The other half

Published on October 9, 2015, InCity Voices. Reprinted by permission 

What do the Perkins Branch Library, Abby’s House, and the Abby Kelley Charter School have in common? They are just three different organizations named after two groundbreaking women from our area whose contributions are memorialized in these institutions.

We women comprise more than half the world’s human population. But from reading the media one would get the impression that men greatly outnumber women in all areas, from creativity, to wealth, to productivity. A closer look at the reality paints very different picture; Women have always made great contributions to all walks of life, in addition to their unique function as mothers and caregivers.

We are approaching a presidential election in 2016, and much has been said about the possibility of the Democrats electing a woman = for the first time in our history – this time. For the U.S. it may be a first, but certainly not in the rest of the world, where women have ruled over nations great and small ( remember Queen Elizabeth, Cleopatra, Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, Benazir Bhutto, to name but a few that some of our readers may recognize, but in no particular order).It would seem that our publicity agents are not as aggressive s those of our male counterparts, or maybe it si that generally women’s egos do not need the constant public recognition so often be-stowed on men, (mostly by other men).

So, here is an update on a local project, recognizing some women’s contributions in the Worcester area. I refer to WWHP – the Worcester Wom-en’s History Project, celebrating its twentieth year on Thursday, October 22nd, 2015, with an Annual Meeting starting at 5:30 p.m., at the Worcester Historical Museum. The meeting will be followed by a 20th Anniversary Celebration, and a presentation of the first WWHP presentation of the group’s Women Making History Award, right after the Annual meeting, followed by a lecture and book signing by Author Bonnie Hurd Smith.

This year’s award goes to a woman many of us know well, Linda Cavaioli: 23 years at the Worcester YWCA, where she has been a “leader in the elimination of racism, and the empowerment of women.” She was one of the founders of WWHP, and has fought for the rights of women in all areas, and for their personal and economic advancement. She is also active as a volunteer and/or board member of numerous Worcester organizations, as well as being a member of the City Manager’ Task Force on Bias and Hate.

Come and participate in this celebration, on Thursday, October 22, at the Worcester Historical Museum, starting with the business meeting (where you will find out all that this group has been doing),at 5:30. Then stay for the Anniversary Celebration, to begin at 6:30 p.m., featuring the book signing and lecture, followed by refreshments.

The mission of this organization is to raise awareness of the rich history of women in the Worcester area, create national recognition of Worcester’s role in the history of the women’s rights movement, and advance the ideals put forth in the 1850 convention that there should be “equality before the law, without distinction of sex or color”, or ethnicity. [Note: This is a reprint of article.]