National Women’s Law Center’s 2011 Awards Dinner

By Elisabeth Grant (Washington, D.C.)

On Wednesday, November 9, 2011, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) welcomed over 2,000 attendees to its 2011 Awards Dinner. The event featured President Obama as the keynote speaker, paid special tribute to the women Freedom Riders, and raised over a million and a half dollars to continue the National Women’s Law Center’s mission to “advance and protect women’s equality and opportunity.”

The events of the evening spanned the past and the present. What has been accomplished, and what’s still left to do. Many remarked upon a renewed sense of optimism after hearing President Obama’s words: “That next generation of smart, powerful women? They’re already knocking on the door. They’re coming, and we need to get ready.”

President Obama’s Keynote

Throughout the evening, the NWLC highlighted President Obama’s commitment to women during his time in office. For example, it was noted that he demonstrated his support for equal pay for women by making the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act the first bill he signed into law as president. He has also nominated and appointed two women to the Supreme Court (Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan), created the White House Council on Women and Girls (“to make sure that every agency in the federal government considers the needs of women and girls in every decision they make”), and worked on legislation for a range of issues, from health care to jobs, that impact women’s lives.

President Obama began his talk by saying, “It is great to be back at the National Women’s Law Center, surrounded by so many powerful and accomplished women,” a statement that earned him much applause. He continued, “This is not a new experience for me. As some of you know, my household is filled with powerful, accomplished women.”

This is the second time President Obama has attended the NWLC awards dinner as its keynote. He first spoke at the dinner back in 2005, when he was still a senator. That evening he spoke about his hopes for his daughters, and at this year’s event he reflected back on his past remarks: “my wish for my daughters and for yours remains the same. I want them to go out into a world where there is no limit to how big they can dream, how high they can reach.”

He went on, “being here with all of you gives me hope and makes me determined, because although this journey is far from over, today our daughters live in a world that is fairer and more equal than it was six years ago – a world where more doors are open to them than ever before.”

But even though much has been accomplished, both in the past 50 years and in the time President Obama has been in the White House, he said, “there is always more work to do. There are always more challenges to meet.”

Jobs and the Economy

Challenges like the current economic crisis, the job market, and how it all has been affecting women. He explained, “In the early days of this crisis, women weren’t hit quite as hard as men. Many of the jobs that we’ve lost over the last decade have been in construction and manufacturing… But over the last couple of years, women have continued to lose jobs, especially in the public sector.” He continued, “It doesn’t help that mothers are the primary or co-breadwinners in 63 percent of households – even as women still earn just 77 cents for every dollar a man does.”

Those statistics clearly illustrated his next point, that “When we talk about these issues that primarily affect women, these are not just women’s issues.” These issues affect families, business, and America as a whole. “When women make less than men for the same work, that hurts the entire family who has to get by with less. It hurts businesses who have fewer customers with money to spend.”

Remembering the Freedom Riders

President Obama also honored the women Freedom Riders at the event. He credited their courage and efforts for helping to create a more equal world today. He remarked, “The Freedom Riders had faith that America could still be perfected. And as has been noted, it is only because they did that I am able to stand here as President of the United States of America.”

Six women involved in the 1961 Freedom Rides took the stage for the event: Catherine Burks-Brooks, Pauline Knight-Ofosu, Joan Mulholland, Diane Nash, and Helen Singleton. They were introduced by Jill Morrison, senior council at NWLC, who explained, “The women of the Freedom Rides didn’t just ride, they led.” She continued, it is these women “whose work the Center carries on.”

After Morrison’s introduction, Michel Martin, host of NPR’s Tell Me More, continued the evening’s discussion with the women Freedom Riders. She spoke with them about what their families thought about them getting involved. Helen Singleton’s mother asked why it had to be Helen who went. To which Singleton bluntly replied, “Mom, if you had done something, I wouldn’t have to.” A harsh statement, and one Singleton later regretted when reflecting on all that her mother had done for her family.

The women Freedom Riders took turns sharing their insights on what they accomplished and were a part of. Diane Nash emphasized the importance of non-violence, explaining that “every human life is valuable and important.”

The conversation moved on to consider the “buses of today,” the injustices and wrongs that need righting. Helen Singleton explained it simply: “each of us has something that pisses us off, and that’s your issue. That’s what you do something about.” She encouraged everyone in attendance to “get pissed off about something and do something about it.”

These remarkable women were inspirational in the fact that they were just individuals who saw that change needed to happen and that they could be a part of it. President Obama recognized this when he said, “Being here tonight reminds us that history is not always made – in fact, often is not made – by generals or presidents or politicians. Change doesn’t always happen quickly or easily. Change happens when a group of students and activists decide to ride a bus down South, knowing full well the dangers that lie ahead.”

NWLC Representatives

A number of National Women’s Law Center representatives also took the stage throughout the evening. Brooksley Born, chair of the NWLC board of directors, began the evening noting the NWLC’s 40 years of work for equality and justice. She celebrated the fact that this awards dinner was their most successful to date, raising over 1.6 million dollars. She also thanked the NWLC’s corporate partners: American Express and J.P. Morgan Chase, and the other notable companies that make up the organization’s leadership circle and are underwriters.

Stephen M. Cutler, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Louise M. Parent, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for American Express, are on the NWLC board of directors, and were the co-chairs of event. They spoke together and explained how both of their companies are committed to hiring, promoting, and seeing women succeed at their companies.

Co-presidents of the NWLC Nancy Duff Campbell and Marcia D. Greenberger introduced President Obama before his keynote. They reiterated how committed the NWLC is to getting women jobs. “America deserves a country where every woman and man who wants to work can work.”