Women of Note

Jo Freeman writes: Forty years ago over 20,000 people gathered in Houston, Texas to celebrate International Women's Year (IWY) and identify goals for women for the next decade. On November 6 and 7, 2017, a few hundred people gathered at the University of Houston to celebrate the 40th anniversary of that conference. It was not sponsored by the federal government, though some would argue that today's federal government made it necessary. Speakers discussed what happened in 1977, what didn't happen, what should have happened, and what it all meant. more »

It was the spring of 1973, and 34-year-old Thompson had just started her first term in the Texas House of Representatives. Earlier that day, she was walking into a popular lunch place near the Capitol in Austin when Democratic state Rep. C.C. 'Kit' Cooke saw her and said loudly, for everyone to hear, "Oh, here comes my beautiful black mistress." She was infuriated. That same afternoon, Thompson, a Democrat, stepped onto the House floor to tell her mostly white, male colleagues she would not tolerate racist or sexist insults. more »

Testimony of Antonella Pianalto before the House Small Business Subcommittee on Health & Technology October 12, 2017: Women receive just 7% of venture capital funds and less than 5% of conventional business loan dollars, despite making up more than a third of all businesses. At the US Small Business Administration (SBA) flagship 7(a) lending program, only 17% of loans go to women-owned firms... if American women business owners were their own country, they would have the 10th largest GDP in the world, outstripping entire nations like Canada, Mexico and even Russia. more »

"I have spoken about some of the uncertainties associated with the inflation outlook in particular, and we will be paying close attention to the inflation data in the months ahead. But uncertainty about the outlook is by no means limited to inflation. As always, the Committee will adjust the stance of monetary policy in response to incoming economic information and the evolution of the economic outlook to achieve its objectives of maximum employment and stable prices. Moreover, we are mindful of the possibility that shifting expectations concerning the path of US policy can lead to spillovers to other economies via financial markets and the value of the dollar." more »