National Partnership Anniversary Luncheon
By Suolan Jiang on 06/13/2011 @ 01:00 PM
The National Partnership for Women and Families Luncheon celebrated the 40th anniversary of the organization’s founding in 1971. To mark the occasion, First Lady Michelle Obama was the keynote speaker for the luncheon.
The theme of the luncheon was progress in the plight of American women over the past forty years and what is still left to accomplish. In her speech, the First Lady firstly recognized the efforts of the National Partnership for Women & Family in fighting discrimination and making an influence in almost every major policy changes including Family and Medical Leave Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, etc. Secondly, she pointed out, too many women still face barriers to keep them from reaching their full potential, and too many girls are still held back by narrow expectations and limited options.
The First Lady added that we also have a responsibility to engage the next set of leaders. She feels a deep obligation to use her position as First Lady to help accomplish this. One way she has done this is with the White House Leadership and Mentoring Initiative for girls in the District of Columbia. This program brings girls who have hardly been outside of their wards to the White House. They participate in activities to grow their self-esteem and take field trips to Capital Hill to visit Congress and Supreme Court Justices so they can envision their future in a new way. When she traveled to London, she told teenage girls that were convened at Oxford that they can be or do whatever they want. In Chile, she told young girls that they can compete with boys and when she goes to South Africa in a few weeks, she wants the girls there to know of the support they have back in the U.S. and of the people that are willing to invest in them.
Photo: National Partnership for Women and Families
“Every path in this world is open to them, even if it doesn’t always feel that way”, Mrs. Obama says. Though there are still many obstacles and difficulties, some times even narrow expectations, girls and women should learn to trust their potential and reach for their goals bravely.
According to Mrs. Obama, although some issues cannot be resolved in our generation, our effort will enable our future generation in successfully conquering them. Issues including paid sick days, balance in the judiciary are still on the way to be settled.
The well-being of a woman does not only benefit herself, but the whole nation. Since it is only when a wife and a mother is living happily that her family is a happy one, and families, as we know, are the basic units of a society and they play a major role in keeping the balance of the country.
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