On March 31, 2010,  President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and the White House Council on Women and Girls hosted a daylong summit at the White House, inviting organized labor, small business and large company leaders, policy experts and parents to discuss best practices for bringing about workplace flexibility – unprecedented! And, it was not just about flexibility for parents — flexibility to incorporate quality of life issues for all employees was part of the discussion, as well.

Quoting from the President’s remarks:

“Now, it’s true that women are still disproportionately affected by this issue….  But plenty of fathers out there wish they had more time to spend with their kids.  Plenty of sons wish they could do more for their elderly parents.  Plenty of workers — both women and men — wish they could go back to school so they can beef up their skills and advance their careers.  And there are plenty of communities that desperately need the new jobs we can create when we embrace teleworking and mobile workplaces.”

The time is to act is NOW.  Get involved with this effort. Here are some links that can help:

Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Flex Options website, www.flexoptions.org. 

Office of the President – Work Life Balance and the Economics of Workplace Flexitility report.

9to5 advocacy group

MomsRising.org advocay group

Business owners understand the desire of today’s workforce to have more flexibility in their work schedules. After all, many entrepreneurs chose the path of business ownership to provide themselves with more control and flexibility in managing their own personal lives.

Across the U.S., companies are realizing that workplace flexibility can help them address today’s most pressing issues in keeping employees engaged; offering options in lieu of layoffs during tough economic times; planning for emergencies such as natural disasters, pandemics and other crisis situations; and contributing to environmental sustainability by decreasing one’s carbon footprint.

In 2009, President Obama created the first White House Council on Women and Girls to make it clear that issues like equal pay, family leave and child care are not just woemn’s issues, but family and economic issues, as well. This website goes a long way to helping businesses implement the important workplace policies that can assist with these efforts.

Washington was the 5th state to grant women full suffrage – 10 years before the 19th Amendment was ratified! Often, people are not aware that some states had granted women suffrage long before the 19th Amendment. When you look at this map of suffrage in the United States, women suffrage in America was a convoluted effort to be sure. By 1920, 17 states had granted full suffrage, 8 still had not granted any suffrage, 8 had granted presidential suffrage and 7 had granted school, bond or tax suffrage, only. There were other variations, as well, including primary and municipal suffrage in some cities.

To be celebrating a centennial of woman suffrage is a celebration, to be sure! The Washington Women’s History Consortium’s Exhibit, Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices, does just that.  The exhibit is co-curated by the Washington State Historical Society, the Women’s History Consortium and the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture. The exhibit is scheduled (subject to change) to move as follows:

• Washington State History Museum: Wed Feb 28, 2009 through Sun Sept 27, 2009
• Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center: Sat Oct 24, 2009 through Sun Jan 10, 2010
• Yakima Valley Museum: Thurs Feb 11, 2010 through Sun Jun 20, 2010
• Museum of History & Industry, Seattle Sat Jul 17, 2010 through Sun Oct 3, 2010
• Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture Sat Oct 30, 2010 through Sun Jun 26, 2011

To help with the celebration, the Washington State Historical Society website hosts a wealth of information, including classroom lesson plans.