October 29, 2012

Chrysalis Receives Friends of Iowa Civil Rights Award


Today, Chrysalis was honored to receive the Friends of Iowa Civil Rights Award at a special luncheon event.  On behalf of the Board and staff, we expressed our gratitude to Friends for this recognition.

Terry Hernandez shared the following comments.  We hope this again refreshes your knowledge of our work, and its critical importance.

IN THINKING ABOUT THE DEFINITION OF “CIVIL RIGHTS,” IT’S MEANING APPLIES TO PERSONAL FREEDOMS THAT BELONG TO EACH INDIVIDUAL BECAUSE OF HER OR HIS STATUS AS A CITIZEN.

SO EACH OF YOU MAY KNOW THAT FOR CHRYSALIS, THE CITIZENS WE REPRESENT ARE JUST OVER 51% OF THE GREATER DES MOINES POPULATION – WOMEN AND GIRLS.  WE LIKE TO THINK OF CHRYSALIS AND ITS WORK AS INSERTING THE “VOICE OF GIRLS AND WOMEN” IN ALL CONVERSATIONS – PUBLIC, PRIVATE, AND PERSONAL.

AMONG THE RIGHTS WE WORK TO PROTECT FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN ARE:
­  THE RIGHT TO EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW
­  PROTECTION FROM DISCRIMINATION
­  THE RIGHT FOR JUSTICE – MORAL RIGHTNESS, ETHICS, EQUALITY – TO GIVE GIRLS AND WOMEN WHAT THEY DESERVE

AND MAY ALSO KNOW THAT THESE RIGHTS ARE NOT ALWAYS “PROTECTED” IN TODAY’S SOCIETY.

OF COURSE I CAN TELL YOU THAT WOMEN STILL EARN ONLY 79% OF WHAT MEN EARN – WHEN ALL FACTORS ARE EQUAL AND THE LAW STATES OTHERWISE;

I CAN TELL YOU THAT ONLY 21% OF OUR STATE LEGISLATURE IS FEMALE – SO THE VOICE OF WOMEN AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF DECISION-MAKING IN IOWA IS NOT EQUALLY REPRESENTED;

AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT ALTHOUGH 75% OF IOWA TEACHERS ARE WOMEN, ONLY 14% OF SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS ARE WOMEN.

BUT THESE ARE THINGS YOU ALREADY KNOW –

AND SO THAT YOU CAN RELATE TO WHY THE WORK OF CHRYSALIS IS SO IMPORTANT, I ASK YOU TO PUT YOURSELF INTO THE SHOES OF AN “AVERAGE” IOWA GIRL OR WOMAN –

­  FROM AN EARLY AGE, YOU’VE LEARNED THAT YOUR BODY ISN’T ATTRACTIVE UNLESS YOU ARE THIN ENOUGH, BEAUTIFUL ENOUGH, OR SEXY ENOUGH --
­  YOU ARE OFTEN CONSIDERED LESS INTELLIGENT AND COMPETENT BY TEACHERS, EMPLOYERS, AND OTHERS IN AUTHORITY --
­  YOU ARE EXPECTED TO DEFER TO MEN’S DECISIONS ABOUT MOST THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT --
­  YOU ARE EXPECTED TO GIVE SEXUAL FAVORS TO BE ACCEPTED OR TO “GET AHEAD” --
­  YOU HAVE TO WORK HARDER, LONGER, AND FOR LESS PAY THAN A MAN – OR IF YOU CHOOSE TO STAY HOME AND RAISE YOUR CHILDREN, YOU WILL BE SEEN AS LESS MOTIVATED OR “PROMOTABLE” –
­  YOU WILL WORRY ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE RATHER THAN COUNTING ON GENEROUS CORPORATE RETIREMENT PACKAGES OFTEN BESTOWED ON CORPORATE LEADERS --
­  AND ONCE YOU ARE “A CERTAIN AGE” – YOU WILL REALIZE THAT TO MOST OF SOCIETY, YOU’RE “OVER THE HILL” – INADEQUATE, LESS ATTRACTIVE, AND LESS COMPETENT.

SO NOW YOU SEE WHY THE WORK OF CHRYSALIS IS SO CRITICAL –
­  WE TEACH GIRLS TO BE CONFIDENT, STRONG, AND RESLIENT
­  WE HELP WOMEN LEARN NOT TO ACCEPT THE STEREOTYPES
­  WE EDUCATE YOU AND OTHERS ABOUT THE VALUE AND STRENGTH GIRLS AND WOMEN BRING TO SOCIETY
­  AND WE PROVE THAT WHEN WOMEN ARE SUCCESSFUL, WHEN WOMEN ARE IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, MORE RESOURCES RETURN TO THE COMMUNITY, BUSINESS SUCCESS IMPROVES, AND THERE IS TRUE IMPROVEMENT IN SOCIETY’S WELL-BEING

WE WORK TOWARD THE DAY THAT WE CAN RETIRE THE WORD “FEMINISM” BECAUSE WOMEN AND MEN ARE EQUALLY RECOGNIZED AND RESPECTED.

AND WE WORK TOWARD THE DAY WHEN ANTI-GAY, ANTI-JEW, ANTI-BLACK, AND ANTI-FEMALE – ALL THESE TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION THAT RESULT IN ANTI-HUMANISM – AREN’T EVEN A MEMORY – THIS IS OUR WORK TO ENSURE CIVIL RIGHTS, AND WE ARE HONORED TO DO IT.