Open Membership 

Eleanor Roosevelt. Lily Leadbetter. Two strong women who are legendary in the fight for women’s equality. Also, two women who were not allowed into AAUW while they were fighting. If not for the honorary degrees given to them AFTER they fought publicly for the rights for ALL women, AAUW would not be able to claim them as our own.

AAUW is an organization with a mission based on programming, research, policy and advocacy, fellowships and grants. It was formed by women who were ostracized by men in their quest for respect and equality. In the almost 150 years since it was founded, AAUW evolved and opened up to international members, community college graduates, and men to form a stronger association to continue our mission of advocacy for equity (even if the name was not changed to reflect those major admissions). This is why both the National Board and many state boards are endorsing the membership change. 

For many of us, AAUW still is a local group of women who share the common trait of having degrees, but the membership question is important to the organization and its sustainability. Younger generations want to be a part of something bigger, fighting as equals with others to achieve goals of equity and justice. Why would a young woman who fights for all women want to be part of a group claiming to advocate for equal pay, but then discriminates against the very women who are most disproportionately affected by the issue? If we do not adapt to become inclusive, AAUW may very well not exist by the time your granddaughters or great-granddaughters can join. Or they simply might not want to be a part of it. 

Leanne’s Message: I want to share a short personal story about one reason I support removing the college degree requirement for AAUW membership. A few years ago when I was your public policy chair, I was part of an Equal Pay Day event at the State Theater and Bijou By the Bay. We needed volunteers to work in the ticket booth at each location where we would ask men to pay a symbolic increase in their ticket price to recognize the gender pay gap. 

A few days before the event I had not filled very many of the volunteer slots and had not yet mastered the skill of being in two places at the same time! So, I reached out to a couple of my non AAUWTC friends who jumped on the opportunity to help shed light on this important issue. Each of them spent hours in the ticket booth enthusiastically promoting our cause and putting up with the occasional poor sport who put up a fuss about his ticket costing a few cents more than his female counterpart. When debriefing with them about their experience and hearing how enthused they were about our AAUW Mission I invited them to join our dynamic group and pointed them to the website to apply. A few days later one of my friends contacted me to say that it looked like she would not qualify for membership because she never finished her college degree. I had no idea that this amazing women who fights for everything AAUW fights for did not complete a college degree. I had never given it much thought, really.  We ended up losing two potential members that day because my second friend who helped with the Equal Pay Day event refused to join an organization that had such narrow membership requirements. 

Amy’s Message: I, too, am sharing my personal experiences. I have been an AAUW member for over 10 years- since I was in my late 20s. It was a blessing to meet such an extraordinary group of women at that important stage of my life. I started bringing my mother to AAUW events. She is a strong woman who spent her career in the male dominated electrical field and her success in her career allowed my father to go back to school and advance in his career to help the whole family. Despite my mom’s accomplishments,  I realized there was no place for her in our organization because she herself did not have a degree. Still, I stayed a member hoping this organization would change its rules to allow for all women to join. 

This year, as we have been looking for people interested in leadership positions, I approached several people in our community- people who are active, probably even recognizable to many of you from their work. People we would benefit from having as branch members. Three of the four did not meet our degree requirement. It is a common story here of economics driving people to stop their studies to get jobs and pay the bills, then having jobs that have not allowed for a return to school. They all have a goal to return and finish one day and would benefit from the support of an organization like AAUW that emphasizes the importance of education. Yet, we as an organization tell them they do not get a seat at the table until they have already found their own way. Those who have expressed interest in joining to be told they do not qualify are also unlikely to come to us if they do decide to go back because of the experience. 

Over the years I have benefitted from the camaraderie and mentorship of women in AAUW and I am so grateful for it. Now, I am in a position to do the same for others. Just this year, serving as co-President, I approached a dynamic, young woman in our community about joining- as was done to me all those years ago. She was honored and excited, until she admitted she had not completed her degree. Here was a woman who was eager to get involved and wants to advocate for our mission, but our organization does not accept her as an equal, despite her career and public involvement. Personally, it is becoming harder to devote my free time to an organization where I am limited in offering the mentorship to women that I had because they might not have had the same advantages I did. 

At the end of the day, AAUW has a one member, one vote policy. Us supporting AAUWMI and National’s stance on the issue is not speaking for you because our votes are our own as well. We wrote this article this month to share why we support the change and thought it was important enough to warrant our monthly space as voting opens.