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President of The Ms. Foundation and Founder of Take Our Daughters
to Work Day Resigns to Take Women to The White House
NEW YORK, May 3, 2004--The movement to help women reach the
highest levels of business and government got a tremendous
boost today. Marie C. Wilson, creator of the immensely successful
Take Our Daughters to Work DayTM, has announced she will leave
her 20-year post as president of the Ms. Foundation for Women
to devote full energy to The White House Project, a progressive
nonpartisan organization she founded in 1998 to put more women
into leadership, including the U.S. presidency. For the last
six years, she has been president of both organizations.
“Marie’s devotion is uncompromising. Her 200%
at The White House Project will undoubtedly lead to new changes
in our political landscape,” said White House Project
board member, Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy (U.S. Army,
Ret.). “Under Marie’s charge, The White House
Project has become a leading force in spurring national dialogue
and action on women’s leadership in all spheres.
”Ms. Wilson’s highly praised new book, Closing
the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World,
was published in March by Viking/Penguin. The author has been
on a nationwide book tour since then, talking about how The
White House Project’s new initiative – Vote,
Run, Lead™ – provides a road map for the
issues she raises in her book.
The Vote, Run, Lead initiative will train and mobilize
a diverse group of 1,000 women to become political leaders,
and recruit and train more than 25,000 women to get out the
vote for the November elections. “Our democracy suffers
when women – who are over 51% of the population –
are seriously underrepresented in both the voting booth and
in public office,” said Ms. Wilson. More than 15 million
young women didn’t vote in 2000; the U.S. ranks only
57th in the world in terms of women’s political representation.
“Marie’s vision is rooted in democracy and innovation.
And, now with the re-doubling of her energy at The White House
Project and Vote, Run, Lead, the possibilities for change
are endless,” said Wendy Puriefoy, White House Project
board member and former board chair of the Ms. Foundation.
Over the past six years under Ms. Wilson’s leadership,
The White House Project has sponsored landmark leadership
summits and surveys: Why Women Matter convened international
women political leaders; The National Women’s Leadership
Summit brought together women CEOs and senior executives;
Pipeline to the Future studied young women’s political
participation; Framing Gender on the Campaign Trail analyzed
media coverage of women candidates; and Who’s Talking
revealed the absence of women guest experts from Sunday morning
political talk shows.
Through The White House Project’s work on popular culture,
Ms. Wilson has met with entertainment industry executives
to encourage the development of scripts that reflect women’s
leadership and created The White House Project’s EPIC
(Enhancing Perceptions in Culture) Awards. The award honors
“culture changers” for their work on enhancing
the images of women in popular culture, such as films, books,
TV, advertising and sports. In addition, joining with Mattel,
she brought the world White House President Barbie. With the
Girl Scouts, she created a “Ms. President Patch,”
which has now been earned by more than 40,000 girls.
Vote, Run, Lead (www.VoteRunLead.org)
will take aggressive steps to change the political landscape
and meet the challenges laid out in Ms. Wilson's book. “If
we can get more women involved politically in 2004 and beyond,
we will transform and strengthen our democracy. That’s
what The White House Project will do,” she said. By
combining traditional local organizing with both a national
voice and a sweeping Internet campaign, Vote, Run, Lead provides
a hands-on way for women to build strong networks in their
communities – networks that will encourage women to
vote and to consider careers in all levels of politics and
government.
“It is high time more women were entrusted with leadership
roles throughout this country,” Ms. Wilson said. “But
for that to happen, we must create a culture and a society
in which it is natural to see women leading. I intend to put
my full energy behind this urgent mission.
”Under Ms. Wilson’s two decades of stewardship,
the Ms. Foundation’s roots are strong and its programming
is sustainable. In acknowledgment of her contributions to
the Foundation and in support of her leadership vision, the
Foundation is awarding The White House Project/Women’s
Leadership Fund a record grant of $1 million.
“Promoting women’s advancement is key to the
Ms. Foundation’s mission,” said Foundation Board
Chair Andrea Levere. “We must have a diverse group of
women in the highest levels of leadership in all spheres,
both public and private. With our deep trust and confidence
in Marie, and her championing of these issues, it is our honor
to give The White House Project the largest grant we have
ever awarded.
”The Foundation is also naming Ms. Wilson its President
Emeritus on July 1, and is establishing the Marie C. Wilson
Leadership Fund in her honor. She will be the sole advisor
of this fund devoted to supporting the work of organizations
that promote women’s leadership.
In addition to the creation of Take Our Daughters to Work
Day, a highlight of Ms. Wilson’s tenure as president
of the Foundation is the 2004 launch of a $35 million endowment
campaign that has already reached $22 million.
May 2004
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