Unfinished Business: The Feminine Mystique at 50
Fifty years ago, when Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, unmarried women in more than half of the United States weren't allowed access to contraception. Married women in some states couldn't sit on juries, get a job without their husband’s permission, or keep control of their property and earnings.
That world is now a distant memory. And yet the revolution in women’s lives that Friedan’s controversial book helped launch remains woefully incomplete. Individual women have made great strides professionally, and some have made it to the very top of their chosen professions. But for the vast majority, the larger scope of Friedan’s dream—that our society might evolve in ways that would permit women to reach their “full human potential” at work and at home—remains unrealized.
Please join us on May 23 when Gail Collins and Anna Quindlen-authors of the introduction and afterword to the 50th anniversary edition of The Feminine Mystique-will visit the Center for American Progress. They will speak with CAP Senior Fellow Judith Warner about the unfinished business of the women's movement and discuss Betty Friedan's critical and much-contended legacy.
Copies of The Feminine Mystique: 50th Anniversary Edition will be available for purchase at the event.
The Case for Diverse Voices in Public Policy
While the United States has advanced in remarkable ways over its turbulent history, deep-rooted challenges involving its communities of color still remain. Whether it is health care access, immigration, criminal justice, gender equality, economic opportunity, or education, the development and implementation of progressive public policy that affects communities of color has become vital to our national interest. The county’s rapidly increasing racial and ethnic diversity has only made these challenges all the more necessary to address.
Please join the Center for American Progress and its Leadership Institute as we discuss why diverse voices must lead efforts to legitimize and create sustainable public policy related to communities of color. Our keynote speakers, Sen. William “Mo” Cowan (D-MA) and Laura Murphy, Washington Legislative Office Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, will address how the nation’s leaders must understand the complexity of policymaking in a diverse nation. Additionally, a panel of the CAP Leadership Institute Fellows will address how they are preparing themselves to grapple with these critical issues while avoiding the past traps that marginalized the unique perspectives of people living in the communities that public policies affect.
Sharia and Foreign Law Bans in a State Near You?
On Election Day 2010, Oklahoma voters approved an amendment to the state’s constitution that banned the recognition of Islamic religious law and customs, known as Sharia, by state courts. After the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the amendment on the grounds that it was discriminatory, proponents pushing the proposal in other states removed references to Islam and refocused the legislation to ban foreign law. Over the last two years, lawmakers in 32 states have introduced and debated bills outlawing religious, foreign, or international law. Six states have passed such bans, and five more are poised to pass similar measures this and next year.The Brennan Center for Justice and the Center for American Progress invite you to join a conversation examining the roots of this movement and the unintended consequences of foreign law bans. Experts will discuss how the current wave of foreign law bans upends the carefully calibrated methods that American courts use to decide whether to apply foreign law, as well as the legal uncertainties these bans could create for families, businesses, and people of all faiths.
No Justice for Injured Workers and Consumers
In recent decades, corporations and special interests have invested millions of dollars in campaign cash to elect judges who then ruled against injured plaintiffs and for those same corporations. Big business is winning the political battle over laws that limit damages plaintiffs can get in personal injury lawsuits, which is playing out in particularly stark ways in state supreme courts. These courts are increasingly becoming an unfriendly place for injured consumers and workers to hold negligent corporations accountable.What Can U.S. Schools Learn from Other Countries?
On virtually every measure, student performance in the United States lags behind many other nations around the world. U.S. fourth graders' performance in math and science, on average, is below that of their peers in many countries such as Singapore and Japan. U.S. students have not caught up in international rankings in these subjects by the end of eighth grade, nor in high school. While fourth graders perform relatively well in reading, U.S. students still underperform compared to their peers in other industrialized nations through high school. Given these skill gaps, U.S. students are substantially disadvantaged in the competition for jobs in the global economy.Honoring Our Nation’s Mothers and Children through Investments in Early Childhood Education
Childcare can be more expensive than college. And with the majority of working moms earning less than $30,000 a year, too many low and middle-income families struggle to afford this basic work expense or to find quality early learning environments to help their children thrive. This shortage of affordable, high-quality pre-K and childcare slots carries consequences for women and families’ economic security today and children’s economic opportunity tomorrow.The Promise of Social Impact Bonds: A Discussion with the UK Minister for Civil Society
Join the Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal and the Center for American Progress in welcoming the UK Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd. The Minister will offer remarks on the British experience with Social Impact Bonds, and engage in conversation with William Schambra and the audience.The Way of the Knife
In his most recent book, Mark Mazzetti argues that the most momentous change in American warfare over the past decade has taken place away from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq in the corners of the world where large armies can’t go. The Way of the Knife is the untold story of that shadow war—a campaign that has blurred the lines between soldiers and spies and lowered the bar for waging war across the globe. The United States has pursued its enemies with armed drones and special operations troops, trained local assets to set up clandestine spying networks, and relied on mercurial dictators, untrustworthy foreign intelligence services, and proxy armies.Lessons Learned: Reflections on Four Decades of Fighting for Families
Over the course of the past half-century, the American family has undergone cataclysmic change, due chiefly to the movement of women from the home to the paid workforce. And yet our society consistently fails to adapt to the heightened demands placed upon its families. Despite robust public support for work-family policies and legislative action in some states and cities, progress on national family policy has been remarkably limited.The Center for American Progress’s forthcoming report, “Lessons Learned: Reflections on Four Decades of Fighting for Families,” examines this history and asks some important questions: Why is change so slow and paltry? Why is there such a gap between public opinion and political will? And why—on the other hand—has it been possible in some places to achieve positive change?
Please join us for a keynote address from Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) followed by a panel discussion moderated by the report’s author, Judith Warner. The discussion will explore how changing public policy to support America’s families is viable, doable, and already beginning to happen.
U.S. Engagement with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood
In the two years since the Egyptian revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood has become the most powerful political organization in the country’s transition. During this time, the U.S. government has sought to engage and support Egyptian efforts to rebuild their economy and develop an open, pluralistic, and democratic political system. The Brotherhood-led Egyptian government, however, has presided over growing political polarization, a deepening economic crisis, and a breakdown of governance across the country. Furthermore, the Brotherhood has recently pursued potentially worrisome policies on women’s rights, minority rights, and civil rights, such as freedom of expression and freedom of association. As Egypt moves forward in its political transformation, the United States must learn to navigate the difficult path of supporting the new, fragile government while standing firm on its own principles and values.Going Global? Linking U.S. State Carbon Markets to the World
Trading on the California carbon market began on January 1, 2013, as part of the state’s Global Warming Solutions Act—the landmark bipartisan clean energy legislation that aims to cut greenhouse-gas pollution to 1990 levels by 2020. California’s carbon market, along with other programs designed to meet its greenhouse-gas reduction targets, are propelling the nation toward a cleaner energy future and have catalyzed billions of dollars in private-sector investment in clean energy in the state.Meanwhile, the nine northeastern states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI—the first mandatory carbon cap-and-trade system in the United States—are enjoying environmental and economic benefits as the cap-and-trade program enters its sixth year. Member states are experiencing stronger clean energy economies and are saving hundreds of millions of dollars in energy costs.
Internationally, Australia is planning to link with the EU emissions trading system in 2015 and conversations about linking with other markets are already underway.
This event will focus on the potential evolution of the U.S. economic and political relationship with the European Union, Australia, and Canada through the linking of carbon markets with markets in California and RGGI states. The event will feature a report from FORES, “Linking Emissions Trading Systems in EU and California,” by Lars Zetterberg, followed by a discussion about the advantages of linking carbon markets and the next steps for bilateral cooperation between the United States and the EU, Australia, and Canada.
Hunger, Obesity, and Food Literacy in the United States
Fifty million Americans, or one in six Americans, struggle to put food on the table. At the same time, more than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. The statistics are shocking enough, but even more alarming is when you consider that behind each of these numbers is a family struggling to make ends meet, a child who goes to school without receiving proper nutrition, a young person at risk for obesity-related health problems, and a senior who must choose between purchasing healthy food or medication.Join this session to hear panelists discuss how hunger, obesity, and nutrition are interrelated, and how the government, nonprofit sector, and private industry are working together to improve food literacy in this country.
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