This story was reported for San Diego News Network on May 19, 2009.
Women make up more of the world’s population, but they earn less on average than men. They also have less power, with women serving in only a small fraction of elected officials nationally.
Two local activists-women intend to address this problem and they’ll start in San Diego on Tuesday by introducing 51%, a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate fellow young women about American policies and encourage them to get involved.
“Activism is sometimes a dirty word in politics but as an activist myself, a huge issue is that a lot of young activists burn out really quickly because they’re reinventing the wheel, they’re starting over,” co-founder Tryce Czyczynska said. “[California assemblymember] Lori Saldana didn’t have any political experience before she got into office but she knew she could make a difference.”
Czyczynska, along with Lisa Sanders, daughter of mayor Jerry Sanders, intends to host mixers each quarter introducing local politicians who support women rights and a “woman’s place in politics.” The mixers will allow any patrons to have one-on-one conversations with their leaders in a casual environment. Their goal, said Sanders, is not necessarily to elect women in office, but to educate those in office and voters about everyday issues that affect women of all ages.
“What we’re trying to do is just create an environment for women to be educated,” Sanders said. “If through this process, women get elected, then great.”
Although numerous groups can be found throughout the nation that support women rights, 51% is far different, said Czyczynska. It is non-partisan and includes elected officials and citizens from all walks of life.
“We’re inherently non-partisan, because I’m a Democrat and Lisa’s a Republican,” Czyczynska said. “In our research we haven’t found any other groups that are non-partisan.”
The organization began after Sanders hosted a mixer for her father during the 2008 election. Her friends asked her advice every election year, but after the mixer, she was adamant about taking up the project, she said. She then met Czyczynska, who encouraged her to move forward. They decided 2009 would be a good time to introduce the organization, because there isn’t a nationwide election, she said.
“I did a ‘Meet and Greet’ last election for my father and I thought ‘I got such a great response from the women why not do it again?’,” Sanders said. “In talking with Tryce, she really got me motivated to get started. It’s good that it’s not an election year because it alleviates some of the pressure and just makes it a little more relaxed and fun.”
Sanders uses Tuesday’s special election as an example of the number of voters being uninformed. She said she intends to study each proposition thoroughly and share her research with her friends.
“I’m a big proponent of knowing what you’re voting for, not just voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’ because of what your party says,” Sanders said. “My voice is important and I do need to vote and I need to vote by learning what the issues are and that’s what this [organization] will do.”
Quick Facts
— This year, 17 women serve in the Senate, and 73 women serve in the House and 74 women in state seats.
— In 2008, the median weekly earnings of women who were full-time wage and salary workers was $638 compared to men’s at $798. The median of young women aged 16 to 24, earned 91 percent of their men counter-parts ($420 and $461).
— In 2008, 39 percent of women worked in management and related occupations; 33 percent worked in sales and office occupations; 21 percent in service occupations; 6 percent in production, transportation, and material moving occupations; and 1 percent in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations.
Sources: Dept. of Labor, NOW and Rutgers.
Czyczynska added that President Obama also inspired the organization and has also inspired young women. At the same time, she’s sees inequality with actions taken place in California — particularly with Proposition 8. Proposition 8 is an initiative that only allows a man and a woman to wed. Sanders also gained much attention last year when her father announced his support of the Proposition after announcing she was gay.
“I think that’s part of the struggle, we see someone like Obama which is inspiring and makes a lot of young people feel like they can make a difference,” Czyczynska said. “But then on the other side, in California especially, popular vote is taking away rights from a minority group for the first time in history. Most constitutional lawyers will say that’s not even valid. That shouldn’t be happening but it’s happened and we don’t know how it’s going to be resolved except by the highest courts.”
“And there are certainly not enough women involved in those special ones [highest courts],” she said. “You have a slight majority of women who go into law schools but when you look at where they end up once they get their degrees and how far they make it in law as far as being superior court judges — real decision makers that shape policy — it’s disproportionately minute. That’s an issue. As 51 percent of the global population, we certainly don’t see 51 percent representation in any higher court, in any system.”
51% will host its first mixer Tuesday at Hawthorns Restaurant in North Park. The event will go from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. with appearances by past San Diego councilmember Toni Atkins and councilmember Todd Gloria, both of whom are from District 3.
The two women hope to eventually turn the organization national and make a positive change for all women.
“If a place is safe for women and children, it’s going to be safe for men,” Czyczynska said. “Anytime you improve life for one, you tend to for everyone else.”
Hoa Quach is the political editor for the San Diego News Network.