Hello World! Reporting back, its Mikayla Cleary-Hammarstedt. Before divulging into the specifics of my upcoming trip and the programs' dialog meetings, I thought it would be prudent to explain why I got involved and am so invested in this initiative. It all began when my mother was the director of Girls Inc. Through her and taking part in the inner city program I developed a great sense of pride in being a woman and being "strong, smart and bold", which has not left me to this day. I was always taught to push my limits, never accept defeat and to not let my opportunities be limited by gender discrimination. In hand with these sentiments, my parents helped me to recognize where inequalities exist and to always question and challenge them (in a world where we are all supposedly equal).
Women's history has always been a fascinating subject to me. Throughout my life I have developed a keen eye for it because it amazes me to see how unjust our pasts are and yet to see how far we've come. If you just stop and consider this, you may find lots of history embedded in your very community. For example, my city of Fayetteville was home to womens rights activist Matilda Joslyn Gage, who was in league with Susan B. Anthony and Elisabeth Cady Stanton. However she went even farther than push for the right to vote, because she was not held down by conservative religious beliefs as many others were at the time. Her views were among the most radical, and can be see in her book "Women, Church and State", including: equal pay and right to hold office for women, as well as freedom for blacks, and the end of discrimination towards the local Haudenosaunee. If I had not researched Gage on my own accord, I would never have taken the time out to even consider applying for the very program I am so delighted to be in today. Because of this I firmly stand by my belief that education, particularly in young girls is of the utmost importance. Thanks to my knowledge (which don't get me wrong is fairly minimal), I have been blessed with an opportunity to expand my viewpoints and leadership skills as I learn about other situations of women around the world.
In the meantime I observe the non-equity of women in society all around me. As an aspiring environmental engineer the unequal women's involvement is in STEM fields is vividly clear, just by some of my brief college visits. Frankly, it still shocks me for in the course of our history women have proven that we are capable of achieving just as much as men, however something still seems to be holding us back. This division can be seen in high school sports, high power jobs (CEOs, engineers, exc.), representation in government, average wage rates, and stay at home parents. This is unacceptable. I hope that with the new dialog and group oratory skills I acquire, through this Girl Ambassador Program, I will help make a difference through my call for change. Lastly (some food for thought for the end of this entry), I recently learned about a treaty known as CEDAW which is primarily in action to protect women and girl's basic rights by reading an article. This seems great right? So why is it that the US is one of only six nations in the UN not to have ratified it? By denying it our government is not taking a stand against the many violations to women's rights that are being committed throughout the world.
Women's history has always been a fascinating subject to me. Throughout my life I have developed a keen eye for it because it amazes me to see how unjust our pasts are and yet to see how far we've come. If you just stop and consider this, you may find lots of history embedded in your very community. For example, my city of Fayetteville was home to womens rights activist Matilda Joslyn Gage, who was in league with Susan B. Anthony and Elisabeth Cady Stanton. However she went even farther than push for the right to vote, because she was not held down by conservative religious beliefs as many others were at the time. Her views were among the most radical, and can be see in her book "Women, Church and State", including: equal pay and right to hold office for women, as well as freedom for blacks, and the end of discrimination towards the local Haudenosaunee. If I had not researched Gage on my own accord, I would never have taken the time out to even consider applying for the very program I am so delighted to be in today. Because of this I firmly stand by my belief that education, particularly in young girls is of the utmost importance. Thanks to my knowledge (which don't get me wrong is fairly minimal), I have been blessed with an opportunity to expand my viewpoints and leadership skills as I learn about other situations of women around the world.
In the meantime I observe the non-equity of women in society all around me. As an aspiring environmental engineer the unequal women's involvement is in STEM fields is vividly clear, just by some of my brief college visits. Frankly, it still shocks me for in the course of our history women have proven that we are capable of achieving just as much as men, however something still seems to be holding us back. This division can be seen in high school sports, high power jobs (CEOs, engineers, exc.), representation in government, average wage rates, and stay at home parents. This is unacceptable. I hope that with the new dialog and group oratory skills I acquire, through this Girl Ambassador Program, I will help make a difference through my call for change. Lastly (some food for thought for the end of this entry), I recently learned about a treaty known as CEDAW which is primarily in action to protect women and girl's basic rights by reading an article. This seems great right? So why is it that the US is one of only six nations in the UN not to have ratified it? By denying it our government is not taking a stand against the many violations to women's rights that are being committed throughout the world.
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