically gathers groups “with similar goals to discuss problems and jointly plan solutions” and to collaborate and leverage leadership and resources. A week before Halloween on Tuesday evening, October 24, the organization held a gathering they called a “Conversation with the Women’s Fund of RI: The Direction and Goals of Young Feminists.”

This pre-election meeting of diverse minds consisted of anecdotes and discussion that weaved in and out of the attendees experiences with the “misunderstandings and misrepresentations in 2006” about the status of women and the word feminist. A few women reported their frustration and disgust with national trends in reporting the string of recent national school shootings which have all victimized girls. Mindy Weber, a graduate school student at Brown University, wondered why the acts were not being called or considered hate crimes when in each case, the target or targets and victims were uniquely girls.

Other topics were discussed too, like the evolution of the feminist movement, the differences in the issues throughout the decades; and the importance and power of the “f-word” itself. But with 2 weeks before Tuesday’s election (at the time), politics was on the minds of many, particularly with the presence of two women—Melissa Flaherty, former Town Councilwoman in North Smithfield, and Jennifer Lawless who recently ran against US Representative Jim Langevin in the Democratic primaries.

Both Flaherty and Lawless recalled recent stings from a political system that still marginalizes women candidates. Flaherty remembered the condoning of unfair comments made by a male opponent associating her looks with (un)trustworthiness, while Lawless shared a comment she received from a potential voter who indicated disapproval with Lawless’s candidacy because she was unmarried and without a family of her own. “Jim Langevin is [also] and unmarried,” she explained, frustrated with the double-standard.

In spite of the frustrations, the message was made clear on the twenty-fourth and the Fund makes it clear again this morning, Monday November 6 at 10:00 AM with the unveiling of its “No Excuses Ballot.” The Master of Ceremonies for the event is Marie Wilson, Executive Director of a national, nonpartisan organization that aims to advance women’s leadership called The White House Participation. Joining her will be a variety of RI’s women leaders, who will be using a mock election ballot card to address the excuses women shared in a summer survey of RI women’s voting patterns. The cards have both the excuses written, and “answers that overcome those excuses.”

Some of the responses show the correlation between elected lawmakers and minimum wage and health coverage, provide directions to where to find polling stations (www.sec.state.ri.us/vic/), and urge registered voters unconcerned with candidates to consider skipping candidates to vote just for the ballot questions (casino, voting rights, housing, etc.) There are even directions on how to register for the next round of elections for those too late to register for this one.

“From open space to voting rights to housing” WFRI director Cone-Tighe insists, “many important questions will be decided on Election Day and will directly affect the quality of life for women and their families. Women owe it to themselves and their families to be a part of that.”

To access “The No Excuses Ballot” visit http://www.wfri.org/wfriBALLOTposter4.pdf, and for more information about The Women’s Fund of RI, visit www.wfri.org.

Reza Corinne Clifton is a community organizer for high school reform at RI Children’s Crusade for Higher Education. She is also a freelance writer who is regularly published in several RI-area publications. Her articles can be seen at www.RezaRitesRi.com and she can be reached by emailing rezaclif@aol.com.

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