Let's stop treating violence against women as just a woman's issue. Whether it's hundreds of thousands of women being brutalized in the United States and around the world, or just a single friend whose boyfriend took advantage of her one night - when a woman is attacked on account of her gender, it is a human rights issue. And so long as it continues, the conscience of our nation cannot rest.

You can read the op-ed piece he wrote for the Chicago Defender on this issue here.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 3:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The CSUS chapter of NOW is starting again! Their first meeting will be November 7th, 4-5pm
@ The Women’s Resource Center, Library 1010
If you have any questions, please contact Allison Blakeley [allithebookworm@gmail.com].
=====================================================================
FOURTH ANNUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN CONFERENCE

GLOBALIZATION AND WOMEN:
THE GOOD, BAD AND EVIL

Saturday
November 10, 2007
California State University, Sacramento
Alumni Center

Full-day conference from 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Key Note Speaker: Sujata Warrier, PhD—Globalization and Women

Other Featured Speakers:

Mridula Udayagiri, PhD “Overview of Globalization”

Soheir Stolba, PhD “The Chinese Strategies of Globalization in Developing Countries”

Aashika Damodar—“Trafficking in Women: A Perspective from Washington, D.C.”

Entertainment by MANASA tribal fusion belly dance.

Lunch will be provided. There will be jewelry from around the world for sale, also to benefit SHARE.

Cost: $30 General Public $15 Students
*Limited scholarships available through the Women’s Resource Center.
All proceeds to benefit the SHARE Institute.

For more information, please call the Sac State Women’s Resource Center at
(916) 278-7388 or email Jessica Heskin at heskin@csus.edu.

Sponsored by:
The Sac State Women’s Resource Center, The Sac State Multicultural Center, The SHARE Institute, The Sociology Dept. of Sacramento State, Visiting Scholars Fund.
=====================================================================

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Real power -- the power to make decisions, to create change and lead -- is key. Once women have it, the world won't change for them alone; it will also change for the better, for men, for families, for communities and for workplaces. Marie C. Wilson, President of The White House Project

"The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians." -- Pat Robertson

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 5:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What is the Global Gag Rule and why should I care about it?

You can visit the League of Women Voter's take action page, input your zip code, and with one click you can send an email or a personal letter to each of your elected representatives. It couldn't be easier and it couldn't be more important. The timeframe is short to provide your input.

Get Smart and Vote. Or are we going to let a small minority control whether poor women around the world can have access to contraceptives and poor men to condoms?

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Something very exciting is happening in politics these days. Women are making political contributions in unprecedented numbers. Experts are unsure as to why: the presence of the first viable female candidate for president, anger over the Iraqi war, or just a deep seated desire by women for something completely different. But for whatever reason, data shows that more than half of the contributions to Senator Clinton and Senator Obama came from women, compared to previous campaigns, where women provided 28% of political donations source: Women's Campaign Forum). (Note: because men still write larger checks, they still win in the absolute amount raised - 56%).

May this be an election where women open their eyes to the truth, fill their brains with real facts, donate to the candidate they believe will represent their best interests, and VOTE.

It truly is up to us to change this country and this world for the better.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today I received another note re the SacWomen meeting of last week. I am so thrilled as to what an impact the meeting and the blog are having!

The attendee wrote, in part:

I am strongly in favor of a woman's right to choose. I consider it a function of personal, religious or moral freedom and a matter of personal privacy and a basic human right to govern one's own body. From your blog I went via the hyperlink to the Guttmacher report on abortion. Very enlightening. I have always hated the conservative policies that limit access to contraceptives and abortion counseling both in the U.S. and via our overseas aid. This just verifies the wrongheadedness of that policy. So thank you for being my conduit to this information. I'll be sharing it broadly.

Please keep the comments coming!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A 2007 survey of 2,000 women conducted by AAA (source: USA Today, Kitty Bean Yancey) shows 24% of American women have taken a girlfriend getaway in the past three years and 39% plan to take one in the next year. Where are the women going (and leaving the men behind)?

• Las Vegas
• Art safaris to Carmel-by-the-Sea (see www.artistacreative.com)
• Cruises in the Galapagos Islands (see www.ecoventura.com)
• Dog-sledding in the Northwoods (www.adventruesingoodcompany.com)
• A "Men? Oh Pause" escape in South Beach (www.fairmont.com/turnberryisle)
• Surf 'n' turf in central California (www.thedolphinbay.com)
• Cowgirl Boot Camps in California wine country (www.alisal.com)

When? Early December. Destination? Lake Tahoe.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 7:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Less is more; avoid all types of clutter

More stone flooring versus hardwood surfaces

Use of color on the ceilings; it creates more continuity in a room.

Indoor and outdoor living are closely integrated, creating a more casua approach to everyday living

Master bedrooms are quiet, serene retreats with large master baths and closets for both bathing and dressing

Sustainable products are used more throughout homes

Cleaner architectural moldings and simplified lines, as well as a comeback for numerous wall coverings. Look for bright, garden-reminiscent colors, too.

Rather than basic neutrals, a variety of bright, bold colors will be used for accent pieces and trims to brighten up a room.

Lighting is also getting more attention; a wider selection of lamps is on the market, so choose a unique piece for each room.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Courtesy of D Home Magazine

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Power Women 50 Index closed up 2.4% for the week ending October 26. The results:

Click here for details.

About the Power Women 50 Index: We introduced the Index on October 11. The cover story in the current Fortune Magazine (October 15, 2007) featured the 50 most powerful women. The list included twelve CEOs of publicly traded companies. Assume an intial investment of $100,000 evenly spread over the twelve women-led companies in Fortune Magazine's Power Women 50. We will benchmark the Power Women 50 Index against the overall S&P 500 Index.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A recently released Congressional Buget Office (CBO) report estimates that the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could total $2.4 trillion through the next decade, or nearly $8,000 per man, woman and child in the country,
The CBO assumes that 75,000 troops will remain in both countries through 2017. As of Sept. 30, the two wars have cost $604 billion, the CBO says. That is higher than the costs of the Korea and Vietnam conflicts, when adjusted for inflation, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

In the months before the March 2003 Iraq invasion, the Bush administration estimated the Iraq war would cost no more than $50 billion.

Completely out of control is what comes to my mind.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Sacramento County Airport System is soliciting Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) from performers to offer entertainment to the traveling public November - December 2007. A number of performace slots exist to accomodate performers with varied availability.

All performers who have not previously participated in the Holiday Entertainment Program are encouraged to respond as soon as possible to ensure adequate time for a member of Marketing and Public Relations team to attend one of your performances and/or schedule an audition.

Based upon evaluation of the qualifications and auditions data, several performers will be selected to pariticipate in the program. A copy of the Holiday Entertainment RFQ is posted on the website. If you have questions, please contact Gina Swankie at swankieg@saccounty.net or (916) 874-0791.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A note from Brenda Diesel about her visit to Ella, Randall Selland's new downtown Sacramento restaurant, located at 1131 K Street:

Bill and I had lunch yesterday at Ella restaurant. At the SacWomen event, I heard so many people talking positively about it. And, we agree. It definitely exceeded my expectations.

You would like the concept--small plates meant to be shared. We had absolutely fabulous raw oysters, prawns in citrus juice, crispy pork belly, beet salad, and lemon tartlet. Every dish was amazing, and business was booming even though the legislature is not in session.

The decor is interesting and completely different for Sacramento. Most people absolutely love it; I don't love it (nor do I hate it), but I give them kudos for stepping outside the box. It definitely has a bit of a Scandinavian feel (the designers are from Norway, I think, or maybe Sweden).

Friends of ours from Hawaii and formerly of Sacramento are coming to town next week, so we are having dinner there. I suspect the menu may be the same, but in any case am looking forward to it. If you like, I can give you a second experience after dinner next week. That's always my litmus test. Is it as good the second time?

Brenda and Bill love to visit good restaurants here and in Napa and Sonoma. Their recommendation means a lot. I can't wait to visit Ella.

And one more reason to attend SacWomen events - great restaurant recommendations!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Four women - Condoleezza Rice, Karen Hughes, Laura Bush and Nancy Pelosi. All deferring to local custom by wearing some form of a hijab. One woman is lambasted, pillaried and otherwise demeaned for doing so.

Can you pick which one? Can you come up with any plausible explanation which isn't entirely political? If you can, please send your comments. Otherwise, I will be continue to be in awe of the right wing spin machine.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here is the text of the brief address I made at the first meeting of SacWomen on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 wherein I tried to answer the question - why SacWomen?:

Welcome to the first SacWomen event. Thank you so much for being here. The last time anything this surprising happened to me – meeting-wise - was in 1973 when as Vice President of Programs and Education for Parents Without Partners and the monthly bulletin deadline looming I decided (in desperation) to list a Women’s Conscience Raising Group meeting. 70 people showed up at my apartment on the appointed night. I am glad I am a little more prepared tonight.

That core group of 10 from that initial night continued to meet from the next 20 years. We nurtured and supported each other. Later it was women I worked with, the very few women I served with on Boards, and even more recently a book club I started here in Sacramento – several of the fabulous members of which are here tonight.

And through all of this I cherished the friendship and the support and marveled at the influence we could exert to help each other’s causes – we recommended people for jobs, we supported each other’s philanthropic efforts, we mentored and coached, and we even got a ballot measure passed with more than 70% of the vote.

So, this is what I hope will come from SacWomen, starting tonight. A ground swell of support for each other – personally, politically, economically, academically, philanthropically, culturally, socially, environmentally - and any other way we can think of to include.

Please read the SacWomen blog, check out the Power Women 50 where we compare the stock price of women-led public companies with the S&P in general. Please comment on and contribute to the blog, and please tell your friends and acquaintances about SacWomen as we begin this exciting new step in an on-going journey for women in Sacramento.

This journey picks up from a few years ago when we all got so much out of another extraordinary organization – the Sacramento chapter of Web Grrls – started by Vicky Blocker, whom I am delighted to say is here tonight…

And let me also recognize Susan Wheeler and JT Long, whom I met through WebGrrls and whom, when I suggested recently I wanted to start another women’s group in Sacramento, didn’t act like I was crazy, but instead actively encouraged me. Thank you.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 6:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There were over $600 worth of prizes at the first get-together of SacWomen on Tuesday night.
Here are some of the prize winners:

1. Four free weeks of Kovars Martial Arts Instruction courtesy of Kovar's Satori Academy. Plus a free uniform. A $198.00 value - 2 prizes.
And the winners are: drum roll please .....Mary Kay Hoal, CEO of YouSphere.com, a very exciting Sacramento startup and Cynthia Mitchell of Wirestone.

2. A Ski Trip for two (or two trips for one). Join Alpine Adventures for a Saturday, Sunday or Wednesday ski trip to Alpine Meadows, Heavenly, Mt. Rose, Northstar at Tahoe, Squaw Valley, or Sugar Bowl. Trip includes round trip charter coach to the resort and lift pass. Trips on Wednesdays are for adults only and include the above, plus coffee & pastry en route, and guided tours. Can also be applied to chld/teen ski & snowboard adventure. Trips run December 2007-March 2008. Value of $220.

Another drum roll....the winner is: Shannon Hollsten, CEO of another local startup - Cal-In Technology Transfer.

3. Two tickets to the lecture of your choice at California Lectures for the 2007-08 Six-Lecture series.
The winner is: Suze Sherman, COO of Arch Technologies

Other gifts that were presented at the event - a bottle of champagne presented by Caroline Jensen of Coldwell Banker.2 $50 Visa rewards cards with a mug and candy courtesy of Roland Biegler, CPA.

I will be mailing the certificates to the winners in the next few days.

Congratulations to all.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am thrilled to report that 75 women attended the first meeting of SacWomen. I have posted the photos on the SacWomen group Facebook page.

The assembled crowd, I was very glad to see, was diverse in terms of age, although I would hope we can add more diversity in terms of race in the future. Megan Seely, the Sacramento author of How to Fight Like A Girl, gave an empassioned speech interspered with readings from her book. She told of her first experience of being an activist - a fabulous scene that culminated in her holding a bunch of grapes high in the air in a grocery store when she was 14, and screaming to the crowd that assembled, "these grapes have blood on them," before she rushed from the store with her shocked, but supportive, mother, in pursuit.

She then discussed the negative terms that are given to feminists - bra-burners, angry, man-haters, ugly, and many others. And then she named many of the stats that should make us very, very angry.

Today I heard from an attendee who had brought with her a young business owner, whom I will call, Carole. She wrote:

What hit home for her about Megan's talk was her comment that because things have gotten better for women and people like Carole can have her own business, she was thinking that things are pretty good for women, overall. But the statistics made her think about how far we still need to go to even be on par with men. She is going to use Megan's book for the book club she does at her business. I thought that was neat. Also, several people she met at the meeting said they would visit her business.

Megan ended up with a quote from a poem by Alix Olsen:

....cause if this is a movement we're making, we have got to get the moving. In this crazy maze we've been handed, we've got to quit losing ourselves. We gotta use our big fat mouths to talk, We gotta use our big thick things to walk. We got to follow those who choose a different way to knock.

Personal moments that stood out for me:

What an amazing group of women I am lucky enough to know in Sacramento. What fabulous support I received for the event from all of them, and especially my book club, who while I was up at the podium, planned a book club weekend in Tahoe for early December. I was so excited about it, I called my daughter and told her to tell her husband he has full responsibility for my grandchildren and she must come down and join us and meet this amazing group of women. She sounded very positive. And when Megan talked about the huge size of the Women's March on Washington of 2004 and later my step-daughter stood by my side and told Megan that I had taken her there - OK, I felt pretty proud.

My desires for this group: that our 'amplified voices' will allow us to 'change the world' ...beginning with the world we know, Sacramento. That by coming together we can cause:

A ground swell of support for each other – personally, politically, economically, academically, philanthropically, culturally, socially, environmentally..and any other way that we figure out along the way!

Thanks go out wholeheartedly to our sponsors: Caroline Jensen of Coldwell Banker, Michelle Hallsten of Pillsbury Winthrop, Shaw Pittman, Jack Crawford of Velocity Ventures on behalf of Velcity's 3 women partners, Marilyn Edling, Judith Kjelstrom et moi, and Kristen Harlow of Comerica Bank. And to the several organizations that donated over $600 of prizes for the event (winners tomorrow, I promise). And as always to Amplify for donating the very professional registration and Customer Mining for the e-blasts they donate. How did I get to be this lucky with such generous folks around me?

And what an amazing venue. The Casa Garden Restaurant. Fabulous volunteers who hosted the event and served the great food - one of them was 80 years old - all to provide funds for the Sacramento Children's Home. I hope many of us are still volunteering so vigorously at that age.

Watch for the next event toward the end of January. If you want your friends to be added to the mailing list have them mail me at Gillian@sacramentoexecutive.com.

And sign up for the RSS feed for the website to be sure to receive every blog and news of all future events.

Thanks for being a part of it.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Sara Blakely, founder of SPANX, Georgia's Woman of the Year (2005), and Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (2002), has joined forces with Richard Branson to create the Sara Blakely Foundation.

The Foundation helps women globally through education and entrepreneurial training.

Read about Sara's story - she is an amazing woman and entrepreneur.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

California Department of Education sponsors the

Achievement Gap Summit
November 13-14, 2007
Sacramento Convention Center

This summit will bring together educators from across the state to address a major crisis facing public schools in California and throughout the nation: the systemic gap between our highest- and lowest - performing students. In an effort to narrow this achievement gap, teachers, administrators, policymakers, and others are invited to hear from experts as well as to propose workable solutions for improving academic achievement for all students. This issue is a critical one for Californians.

Keynote speaker: Tavis Smiley - broadcaster, author, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley hosts the late night television talk show, Tavis Smiley on PBS, and his radio show The Tavis Smiley Show on public radio.

The cost to register is $50.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Power Women 50 Index closed down 3.5% for the week. The results:

Click here for details.

About the Power Women 50 Index: We introduced the Index on October 11. The cover story in the current Fortune Magazine (October 15, 2007) featured the 50 most powerful women. The list included twelve CEOs of publicly traded companies. Assume an intial investment of $100,000 evenly spread over the twelve women-led companies in Fortune Magazine's Power Women 50. We will benchmark the Power Women 50 Index against the overall S&P 500 Index.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Pierre Cutler at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Monday night I was watching Dancing With The Stars. (Disclaimer: I have never watched this series before and I have never watched any like program before but, being that I live in Dallas, Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, needs all the help he can get).

The panel of judges is made up of two men and a woman, Carrie Ann Inaba. Popular star Jane Seymour and her partner finish their dance and Carrie Ann points out that, against the rules, the couple had a lift in their presentation. The audience yowls, the two male judges yowl and Jane and her partner vehemently deny it. And they all proceed to villify Carrie Ann. "Oh, you have that schoolmarm look," says one of the hosts. Twice more during the evening, Carrie Ann spies lifts and raises the issue and again, she gets nothing but grief and absolutely no support from the two other judges. And this despite the fact that the video clearly shows that the lifts were there and they were indeed against the rules.

Welcome to Corporate America - where the women are told the rules, attempt to follow and enforce the rules and then get made fun of for doing so. We are made out to be big bitches (I guess I can say that, it's my blog) with no sense of humor. Small minded, petty. Wink, wink, nod, nod among the men.

I can't even tell you the number of times that I insisted that the rules be followed and got left high and dry. The worst time was at a rewards trip in Hawaii when one of our senior executives continued to make a series of sexist and racists remarks when addressing the salesforce, despite being warned not to at a break. Being the most senior women in attendance (when wasn't I, there were so few of us then), I confronted him directly. He denied doing anything wrong and walked away. For the rest of the week I was person non grata - no one in management spoke to me. But, by the end of the week, the legal department had suggested that the company was on thin ground and the executive was made to get up before the assembled crowd and apologize. For months I was sure I would lose my job over the incident (embarassing a senior executive with my schoolmarmish ways!), but eventually it passed.

Back to Dancing with the Stars. Last night the show began by showing three sets of dancers that had broken the rules and a statement by the host that from now on the rules must be adhered to or the dancers will lose points. No apology to Carrie Ann. But then, that's the way it usually goes. They eventually comply but they never say sorry.

I wish I knew the answer. I just think it is in women's nature to follow the rules. I guess when you join a company try to sit back a little and see if the rules they tell you are really the rules that get enforced.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

WATCH THE VIDEO to see what your cat is up to at night.

I got my cat's nails cut after watching this video. And, for sure, all the sports equipment is locked up each night before we go to bed from now on!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A week ago The Lancet, a highly respected British medical journal, published the comprehensive Guttmacher Institute study which found that bans on abortion fail to reduce abortion rates. The researchers of the study also discovered that countries where abortion is legal (and the emphasis is on prevention rather than prosecution) experience the most dramatic declines in abortion.

But there has been nothing but silence from the "anti-abortion" movement. There have been no press releases admitting the (now scientifically proven) error of their ways. Nor have we heard that anti-abortion groups are excited to discover that at least there is an approach that succeeds in reducing the need for abortion. (Doesn't that deserve a 'hallelujah' from the religious right?) Instead, the "anti-abortion" movement is silent about the newly revealed "pro-abortion" effects of their efforts.

Randall O'Bannon, director of education and research at National Right to Life, said, "These numbers are not definitive and very susceptible to interpretation according to the agenda of the people who are organizing the data." No doubt Mr. O'Bannon understands how Lancet editors let the researchers' agenda trump their science. After O'Bannon is done questioning the validity of studies published by one of the world's renowned scientific journals he can explain why 5 of 15 "fact sheets" on his organization's website offer no citations and 6 of the remaining 10 use the Guttmacher Institute, the very organization he claims has an "agenda", as a source. (Apparently a source can be both trustworthy and untrustworthy depending on the reader's agenda!)

Paraphrased from Cristina Page on The Huffington Post

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On Monday, President Bush appointed Susan Orr to oversee federal family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Orr, who is currently directing HHS child welfare programs, was touted by the administration as “highly qualified.”

But a look at Orr’s record shows that her strongest qualifications appear to be her right-wing credentials and endorsement of the Bush administration’s failed abstinence-only policies. Before joining HHS, Orr served as senior director for marriage and family care at the conservative Family Research Council and was an adjunct professor at Pat Robertson’s Regent University.

Some highlights:

– In a 2001, Orr embraced a Bush administration proposal to “stop requiring all health insurance plans for federal employees” to cover a broad range of birth control. “We’re quite pleased, because fertility is not a disease,” said Orr.

– At the 2001 Conservative Political Action Conference, Orr cheered Bush’s endorsement of Reagan’s “Mexico City Policy,” which required NGOs receiving federal funds to “neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations.” Orr said that it was proof Bush was pro-life “in his heart.”

– In a 2000 Weekly Standard article, Orr railed against requiring health insurance plans to cover contraceptives. “It’s not about choice,” said Orr. “It’s not about health care. It’s about making everyone collaborators with the culture of death.”

– Orr authored a paper in 2000 titled, “Real Women Stay Married.” In it she wrote that women should “think about focusing our eyes, not upon ourselves, but upon the families we form through marriage.”

As Steve Benen notes, the office of family planning carries tremendous importance. Orr will “oversee HHS’s $283 million reproductive-health program, a $30 million program that encourages abstinence among teenagers, and HHS’s Office of Population Affairs, which funds birth control, pregnancy tests, counseling, and screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.”

Last year, President Bush appointed Eric Keroack to oversee the office. Keroack had previously worked for a Christian pregnancy counseling group that opposes contraception. He stepped down in March over ethical problems.
From: Think Progress

Every reasonable study shows that abstinence-only education doesn't work. Here's one to check from UPI. It's time to stop letting incompetents with narrow, biased and dangerous agendas move into positions of power in this country. If you are as disgusted as I am, scream. You, indeed, are the deciders (if you vote!)

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

“Honestly, Woman”

performed by Story Voices on Saturday, Nov 17th, 2007 at 6:30 pm at the Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church, 11427Fair Oaks Blvd. Fair Oaks, CA 95628.

(This is a fund raiser benefiting woman and children world-wide. The cost is $25 for the public & $15 for students.)

====================================================================

Conference on Globalization and Women: Good, Bad, and Evil

Saturday, November 10, 2007 8:30am to 3:00pm

Sacramento State's Alumni Center;

Student tickets $15, public $30.

Register at www.csus..edu/wrc or Jessica Heskin at heskin@skymail.csus.edu (916) 278-7388.

SHARE was established by Dr. Soheir Stolba,an ARC anthropologist/sociologist, who works in the Middle East (Egypt,Yemen, Iraq, Afganistan) on women and children issues. She brings a broad view of the trials that women and children face in these countries.

Thanks for the wonderful network of women who pass these things around and included me in their communication. If you have more you want posted on this website, send them to me at Gillian@sacramentoexecutive.com

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today I decided to place an order for my aunt's husband's Christmas present. Every year she tells me he wants the same thing - a selection of jams. For all I know, he would like a gift certificate for a strip club, but how would I know. She tells me what he wants and then every year, after Christmas, she tells me he loved what I sent.

So, there I was on the Harry and David website ordering the same old selection of jams. And how convenient - there he was, address and all, same old greeting, same old seleciton of jams. And I was just about to push the purchase button and then I remembered how we are supposed to be buying locally to reduce our carbon footprint.

"OK," I thought. Let me just go and check on jams made in Maryland - where he lives. And sure enough I found a website that swears all of its jams are made locally.

So this year, my aunt's husband, who incidentally is really called Larry Craig, will be getting the same old selection of jams, but without all of the negative impact of shipping from miles away.

Now I am off to look for something local for relatives in Boise, Idaho. Potato chips?

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Sacramento Asian Chamber of Commerce's PIVOT Program
Building This Region's Future
Monday, October 22, 2007
11:30am - 1:30pm
Vizcaya Hotel (2019 21st Street, Sacramento, CA)

Get involved in "Building This Region's Future" - A discussion series for young professionals and young entrepreneurs in the Sacramento region.
The SACC and Sacramento County Airport, KB Homes and Washington Mutual have recently created an exciting Public Policy luncheon series. The hope is to educate the Sacramento business community about this regions future that will affect both large and small businesses. The series will include: The Sacramento Region’s Changing Landscape, How to make the Sacramento region business friendly through economic development strategies and the Future of Workforce Development in the region.

Register today! It's free.
Contact Lori Soldano at (916) 446-7883 or by e-mail at lsoldano@sacasiancc.org

Sounds like a great way to get your voice heard and give valuable input into this region's way forward.

Thanks to Deanna Schluter for passing this along.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Reported on Science Daily:

Contrary to popular opinion, feminism and romance are not incompatible and feminism may actually improve the quality of heterosexual relationships, according to Laurie Rudman and Julie Phelan, from Rutgers University in the US. Their study also shows that unflattering feminist stereotypes, that tend to stigmatize feminists as unattractive and sexually unappealing, are unsupported.

They found that having a feminist partner was linked to healthier heterosexual relationships for women. Men with feminist partners also reported both more stable relationships and greater sexual satisfaction. According to these results, feminism does not predict poor romantic relationships, in fact quite the opposite.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 5:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As Pierre reported in the previous post, 60% of graduate students are women. Women are getting a lot more educated than men, but a report released by UC Davis today questions why they are bothering. The third annual UC Davis Study of California Women Business Leaders found that:

• Women hold 9.4 percent of the 3,283 board seats in the 400 largest public companies in California, up from 8.8 percent in 2006.
• Almost half -- 47 percent -- of the companies have no women directors and more than a third -- 34.3 percent -- have only one.
• Women hold 11.6 percent of the companies' 2,878 top executive offices, down slightly from 11.7 percent in 2006.
• Half -- 49.8 percent -- of the companies have no women in executive offices and less than a quarter -- 21.9 percent -- have two or more.
• Only 3 percent of the companies have a woman serving as CEO.
• Retail and finance industries had the highest percentages of women in top executive positions. Pharmaceuticals and media had the highest concentrations of women on the board.
• Three fourths -- 76 percent -- of the telecommunications industry and two-thirds -- 67 percent -- of the electronics industry had all-male boards. Similarly, 73 percent of telecom companies and 83 percent of electronics companies had all-male executive teams.
• The largest corporations, overall, have the most gender equity.
• Among counties with more than 20 companies in the survey, San Francisco County leads the state wit