Ellen Bravo is a labor activist and writer known for her work advocating for improved labor standards and equality.
Bravo was born in 1944, [1] : 69 and grew up in Cleveland. [2] Bravo attended Cornell University where she studied Greek and Latin, study she continued at Cambridge University. [2] She then moved to Canada where she studied at McGill University. [3] [2]
Bravo taught for a period at St. Mary’s College and then moved into clerical work, [2] which she saw as a way to support her time spent as a social activist. [4]
In 1982, Bravo founded the Milwaukee chapter of 9to5. [4] with Kitty Barber, Anne Devitt, and Jocelyn May. [5] In Wisconsin, Bravo worked on numerous projects and created change in her local community. For instance, with the help of former Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton, she contributed and helped lead the Economic Sufficiency Task Force of the Wisconsin Women = Prosperity project. [6]
By 1993, Bravo had become the national executive director of 9to5. [7] As the executive director, Bravo highlighted sexual harassment in the workplace [8] and shed light on the mistreatment of employers by their workers.Two years into her role as the executive director of 9to5, Bravo also acted as a representative for the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women (in Beijing). Bravo also served on the Commission on Leave, which was arranged by Congress to help measure the impact of the Family and Medical Leave Act. [6] She has spoken about issues facing people in the workspace to the House of Representatives (United States) [9] and the United States Congress. [10]
Her work expanded in 2004 when she became the executive director of Family Values @ Work, where her work includes tracking the promotions of women in male-dominated jobs. [11]
Bravo received the Ford Foundation Visionary Award in 2011, [12] the Francis Perkins Award for “Intelligence and Courage” in 2011, [13] and the Legacy Award from the Ms. Foundation in 2014 [14]
Crystal Catherine Eastman was an American lawyer, antimilitarist, feminist, socialist, and journalist. She was a leader in the fight for women's suffrage, a co-founder and co-editor with her brother Max Eastman of the radical arts and politics magazine The Liberator, co-founder of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and co-founder in 1920 of the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2000, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York.
Elizabeth Anne Ford was first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. As first lady, she was active in social policy, and set a precedent as a politically active presidential spouse. She was also second lady of the United States from 1973 to 1974, when her husband was vice president.
Urvashi Vaid was an Indian-born American LGBT rights activist, lawyer, and writer. An expert in gender and sexuality law, she was a consultant in attaining specific goals of social justice. She held a series of roles at the National LGBTQ Task Force, serving as executive director from 1989-1992 — the first woman of color to lead a national gay-and-lesbian organization. She is the author of Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation (1995) and Irresistible Revolution: Confronting Race, Class and the Assumptions of LGBT Politics (2012).
Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate for women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also utilized secular, Western, or otherwise non-Muslim feminist discourses, and have recognized the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement.
Mildred Natwick was an American actress. She won a Primetime Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.
Mary Steichen Calderone was an American physician, author, public speaker, and public health advocate for reproductive rights and sex education.
Velvalea Hortense Rodgers "Vel" Phillips was an American attorney, politician, jurist, and civil rights activist, who served as an alderperson and judge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and as secretary of state of Wisconsin (1979–1983). She was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School; the first African American, as well as the first woman, elected Alderwoman to the Milwaukee Common Council; and the first African American, as well as the first woman, to serve as a jurist in Wisconsin.
9to5, National Association of Working Women is an organization established in 1973 that is dedicated to improving working conditions and ensuring the rights of women and families in the United States.
Karen Nussbaum is an American labor leader and founding director of Working America. Nussbaum was born in Chicago where her mother, Annette Brenner Nussbaum, was a publicist, and her father, Myron "Mike" Nussbaum, was an exterminator, actor, and director. Her parents were active in the anti-Vietnam movement and worked to bring speakers to their community of Highland Park in Chicago including Staughton Lynd. During this time, the family was also receiving hate mail from the local John Birch Society. She enrolled in the University of Chicago in 1968 but dropped out to move to Boston and work in the anti-Vietnam movement. In 1975, she earned a B.A. from Goddard College. While in Boston, she began working as a clerical worker at Harvard where she was exposed to inequalities in the workplace for female office workers.
Some variants of feminism are considered more conservative than others. Historically feminist scholars tend to not have much interest in conservative women but in recent years there have been efforts at greater scholarly analysis of these women and their views.
Meta Berger was a prominent female socialist organizer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and advocate for improved public schooling systems. She was also the wife of the prominent democratic socialist politician Victor L. Berger.
Sister Joel Read was an American religious sister and the president of Alverno College from 1968 until 2003.
Katherine M. Gehl is an American businesswoman. She was the president and CEO of her family-owned company, Gehl Foods, Inc. She served as a member of the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a role to which she was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2010. She later founded the Institute for Political Innovation.
Tia Lee Nelson is an American academic, environmental activist, and public servant from the state of Wisconsin. She has held several high-profile positions at The Nature Conservancy, served as Executive Secretary of the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, and is currently managing director of the Climate program at the Outrider Foundation. Nelson is the daughter of former United States Senator and Governor Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day.
Michelle D. Gass (Petkers) is an American businesswoman who serves as the CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. She previously served as CEO of department store Kohl's.
Pauline Redmond Coggs was an American social worker, educator, and civil rights activist. She focused on combating unemployment, civil rights violations, poverty, and racism, as well as supporting communities of color, women, and other marginalized factions within the United States. Coggs began as a community organizer in Chicago, then served as a race relations adviser within the Office of Civilian Defense before assuming a position at the Washington DC Urban League. Her activism focused
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Debbie Schneider is a labor organizer who has worked with multiple groups including 9to5, Women Office Workers, and United Healthcare Workers. She served as president of District 925 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and was a member of SEIU's executive board.
Ellen Cassedy is known for co-founding 9to5, an organization coordinating improved working conditions for office workers.