The Women's Forum of North Carolina, Inc.
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The Women's Forum of North Carolina, Inc. |
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Paths to Power - Signs Along the WayA TEN YEAR HISTORY OF THE WOMEN’S FORUM OF NORTH CAROLINA INTRODUCTION In the press release dated October 13, 1976, a group of fifteen women leaders from North Carolina announced plans to organize the Women’s Forum of North Carolina. While that early release was not considered particularly newsworthy by North Carolina newspapers, ten years later the Women’s Forum letterhead commands considerable attention and respect among members of the media, legislators, corporate executives, and community leaders all across the state of North Carolina. The Women’s Forum of North Carolina has earned this respect through its informed and professional efforts to improve the status and quality of life for women in North Carolina. Though elite in its membership, the Women’s Forum has educated North Carolina groups ranging from Governors and legislatures to ninth and tenth grade girls to displaced homemakers. This distinguished group, however, has also done something few women’s groups will admit to doing -- they have learned to "play the game". Blatantly, unashamedly, members seek power and influence and learn how to apply it as a means of obtaining goals. They support each other personally and professionally, and they demonstrate pride and personal satisfaction in their achievements and successes. This history was undertaken not merely to document years and activities, but to chart the forum’s growth and development. Researching the records and correspondence of the Forum and talking with some of its members has been a very positive and constructive experience for me. It is my sincere wish that the Women’s Forum of North Carolina enjoys many more productive decades, and that it continues to serve all sectors of North Carolina’s female citizenry. Sincerely, Katherine Scoggins Knudsen
PATHS TO POWER - SIGNS ALONG THE WAY A TEN YEAR HISTORY OF THE WOMEN’S FORUM OF NORTH CAROLINA Like so many women’s organizations, the Women’s Forum of North Carolina had humble beginnings. One woman, intrigued by a women’s organization in New York state, an organization unique in its commitment to assert the collective power of its members, explored the possibility of organizing a similar group in North Carolina. She discussed the idea with other women who would benefit from such an organization until the need for a formal meeting soon became apparent. In the case of the Women’s Forum of North Carolina, the idea was planted by Martha McKay, who was impressed with the New York Women’s Forum agenda of securing power for women. Other early participants -- Marilyn Bisseli, Florry Glasser, Elizabeth Koontz, Grace Rohrer, and Betty Wiser -- were instrumental in getting the plan for the Forum out of the planning stages and making it a reality. Like its sister organization in New York, the North Carolina Forum realized that historically women who had achieved in and beyond their fields did not have power to the same degree that their male counterparts commanded. There was the awareness of backlash, both private and public, against the women’s movement and its participants, and also the increasing realization that women, even those occupying positions of power and importance, were being left out of the decision-making process. The women responsible for the Forum’s organization saw the Forum as a way to bring first awareness and later a solution to the problem of women's "invisibility". In October of 1976, a steering committee of fifteen women leaders from across North Carolina sent letters to other prominent women achievers inviting them to participate in an organizational meeting to be held in Greensboro, November 20, 1976. The meeting was presided over by Marilyn Bissell who, after a brief introduction, advised those in attendance that the Steering Committee (Appendix A) had elected Martha McKay to serve as chairperson for the first year and turned the remainder of the meeting over to Chairperson McKay. The first request from the Chair was that each woman in attendance provide the Steering Committee with information on her area(s) of interest and expertise so that a state-wide support and information network could be established. Chairperson McKay then gave a brief history of the idea of the North Carolina Forum which, she said, had grown out of a year’s discussion among several women concerning the formation of an organization similar to the Women’s Forum in New York whose goal, to secure power for women, seemed a worthy objective for a North Carolina women’s organization. At this meeting, several objectives were set forth by the Steering Committee:
Guidelines encouraging support and self-worth were established for future meetings:
Perhaps the most important order of business that day was the adoption of the Statement of Purpose:
The goal of the Women’s Forum expressed the hope that women will become more effective agents for constructive change. To help women understand, develop and use power constructively and to provide focus for the new organization, several tentative implementing objectives were discussed:
The organization of the Women’s Forum occurred at a critical juncture in American history. The country was celebrating its bicentennial and awareness of women’s powerlessness was at its peak. Respected historians, lawyers, and academicians revealed a history of gross inequities and injustices against women in virtually every traditional American institution. It became uncomfortably clear that women did not enjoy the same rights and freedoms as did their male counterparts. The Forum’s commitment to the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment demonstrated an awareness of these inequalities, but education on additional issues was also crucial. Acknowledging this need, it was proposed that the Forum take under consideration the following issues: the legal status of women; a review of statutes affecting women, the family, and sexual assault; the increased upward mobility of women; education and employment of women; the quality of life in prisons, for the elderly and for migrant workers; and capital punishment. Over the next ten years, the Forum would sponsor guest speakers and discussions on such topics as the economic advancement of women; the status of the homemaker; women and power in government and in the corporate world; role models for modern women; creative goal-setting; prison conditions in North Carolina, and the emergence of right-wing politics and its effect on women’s issues. Forum meetings featured speakers of both local and national prominence, among them North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt, Former Secretary of Commerce and Forum Convener Juanita Kreps, Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique and the founder of the National Organization of Women (N.O.W.), Elinor Guggenheimer, coordinator of the National Women’s Forum, and Lt. Governor Martha Griffiths of Michigan, former congresswoman and sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment in Congress. Membership criteria for the Forum remains highly selective and seeks to bring in members of the highest caliber. Apart from impressive professional credentials, members must demonstrate commitment to the changing status of women through the support of the ERA, pay equity, and equal opportunities in education and in the workplace. The Forum also attempts to maintain a balance in membership regarding demography, age, ethnicity, religion, and geography. (Appendix B) Although in past years the N.C. Forum has been asked to join the National Women’s Forum, the members have declined for two reasons: first, the cost of affiliation was viewed as prohibitive and, second, membership in the National Forum is reserved for the very select. The N.C. Forum prefers to remain elite, but not elitist. (Appendices C & D) The Steering Committee recommended that membership be limited to one hundred members, with annual dues set at eighty dollars per person. This resulted in a first-year budget of $6000 with a provision for a $1583 contingency. While it was agreed that a large part of the budget would be allocated for guest speakers and meetings, the hiring of an Executive Director was designated a top priority. The decision to employ a staff person, rather than rely on volunteer efforts, was another separating factor from other women’s organizations. The Forum adopted the issue of the "displaced homemaker" as its topic of research and discussion in 1977. The decision coincided with a period in which the future of the ERA was severely threatened. ERA foe Phyllis Schlafly had organized a tremendous publicity campaign directed at the traditional wife and mother. Exaggeration, deliberate misrepresentation and scare tactics abounded, resulting in many women joining forces with Schlafly and abandoning ERA. The Women’s Forum attempted to offset this negative campaign by seeking to educate the women of North Carolina concerning their legal and economic status and futures as homemakers. Arvonne Fraser of Minnesota was the guest speaker at one of these meetings. She outlined and discussed the inequities of the Social Security System, and emphasized the need for recognition of the economic value of women’s work in the home. The economic problems of the homemaker are, unfortunately, rooted in centuries old legal systems: over forty states have legal codes based on the British Common Law and/or the Napoleonic Codes of land ownership and distribution. Both of these legal codes discount the contributions of married women and allow for severe economic bias against women. The subject of the homemaker was again taken up at the spring meeting in which issues raised included the problems of age discrimination and lack of current professional experience when a woman decides to return to work after raising a family. It was suggested that groups such as the PTA, garden clubs, and church groups be targeted as "acceptable" situations where education, guidance, and support could be offered. Newspapers, radio and television stations were also viewed as good sources for educating the homemaker and new employee. Forum members were urged to appear on talk shows to discuss legislation designed to help the displaced homemakers and women in general, and to encourage local newspapers to carry syndicated columns on women's issues and options. It was stressed throughout these discussions that while attempting to educate women on their legal and economic problems as homemakers, wives, and mothers, Forum members should not appear hostile or anti-male. In July 1977, members of the Women’s Forum met at Tanglewood, a resort near Winston-Salem, for a two-day workshop on creative goal setting. The leader of the conference was George T. Land, Chairman and partner of the Turtle Bay Institute of New York and author of Grow or Die: Creative Alternatives and Decision Making. The purpose of the workshop was to strengthen and advance one of the preliminary objectives of the Forum -- to create positive change for women through the development of clear goals, participatory decision making, and shared responsibility. Techniques learned at this workshop provided Forum members with unique methods by which to define and evaluate goals and objectives. Also in 1977, there was a united effort begun by several national women’s groups as well as the North Carolina Forum to get more women appointed to corporate boards. Catalyst, a New York based organization specializing in women’s employment issues, released guidelines designed to help women become more visible and hence, more viable candidates for appointments. Suggestions included a willingness to appear on panels and to give speeches, utilizing leadership skills by heading community programs, and expanding networks of contracts beyond one’s own field. In response to this new visibility, Forum President Marian Grant along with Forum members Kathryn Baker-Smith, Neil McLeod and Betty Ann Knudsen, sent letters to all county commission chairpersons and county managers urging them to appoint women to the Private Industry Councils. Efforts to have more women appointed to boards extended from corporate boards across the state to cabinet positions in state government. Aggressive lobbying resulted in several women being named to cabinet posts and corporate boards, but the appointments fall far short of the desired proportional representation of female citizens and consumers. In 1776, Abigail Adams urged the framers of the Constitution to "remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors, lest they forment a rebellion..." Two hundred years later, little had changed: the same archaic legal codes still restricted the American woman and her status of second-class citizen remained unchanged. True to Adams’ prophetic words, the response came in the form of a rebellion. The Equal Rights Amendment had occupied an obscure place in American history since the first women’s rights convention at Seneca Falls in 1848. With the passage of the 19th Amendment, which extended suffrage to women, the issue lay dormant and was presumed, by men at least, to have been forgotten. This, of course, was not the case, and the first version of the ERA was introduced in Congress in 1923. The fight for ratification of the proposed 27th amendment became a full-scale battle in the late 1970’s. In 1977, the North Carolina House passed the bill ratifying the ERA 61-55 and chances were good that the Senate would follow its lead. Then the anti-ERA forces flexed their collective muscle. Led by Phyllis Schlafly, opponents staged an emotional rally in Dorton Arena in Raleigh, renewing the controversy over abortion, homosexuality, unisex bathrooms and dormitories, and women’s being drafted into combat duty. The Senate defeated the bill 26-24. Despite volumes of private and federal research exposing judicial, legal, and economic discrimination against women, despite Gallup and Harris polls indicating strong support of the ERA, legislators argued that women’s rights were already protected under the 14th amendment, ERA opponents congratulated themselves on having upheld women’s "privileged status". The Women’s Forum of N.C. continued its strong support of the ratification of the ERA. Forum members held positions of leadership in the Hunt administration - Betty McCain, Martha McKay, and Jane Patterson; in the General Assembly under Trish Hunt, Chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus - Rachel Gray, Helen Marvin, Kathy Sebo, and Carolyn Mathis in the Senate; Marilyn Bisseil, Louise Brennan, Nancy Chase, Ruth Cook, Ruth Easterling, Jo Graham Foster, Bea Holt, Trish Hunt, Maggie Keesee, Janet Pickier, Mary Seymour, Lura Talley, Margaret Tennilie, and Betty Thomas in the House (later to be joined by Anne Barnes, Marie Colton, Annie Kennedy, and Wilma Woodard); in organizations - Directors of N.C. United for the ERA (NCUERA), Beth McAllister and Jo Ann Norris, and ERA America Coordinator, Betty Ann Knudsen, whose primary job it was to recruit pro-ERA candidates for the Legislature. The Forum utilized a network of telephones and letters to convey information and opinion regarding the status of the amendment. In 1981, North Carolina Senators supportive of the ERA, aware that they lacked the votes necessary to win ratification, signed a statement agreeing not to debate or bring to vote the proposed amendment in 1981 or 1982. Since the deadline for ratification was June of 982, their action killed any hope of the ERA becoming a reality in North Carolina. As time ran out on the amendment, it had the solid support of the American public, as had been the case throughout its stormy ten-year battle through the ratification process. The ERA had been ratified by states representing more than 72% of the nation’s population. The defeat was a harsh blow to supporters, particularly to members of the Forum who were committed to the passage of the ERA. Bitter but valuable lessons were learned and are not likely to be forgotten. On February 20, 1982, the Women’s Forum of North Carolina sponsored a workshop entitled "Underlying Forces Affecting the Lives of North Carolina Women" at Meredith College in Raleigh. The Workshop was an attempt to help N.C. women "set a new agenda" for study and action at a time when women’s efforts, once coalesced around the ERA, seemed to be struggling and splintered. The workshop touched on legislative issues and the tragic increase in domestic violence. Problems resulting from budget cuts in Title IX, Women, Infants & Children’s Services (WICS), and food stamp programs commanded the most immediate attention. There was cited a strong need for domestic violence shelters, appropriate legislation to deal with offenders and victims, counseling services and awareness programs; closely related were the problems of helplessness and low self-esteem brought on by severe poverty and lack of education. Members of the Forum panel suggested that churches and women’s organizations could be used to ease the shortage of domestic violence shelters and programs, while adult education classes taught through schools, churches and community groups could provide basic educational and counseling services. It was further recommended that women’s groups make it a priority to monitor the work of the legislature and of public boards. Passage of appropriate legislation would ensure fairer educational, recreation and health programs and would have a long-term effect of increased stability. Several plans of action resulted from this workshop, but the most important stemmed from Forum member Senator Wilma Woodard’s successful recommendation to then Gov. Hunt that he sponsor a more comprehensive symposium on "Women and the Economy." As a result of the "Women and the Economy" conference held in the fall of 1983, came the decision to establish the Office of Women in Economic Development within the Department of Commerce. The first Assistant Secretary for this office was Forum member Doris Cromartie. When the office was threatened with disbandment in 1985 in the Martin Administration, Forum members and Grace Rohrer, Secretary, Department of Administration (DOA), convinced the administration to continue the office and to move it into DOA where it became the Department of Women in the Economy under the Assistant Secretary for State Development. There is little doubt that without the efforts of the Forum and particularly those of Secretary Rohrer, the office of Women in the Economy would have been abolished. In November of 1983, as a response to a growing epidemic of teenage pregnancies, juvenile delinquency, lack of girls enrolled in math and science classes and poor self-image among young women, the Women’s Forum, under the leadership of President-Elect Neill McLeod, and the Support Services Area of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, cosponsored a workshop for ninth and tenth grade girls entitled "Girls and the Economy". In addition to job counseling, skits, one-on-one interaction with professionals from various fields, the workshop also held classes and mini-workshops for parents and guidance counselors. While enjoyable, these activities had a serious purpose: to reaffirm positive feelings about femaleness and to explore all options of life. Speakers representing the sciences encouraged the girls to explore these avenues, explaining that the future would depend on technology. Guidance counselors and parents with whom they can vent frustrations, take advantage of much needed opportunities for "R & R", to acquaint, re-acquaint, catch-up with and socialize with Forum Members; informal workshops and brainstorming sessions providing impetus for new insights and directions both personally and professionally. In 1986, under the leadership of Betty Ann Knudsen, Quail Roost served as the site for a Forum Board orientation and planning session. During that weekend in April, the Board members focused on common objectives and established long and short-term goals for the organization. The Forum has broken new ground and has established goals and objectives different from those set forth a decade ago. Over the past several years, the Forum has sponsored leadership training courses, conferences on women’s issues, featured speakers of national prominence and has established the Legal Fund for Economic Fairness as well as two annual memorial awards. Membership directories with detailed information on each member have been provided. Although the amount of individual dues has almost doubled, recent administrations have found it necessary to seek additional funding from outside sources such as corporations, individuals, the N.C. Legislature and private foundations. In 1986 for the first time the Forum’s office was located outside of the Executive Director’s or a Forum member’s home when it was moved into the N.C. Women’s Resource Center located at 112 N. Person Street in downtown Raleigh. The Forum and its President Betty Ann Knudsen have taken a leadership role in establishing the Resource Center where women’s organizations can meet, have space for offices, share numerous resources including a master calendar and computers, and present programs which will advance women’s interests. In 1985, the Women’s Forum and Women in State Government established the "Legal Fund for Economic Fairness" to provide information to employees, employers, and attorneys on employment issues and grievance procedures and support to individuals or groups in litigation. (In 1986, due to internal problems in Women in State Government, the Women’s Forum severed its affiliation with the group and assumed full responsibility of the fund.) The Legal Fund was established in part because of the efforts of Forum member Jan Proctor to have her grievances against the State of North Carolina addressed in the courts. Other women whose grievances have particular merit and broad applicability will be provided with guidance, personal support, limited financial assistance and access to skilled legal counsel necessary to successfully pursue their case through the courts. The constant effort to improve the status of N.C. women continues, as does the recognition of achievement. In the spirit of this support, the Forum has established two memorial awards. The "Gail Bradley Award", named for a deceased Forum member who worked for women’s issues on local, state, national, ,and international levels, is awarded annually to a N.C. woman whose achievements during the previous five years have made the greatest potential impact on improving the lives of NC women, and/or for the quality of leadership in the struggle to achieve such an impact. The award, established in 1985, under the leadership of President Whitty Cuninggim is made in any of the areas of law, government, education, employment, medicine or social services. The "Young Adult Leadership Award" honors Robert D. Proctor, son of charter member and past Executive Director Jan Proctor. The award, established in 1986, is presented annually to a young person between the ages of eighteen and thirty years of age who demonstrated effective and successful leadership activities, shows potential or future achievement, has been a role model for other young people, and engages in networking for females. The purpose of the award is to recognize a young adult leader, male or female, to give a $500 cash award to encourage further development, and to establish a strong mentor-protegé relationship with members of the Women’s Forum. Over the past decade, the Women’s Forum has aggressively sought to improve the quality of life for women of North Carolina, to secure women’s rightful share of power, and to ensure women’ s voices in the decision-making process. The members of the Forum have successfully met these challenges with increased numbers of women elected to state and local offices and appointed to corporate and government posts. Although the work is far from finished, it is through the efforts of this organization that a new generation of women will reach maturity with an increased awareness of their potential and ability, and possess a stronger voice with which to speak. APPENDIX A WOMEN’S FORUM CONVENERS
*Steering Committee/Charter Members |
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The Women's Forum is an invitational, non-partisan organization of diverse women leaders of proven influence dedicated to working together to achieve equality and maintain social, economic and political power for women. |
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