The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics has recently joined Vision 2020 as a regional ally.
Vision 2020 – a project of Drexel University College of Medicine’s Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership in Philadelphia, Pa. – is a national coalition of organizations and individuals united in their commitment to achieve women’s economic and social equality.
The organization seeks to move the country toward women’s equality by the year 2020, the centennial anniversary of women’s right to vote, by working to impact change efforts on national and grassroots levels.
“Vision 2020’s mission and goals are similar to those of the Catt Center, so it made sense to accept their invitation to join them in their campaign for equality,” said Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. “Finding opportunities to support women in leadership roles and increase their political participation is a great way to inspire our students at Iowa State.”
Nationally, Vision 2020 has five specific goals to measure their mission of working toward women’s equality:
- increase the number of women in senior leadership positions;
- advance women’s economic security and achieve pay equity;
- promote family-friendly workplace policies;
- educate young people to value gender equality, shared leadership and civic engagement; and
- engage and educate women voters and increase women’s participation in the political process.
To help spread the word and advocate on its behalf, Vision 2020 has formed groups of partners – organizations and individuals – nationally and regionally. Individuals have volunteered as national delegates to achieve their state’s own goals and initiatives.
Iowa’s initiative is aimed at increasing the number of women pursuing careers in the sciences and holding leadership positions. This initiative, “Pathways to Success: Realizing the Dream by Increasing the Number of Women Leaders in the Sciences,” is headed by Mary Ann Leung, manager of the Department of Energy computational science graduate fellowship program, and Florine Swanson, president of Women Graduates-USA Inc.
Vision 2020’s first national convention was held on Oct. 21-22, 2010, when a congress of delegates from all 50 states and the District of Columbia gathered at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia to launch a campaign to move America toward women’s equality by 2020.
Since their launch in 2010, Vision 2020 has recruited delegates from all 50 states and represents more than 20 million women and girls. To find out more about Vision 2020 and how you can get involved, visit their website.