June | 2012 | Best Friends at the Bar™

Vital Voices and Women Lawyers: It Is All about The Journey

Posted on June 7, 2012

Earlier this week, I attended a reception at the House of Sweden, the stunning Swedish Embassy on the harbor in Georgetown, Washington, DC. My Swedish grandmother would have been happy to see me there, but that is not why I went. I went to celebrate Vital Voices Global Partnerships, a nonprofit which began as part of the U.S. government’s Vital Voices Democracy Initiative. That initiative was established in 1997 by then First Lady of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, following the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing to promote the advancement of women as a U.S. foreign policy goal.

You may remember hearing about the uproar around the world when First Lady Hillary Clinton declared in Beijing that “Women’s rights are human rights”. It is hard for many of you to imagine that such a statement, so axiomatic to you now, could have caused such a stir in 1995. However, as you know, the fight for women’s rights was not over then, is not over now and, in fact, is being eroded on some fronts even in our own United States of America.

Fortunately, the need for “Vital Voices” to represent those women around the world without voices and to invest in women to improve the world was clear to the prescient among us in 1995, like Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright, and the rest is history. This week’s event at House for Sweden and the Vital Voices awards ceremony the following night at the Kennedy Center were additional chapters in that history.

The event at House of Sweden was to celebrate the recently released book, “Vital Voices: The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World” (Jossey-Bass 2012) by Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices. The book, which opens with the dedication, “For the women whose voices have inspired, humbled, and propelled us forward and to those still struggling to have their voices heard,” includes profiles of women from around the globe, who have changed the world, and the Foreword is by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The women highlighted in Vital Voices: The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World include: Marina Pisklakova, an advocate for victims of domestic violence in Russia; Hafsat Abiola, Hawa Abdi, and Kah Walla, who fight for women’s rights in their African nations; Carmelita Gopez Nuqui of the Phillipines, who leads the fight against human trafficking; Jaya Arunachalam of India and Samar Minallah Khan of Pakistan, who have been instrumental in shedding the light on human rights and women’s rights in those countries; Guo Jianmei of China and Mu Sochua of Cambodia, who battle for equality and justice for women in their corner of the world; Laura Alonso of Argentina and Panmela Castro of Brazil, who took on the fight against political corruption and in support of women’s rights and safety in unique ways; and Inez McCormack, whose fiery voice and spirit continues to shake up the world as one of the most influential civil rights leaders in Northern Ireland.

In hearing the remarks of Inez McCormack and others at the House of Sweden event, I could not help but feel that there was an echo in the room. I was hearing about women helping women, paying it forward, leading in the way of women not men and countless other themes of my own books and writings. It was good to be in the company of these women and to know that we are all moving in the same direction and for the same end game. Our individual missions may differ in focus and in scope, but the overriding message is that women must step forward to protect what is rightfully theirs and to safeguard the future of women to follow.

I was particularly moved by the message that Alyse Nelson wrote when she signed my book, “Susan, Thank you for all you do for women and our world.” Although the Best Friends at the Bar project pales in comparison to that of Vital Voices, I accept the author’s recognition that we are all fighting for the same causes and the implicit message that we must all work together to accomplish our goals.

Thank you to Vital Voices and to the evening’s sponsors for a wonderful and inspiring evening.

Learn more about Vital voices and opportunities to support the mission at www.vitalvoices.org.

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Thought For The Day

Posted on June 6, 2012

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one.
Elbert Hubbard

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Women Lawyers Can Learn a Lot from the Badgers!

Posted on June 5, 2012

Today is an important day for Badgers. The people of Wisconsin go to the polls today to vote on the recall of Governor Scott Walker, and that is a big deal—not just for Badgers.

It is also a big deal for people across the country who care about choices, about making their voices heard and about standing their ground. Witness the dedication of the airwaves to this topic today and for weeks and months preceding the event as testament to the importance of this election. It has captured the attention of America, and that is a good thing.

I care about this a lot because I am a Badger. Yes, I am a Badger born and bred, and, in fact, I may be a double Badger. In addition to being raised in Wisconsin, I also graduated from the University of Wisconsin, as did many of the people in my family, including my mother and father and most of their siblings, who were raised by Depression-era working class parents. Those folks valued education a lot, and it showed. They scrimped and saved in every way possible to send their children to a fine university and, in my Dad’s case, a fine law school.

Come to think of it, I actually may be a triple Badger because I am descended from the first Badgers, the immigrants from Cornwall, England, who came to America to mine lead in the tradition of their English ancestors. They lived in dugouts in the sides of hills in places like Mineral Point, Wisconsin—sort of like the furry little animals— when they first arrived in this country. (Sorry to disappoint you, but it was not Bucky Badger, the adorable UW mascot, and the furry little animals that inspired the name. True fact. Look it up. But, I digress……….)

I now live on the East Coast, and most folks here think that Wisconsin is one big dairy farm populated by people who speak with twangs and carry pitch forks, kind of American Gothic Badger-style. Most of the time I do not try to dissuade them from this impression because I really do not care. But today I care. Today I want the world to understand what is so important about Wisconsin.

Wisconsin is the seat of progressive politics and has a wonderful tradition of debate and reforms. For me, it is not about political party or conservative or liberal. It is about caring enough to stand up and trying to make a difference. Even George Will recognized this in his column in the Sunday, June 3rd, Washington Post—or sort of—and it is these traditions that make me proud.

My Dad ran for District Attorney on the Progressive ticket, and for most of his life I was never sure if he was a Democrat or a Republican. It did not matter. All that mattered to me was that he was a thinking and discerning man. Regrettably, he is gone now, but my soon-to-be 97-year-old mother is carrying on the tradition—and I am proud to say that she voted in today’s election. She told me how she voted, but then she swore me to secrecy. She says she learned a long time ago that her vote is her own business. Smart lady!

Why is all this important? It is important because it is a poignant illustration of how to make your education and your beliefs matter. Stand up for what you believe in. Dedicate yourself to causes that matter to you. Find a passion and play it out. Most importantly, go to the polls and vote. What a shame to waste your franchise, as my elderly mother knows so well.

Do not lead your life to please other people or you will end up leading THEIR LIVES. Put yourself and your reputation on the line, and, even if the result does not go your way, you will have the pride of knowing that you tried and, hopefully, you will have learned something in the process.

As women and as women lawyers, we still have a long way to go to right the wrongs and change the system. It will take dedication, effort and commitment, and that is what Best Friends at the Bar is all about. Together, we can do it, especially if we remember the lessons of today and the people of Wisconsin, who have marched, protested and sacrificed on both sides of this issue to try to make a difference.

That is the Wisconsin tradition that I love so much. Go Badgers!