Fixing the Jobs Crisis Demands More Than $100 Billion

Deepak Bhargava of the Center for Community Change explores why a plan for job creation must be larger than $100 billion. In the Huffington Post he writes:

It's not enough when you have the worst unemployment crisis in 70 years with nearly 16 million unemployed Americans and another 9.3 million underemployed. It's not enough when according to economic forecasts the unemployment rate will remain above 8 percent through 2011. It's not enough when 8 million jobs have been completely removed from payrolls since the start of the recession, nearly a million more than previously estimated.

Read the full article, When is $100 Billion Not Enough?.

Huffington Post on Gloria Awards

Our celebration of the 20th Annual Gloria Awards was a time to note the remarkable achievements of women activists and visionary philanthropists whose strength, courage and leadership move us towards the realization of the long-cherished vision: a just and equitable world. For 35 years, in partnership with our grantees, we have acted on this vision by building women's collective power to ignite change.

Marcia G. Yerman attended the event and shared her experience in the Huffington Post. She notes:

...within that room was tremendous solidarity for feminist activism, social justice, leadership, and courage.

The crowd was wowed by the story of 21-year-old Yunuen Rodriguez (winner of the Marie C. Wilson Young Women's Leadership Award), and her involvement in taking on a Chicago Spanish-language radio station that had run an ad campaign depicting a rear view of a line of Latina women in short-shorts. The caption "25 pegaditas" (translation being hits/slaps) was positioned on their behinds. Working with Females United for Action (FUFA), an initiative of the Women & Girls Collective Action Network (a Ms. Foundation grantee), Rodriquez developed a public relations strategy that led to a sit-down with the station's general manager, as well as an owner's rep from the Miami-based Spanish Broadcasting System. The ads were pulled, and they gave FUFA airtime to discuss their agenda on how to combat violence against women.

Read Marcia Yerman's full report at Women Get Respect -- Part 2.

Photo: Gloria Steinem © Kevin Wick/Longview