Category Archives: Women in leadership

March is Women’s History Month / March 8 is International Women’s Day

Events hosted by our sister organizations…

March is Women’s History Month and March 8th is International Women’s Day.  Local and nearby groups are hosting these events to celebrate women’s contributions to history, society, and culture.  These discussions have local tie-ins which should pique your interest, and we encourage you to check them out!

Post-Election 2020 – What’s Next?

On Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021, at 4 pm, the Benicia-Vallejo branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) will co-sponsor with the Center for Common Ground “Post-Election 2020 – What’s Next?”

Andrea Miller, Center for Common Ground

This is a free Zoom program, with Andrea Miller, founding Board Member of the non-partisan Center for Common Ground and its Reclaim our Vote (ROV) Campaign.

Join the Zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85743045142?pwd=aVZaVlpsZE5zQ1NreVJUTXlqNzVsZz09.
Alternatively, go to the link www.zoom.com and enter the following information: meeting ID is 857 4304 5142 and the passcode is 087356.

Ms. Miller will discuss the past 2020 election and how volunteer involvement led to successful voter turnout. Her program will outline the challenges ahead including the need for civic education and engagement and how individuals may get involved. Some of the topics she will address include:

    • Empowerment of underrepresented voters, specifically focusing on young adults from the ages of 18-24, of all races and all ethnicities.
    • Advocacy for federal act S1/HR1, known as For the People Act (For the People Act.) This Act would mandate that all states must allow early voting, voting by mail and online voter registration. It also includes provisions to reform redistricting, campaign finance, and restoration of the right to vote after release from prison.
    • Advocacy on the Equal Rights Amendment.

Please RSVP to [email protected] .


Women Shaping a more Equitable Future

On March 8, 2021, at 5:00 pm, the Benicia-Vallejo and Danville-Alamo-Walnut Creek branches of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) will host a free, public Zoom program celebrating International Women’s Day.

The program honors the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world: Women Shaping a more Equitable Future.

The joint AAUW celebration features a welcome and opening remarks by Eleni Kounalakis, California’s Lieutenant Governor. She is the first woman elected to this office and has served in this position since 2019.

The public is invited and may join the Zoom program by registering with EventBrite: https://aauw-womensdaycelebration.eventbrite.com

The program will feature comments by four additional speakers:

    • Elizabeth Patterson, MURP, is a former mayor of the City of Benicia. She will describe her journey for a sustainable world from a young girl to a career in land use planning and management and elected office.
    • Claudia Martinez-Schwarz, MPH, is a food policy expert who is administering a federal grant to educate rural high schoolers in Armenia and leading a USAID grant submission for STEM students in Colombia.
    • Asha Bajaj, PT/DPT, has managed her own practice in physical therapy for 20 years, in which she focused on women’s health. She served as assistant professor of physical therapy at the University of California at San Francisco.
    • Teresa Cheung is a licensed professional chemical engineer, MBA and a past Chair of the Northern California section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). She was the first woman winner of the Institute’s most prestigious Professional Progress Award.

A question and answer session will be included, as well as a short video salute to international women leaders.


The Solano Commission for Women and Girls will conduct a series of conversations during the month of March with women who have achieved leadership roles in their respective professions and workplaces.

 Women Leaders of Today and Tomorrow

Join Solano Women in Conversation about How They Became Leaders

March 4 @ 4:00-5:30pm: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88613900571?pwd=OStodUtFN2k3ck95UnRuR0t1MHFPdz09 Passcode: women

March 11 @ 4:00-5:30pm: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82819586571?pwd=NERGdkJuV3VNRitxV250WDgza0s2UT09 Passcode: 951045

March 18 @ 4:00-5:30pm: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84497367090?pwd=eE1XTE5kbVU5WDI2QWZkRklvTk9PUT09 Passcode: women

March 25 @ 4:00-5:30pm: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83828016443?pwd=dEFkcEV5czZKMkZDeE96WmNiaW9kQT09 Passcode: women

For questions contact Commission Chair Laura Petty at: [email protected] (707)759-2588.


ALSO… Black Women Leading – California Democrats – TOMORROW!  February 25 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm PST

Celebrate Black History Month with the California Democratic Party and the CADEM Black Caucus on February 25, at 5:00 p.m. for Black Women Lead, a virtual conversation on what we can do to support more Black women running for elected office, leading campaigns, and playing key roles in legislative offices. The conversation will include:

    • Congressmember Barbara Lee
    • Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber
    • CADEM’s Women’s Caucus Vice-Chair Carolyn Fowler, and
    • CADEM Black Caucus Chair Taisha Brown

We all know that Black women voters are a core part of Democratic victories but are underrepresented in elected offices, in campaign leadership, and key staff positions. CADEM believes we have seen some progress but more work is needed.

Also, the Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison is joining the CA Democratic Party (CADEM) and the CADEM Black Caucus Thursday, February 25 at 5 p.m. to celebrate Black History Month.

RSVP NOW »

RSVP today to join the conversation https://cadem.vote/leading. Black Women Lead will also stream LIVE on Facebook.

Encouraging study – women more involved in 2020 political process

From the Benicia Independent

[Roger Straw on BenIndy: I got this in an email from Susannah Delano of Close the Gap California.  Too much BAD news these days – here’s one to get our hopes up.  Fascinating charts – especially Key Takeaway #1. – R.S.]

Stepping Up and Standing Out: Women’s Political Participation in 2020

Read the memo here, the blog post here, and the press release here

Women of all ages and political affiliations — particularly millennials and women of color—have become more politically engaged since 2016, a trend that is likely to continue in the 2020 cycle. Our new research gives further insights into what motivates women and how they plan to participate this year.

Key Takeaways:

1. The 2016 election marked a new era of women’s involvement in political issues and campaigns and they show no sign of stopping in the 2020 cycle.

  • Only 16% of all surveyed women voters said they have become less politically involved in the last few years, with more than half (55%) saying their involvement has stayed the same, and almost one third (29%) reporting increased involvement.
    • The survey shows that Democratic women have been especially motivated to actively participate in the political process, with 35% saying that they have gotten more involved in politics in the last few years, compared to 27% of Republican women and 23% of women who consider themselves Independent.
    • Increased participation is notable among two key voting blocs: 41% of millennial women (18-34 years old) and 36% of women of color say that they have gotten more involved recently.
  • Looking ahead to the 2020 election, the trend of increased involvement is likely to continue, with 31% of women saying they will become more involved and only 9% saying they will be less engaged.
    • Among Democratic women, 39% say they will be more involved this year along with 40% of millennial woman and 40% of women of color.

2. Women are engaging in a range of activities, but are particularly focused on encouraging friends or family to vote or get involved in a campaign or issue.

  • 42% of respondents said that they have encouraged friends or family members to vote or become involved in a campaign or issue—compared to just 35% of men.
  • Millennial women are leading the charge and taking to the streets— nearly one-fourth of them (23%) reported that they have attended a march, rally, or protest since 2016.
  • On every key political action, women of color report being more politically engaged than white women—they volunteer their time, donate to candidates, attend marches, sign petitions, and encourage their friends to get involved at higher rates.

3. Despite increased involvement in political issues, women voters identified time (i.e. being too busy working and/or taking care of family) as the biggest barrier to getting politically involved.

  • The survey asked voters to choose their top reason for not getting involved among a list of several potential barriers: 22% of women said they were too busy working or taking care of their families as the top reason they didn’t get involved compared to 12% of men who identified work or family obligations as their main barrier.

4. Confidence in their own political knowledge is also a barrier unique to women.

  • Despite comparable news consumption, women are 3 times more likely to choose “I don’t know enough about political issues to get involved” as their top reason for not getting involved in politics (15% of women vs. 5% of men).

5. Women, on either side of the political aisle, are primarily motivated by the aspirations they hold for the country.

  • We tested several reasons for why voters have gotten involved in politics in the past few years, and the top two are I want to make my country a better place and I want to make sure our country moves forward not backward.

6. Women are inspired by other women’s political involvement, especially when it comes to supporting women running for office.

  • Women are more likely to volunteer or donate to female candidates, especially Democratic and millennial women, as well as women of color.


The survey was conducted nationwide among 800 likely 2020 presidential voters (including 600 women and 200 men) during December 5-12, 2019.Full data report available here.

Close the Gap California – new look, quarterly report

April 10, 2019See what Close the Gap California accomplished in the first quarter of 2019: Quarterly Report CTG-CA.

You will recall that Close the Gap California’s Executive Director, Susannah Delano, was part of the panel for PDB’s Women Forum on March 8 organized by our Women’s Caucus.  The quarterly report mentions Benicia, and pictures Susannah along with State Controller Betty Yee at the event with others during the evening.