Happy Mother's Day from NWPC!

We want to wish all the mothers, sisters, daughters and friends out there a very Happy Mother's Day. Mother's Day is the one day when we purposefully stop to thank the women in our lives who have helped turn us into strong and individual women and men. We hope that this spirit extends beyond this Sunday and continues to permeate our thoughts throughout the year.

Please read the President's Proclamation for Mother's Day at this link.

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An (un)Happy Equal Pay Day Message from NWPC President, Linda Young

Click here to listen to a special message from NWPC President, Linda Young.

Today, April 9, is the day which marks the number of days MORE that women have continued to work in order to equal the pay of men in 2012. Because women earn less on average than men, they must work 3.5 months longer for the same amount of pay….which explains why it is called Equal Pay Day!

Unfair and unequal pay for women is a practice that is holding up progress in our communities and our country. It can change if each and every woman speaks up to oppose the continued practice, and if we support and vote to elect more qualified women leaders to State and Federal offices. Women know that we make 77 cents for every $1 men make. We also know that our sisters of color make even less--the language "all men are created equal" works fine if you are male.

Take action today. Support NWPC which supports women leaders who are running — and recruit and support other women who are qualified to run — for office! Let's not wait another year to take action to change this situation!

Linda Young,
President, National Women's Political Caucus

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Women’s History Month: March 2013

"Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination:
Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics"

In 1987, Congress declared March as National Women's History Month in perpetuity. A special Presidential Proclamation is issued every year, which honors the extraordinary achievements of American women.

Presidential Proclamation -- Women's History Month, 2013

For more than two centuries, our Nation has grown under the simple creed that each of us is created equal. It is a notion that makes America unlike any other place on earth -- a country where no matter where you come from or what you look like, you can go as far as your talents will take you.

Women's History Month is a time to remember those who fought to make that freedom as real for our daughters as for our sons. Written out of the promise of the franchise, they were women who reached up to close the gap between what America was and what it could be. They were driven by a faith that our Union could extend true equality to every citizen willing to claim it. Year after year, visionary women met and marched and mobilized to prove what should have been self-evident. They grew a meeting at Seneca Falls into a movement that touched every community and took on our highest institutions. And after decades of slow, steady, extraordinary progress, women have written equal opportunity into the law again and again, giving generations of girls a future worthy of their potential.

That legacy of change is all around us. Women are nearly half of our Nation's workforce and more than half of our college graduates. But even now, too many women feel the weight of discrimination on their shoulders. They face a pay gap at work, or higher premiums for health insurance, or inadequate options for family leave. These issues affect all of us, and failing to address them holds our country back.

That is why my Administration has made the needs of women and girls a priority since day one -- from signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to helping ensure women are represented among tomorrow's top scientists and engineers. It is why we secured stronger protections and more preventive services for women under the Affordable Care Act. It is why we have fought for greater workplace flexibility, access to capital and training for women-owned businesses, and equal pay for equal work. And it is why we have taken action to reduce violence against women at home and abroad, and to empower women around the world with full political and economic opportunity.

Meeting those challenges will not be easy. But our history shows that when we couple grit and ingenuity with our basic beliefs, there is no barrier we cannot overcome. We can stay true to our founding creed that in America, all things should be possible for all people. That spirit is what called our mothers and grandmothers to fight for a world where no wall or ceiling could keep their daughters from their dreams. And today, as we take on the defining issues of our time, America looks to the next generation of movers and marchers to lead the way.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2013 as Women's History Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this month and to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8, 2013, with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. I also invite all Americans to visit www.WomensHistoryMonth.gov to learn more about the generations of women who have shaped our history.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

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Celebrating 40 Years of Roe v Wade!

On January 22nd, we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of the Roe v. Wade judicial decision. Arguably one of the greatest moments in the fight for reproductive freedom in the United States, we must continue to protect this landmark decision. Over the past 40 years, we have seen a continuous movement to undermine Roe v. Wade, but on January 22nd we celebrate and applaud the women who fought so hard for our reproductive rights.

President Obama's Statement on the 40th Anniversary of Roe v Wade

"On the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we reaffirm its historic commitment to protect the health and reproductive freedom of women across this country and stand by its guiding principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters, and women should be able to make their own choices about their bodies and their health care. Today and every day, my Administration continues our efforts to reduce unintended pregnancies, support maternal and child health, and minimize the need for abortion. On this anniversary, we recommit ourselves to supporting women and families in the choices they make and redouble our efforts to promote safe and healthy communities."

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7 Wins in the Senate, 38 in the House!

We are proud to announce that 45 of our amazing endorsed candidates are headed to Congress in 2013!

Senate Dianne Feinstein(CA) Mazie Hirono (HI) Elizabeth Warren (MA) Claire McCaskill (MO) Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) Maria Cantwell (WA) Tammy Baldwin (WI) U.S. House of Representatives

Terri Sewell (AL-07) Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01) Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09) Doris Matsui (CA-06) Barbara Lee (CA-13) Jackie Speier (CA-14) Anna Eshoo (CA-18) Zoe Lofgren (CA-19) Lois Capps (CA-24) Julia Brownley (CA-26) Judy Chu (CA-27) Gloria Negrete McLeod (CA-35) Linda Sanchez (CA-38) Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) Loretta Sanchez )(CA-46) Susan Davis (CA-53) Diana DeGette (CO-01) Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) Elizabeth Esty (CA-05)

Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL) Lois Frankel (FL-22) Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01) Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) Tammy Duckworth (IL-08) Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) Cheri Bustos (IL-17) Niki Tsongas (MA-03) Donna Edwards (MD-04) Carol Shea Porter (NH-01) Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02) Dina Titus (NV-01) Michele Lujan Grisham (NM-01) Carolyn McCarthy (NY-04) Carolyn Maloney (NY-12) Nita Lowey (NY-17) Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30) Suzan DelBene (WA-01) Gwen Moore (WI-04)

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