WHEREAS:

            AFSCME has a long history of supporting and promoting women’s issues, such as pay equity, women’s leadership development and empowerment; and

WHEREAS:

            Women in AFSCME are a significant and increasingly important constituency. Women comprise 55 percent of AFSCME’s membership yet continue to be underrepresented in union leadership positions; and

WHEREAS:

            AFSCME, through its Women’s Committee, its Women’s conferences and various training programs for women, has long provided resources and opportunities for AFSCME women to develop their leadership skills; and

WHEREAS:

            In 2011, President McEntee strengthened that commitment when he announced the formation of a new AFSCME Women’s Leadership Academy to equip AFSCME women “to hold every leadership position that this union has” and “to achieve full gender equality at every level of this union”; and

WHEREAS:

            Through the Women’s Leadership Academy and our Women’s Committee and conferences and trainings, AFSCME sets the standard in support for women’s rights and support for women in leadership in the labor movement and other elected positions in this nation.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

            That the International Union will conduct a grassroots research initiative to discover what helps AFSCME women develop as leaders.  The initiative will include current women leaders, as well as women aspiring to leadership roles, to determine what will help them achieve leadership roles; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

            That the International Union will use this research to develop the Women’s Leadership Academy to prepare women for union leadership; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:

            That this academy will be launched in 2013 and will reflect the diversity of women in AFSCME by occupation, ethnicity, age, geography, and levels of leadership across the union.