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MSNBC Anchor Mika Brzezinski Will Speak on “How Far We’ve Come”
The Connecticut Legislature’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), the state’s leading force for women’s equality, will celebrate more than three decades of anti-discrimination work at its 35th anniversary Gala on Thursday, Nov. 6. MSNBC news anchor Mika Brzezinski will be the keynote speaker and the all-woman Nicki Mathis Afrikan Amerikan Jazz Quartet will provide entertainment. In addition, NBC 30 weekend morning news anchor Anjuli Porter and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro will emcee.
“The PCSW was formed during the Meskill Administration, at a time when things were considerably different for women, and it’s time to celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of this important commission,” said PCSW Executive Director Teresa C. Younger. “Connecticut is known for being a progressive state when it comes to women’s issues. That did not happen overnight. For 35 years, brave women and men have been championing issues critical to helping women achieve levels of equality. Thirty-five years ago, an unmarried woman could not qualify for her own credit during a financial transaction, and today, we have 123,000 women-owned businesses here in Connecticut alone. In 1973, there were only 20 women in the Connecticut General Assembly. Today, there are 53 – more than double the number from the ‘70s -- and 102 women are running for office this year. That’s a very encouraging number but it’s nowhere near representative of the population, of which women make up more than half. So despite the strides, we still have a long way to go, and while it’s important to celebrate our accomplishments, it’s also critical to take time to assess where we, as a society, are headed when it comes to women’s economic security, health and safety, and gender bias in the workplace, in education and in government.”
Created in 1973 by the Connecticut General Assembly (General Statute Sec. 46a), the non-partisan Commission is charged with conducting “an ongoing study of all maters concerning women (and shall) (a) inform leaders of business, education, state and local governments and the communications media of the nature and scope of the problem of sex discrimination with a view to enlisting their support in working toward improvement; (b) serve as a liaison between government and private interest groups concerned with services for women” as well as promote more participation by women in government and assess the practices of State agencies as they affect women. In all its work, the PCSW is charged with promoting a deeper understanding of the roots of gender bias and bringing to light the steps necessary to eliminate it.
Highlights of the PCSW’s accomplishments include: creation of the Family Law Task Force (1976), legislation protecting the safety of pregnant women (1979), legislation prohibiting sexual harassment (1980), helping the City of Hartford train and recruit the state’s first female firefighters (1982), work with Legislators on the Family and Workplace Agenda, among the first in the nation (1986), legislation protecting women’s reproductive rights (1990), advocating for paid family and medical leave (2000), research leading to passage of a bill strengthening domestic violence legislation (2002), ground-breaking work in the prevention of sex-trafficking of women and children (2003), and research, testimony and coalition work supporting the same-sex marriage decision (2008).
The Gala’s keynote speaker, Mika Brzezinski, is an MSNBC anchor, reports on “NBC Nightly News” and is an alternating news anchor for “Weekend Today.” She is also a co-host of the talk show “Morning Joe.” Brzezinski, the daughter of former Carter Administration National Security Advisor Zbignew Brzezinski, was an anchor of the “CBS Evening News Weekend Edition” and a frequent contributor to “60 Minutes.” Her coverage of the attacks on the Twin Towers was widely respected by audiences and her peers. Brzezinski’s journalism career began in Hartford in 1991, when she was a general assignment reporter at WTIC.
The PCSW 35th Anniversary Gala will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cromwell on Nov. 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets for the black-tie optional event are $50 per person and may be obtained by calling Lisa Smith-Overton at 860/240-8443 or by logging on to www.cga.ct.gov/pcsw.
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