In the 2021-22 program year, our newly established Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I ) Committee introduced a range of activities to promote DE&I objectives throughout our activities, as outlined in the Historical Timeline below.
Quarterly meetings on the 4th Tuesday of the month have been set for the DE&I Committee. All meetings will be conducted by Zoom at 2:00 p.m. New participants are always welcome to participate and brainstorm ideas to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout our branch activities.
Please contact Ruth Nowjack-Raymer (Ruthoheast at gmail.com) and Myrtle Hendricks-Corrales (Myrtlehencor at gmail.com) if you want to attend and receive a Zoom link. The meeting dates for 2022-2023 are: January 24, March 28, and May 23.
DE&I Committee Goals
The DE&I committee established the following goals:
• Branch programs should relate to DE&I whenever possible.
• The Current Events group should include DE&I topics in their discussions.
• Book groups should select books related to DE&I subjects when possible.
• Public Policy should inform the membership when DE&I subjects are being considered in Congress or the Virginia legislature.
• The Allocations Committee should be mindful of DE&I in allocating local funds.
• The STEM Essay Contest should consider a topic specifically related to minority women in STEM.
DE&I committee meetings are open to all members. Anyone interested to join the committee, attend its meetings, and/or provide suggestions, should contact committee co-chairs, Ruth Nowjack-Raymer (Ruthoheast at gmail.com) and Myrtle Hendricks-Corrales (Myrtlehencor at gmail.com).
Historical Timeline:
| May 7, 2022 | Recognized high school recipients of the first annual Student Inclusion Recognition Awards at the Annual May Luncheon and Branch Meeting. |
| May 7, 2022 | Heard from guest speaker Virginia State Senator Barbara Favola on the topic “Equity: The Status of Women and Minorities” at the Annual May Luncheon and Branch Meeting. |
| May 1, 2022 | Announced recipients of the first annual Student Inclusion Recognition Awards in branch newsletter. |
| April 2022 | Announced Bennett College, a private historically black liberal arts college for women in Greensboro, North Carolina, as a new recipient of branch local scholarships. |
| April 19, 2022 | 
Heard from guest speaker Karla Bruce-Choice, chief equity officer of Fairfax County, who spoke on gender and economic inequities faced by women and girls in the local communities, and efforts being made to counter them. |
| April 19, 2022 | Updated the Branch Bylaws to include the co-chairs of the DE&I Committee as voting members of the Branch Board. |
| March 2022 | Agreed at DE&I Committee meeting to begin holding small group social events in members’ home to meet and learn from women in our community about diverse cultures and backgrounds. Held first session in May 2022 and will refine the concept in Summer 2022. |
| January through March 2022 |  Established Student Inclusion Recognition Awards at Langley and McLean High Schools. Created and distributed application guidelines to the schools. |
| October 2021 | Approved DE&I goals established by the Committee at the October Board meeting (see below for list of goals). Continued to add members to the DE&I Committee based on members’ interest and began holding monthly meetings. |
| September 2021 | Appointed co-chairs of DE&I Committee and held first committee meeting. Received approval of membership to make the DE&I Committee co-chairs permanent voting members of the Board. |
| June 9, 2021 | Decided at Board meeting to create a DE&I Committee and passed a Board motion to recommend a Bylaws change to make the DE&I Committee co-chairs permanent voting members of the Board. |
AAUW Diversity Statement
In principle and in practice, AAUW values and seeks an inclusive membership, workforce, leadership team, and board of directors. There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, geographical location, national origin, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.
You can find many useful resources on our state website:
https://aauw-va.aauw.net/diversity-inclusion-equity/.