Are you ready to #PowHer the Vote on November 3? This election offers a critical opportunity to protect and promote gender, racial and economic justice at a time when too many in power want to take us backwards.
We invite you to join the PowHer The Vote series of weekly virtual sessions – running September 29 through October 27 – with in-depth presentations around key issues, and opportunities for questions and discussion. Each session will include an overview of the issue, insight into current policies and questions for candidates to help voters determine where candidates stand on these issues.
The PowHerNY Network brings together representatives from 100+ organizations throughout New York State who share a commitment to inclusive gender equity. Some of our leading organizations have worked hard to provide a sharp focus on timely issues that could be directly impacted by these election results. Please join us, and engage your friends and colleagues as well, so we can PowHer the Vote this year.
Sign Up for PowHer the Vote Sessions!
Challenges to Voting Integrity and Voting Rights:
Rumors and Reality
September 29th | Register Here
The Fight for
Universal
Child Care
October 6th | Register Here
The Reemergence of
Pronatalism: A Threat to
Genderand Racial Equity
October 13th | Register Here
Affordability
and
Healthcare
October 27th | Register Here
How can we #PowHerTheVote for women’s rights and lives in this election?
By speaking out for economic equity!
Economic justice is deeply interconnected with key issues that impact equity for women, including reproductive freedom and maternal health, the care economy, housing justice, and gender based violence.Encourage our leaders to take an intersectional approach to economic equity and gender equity for New York women by learning about our top #PowHerTheVote issues.
Learn About Candidate Priorities
Find out where your candidates stand on these key gender equity issues by doing a little extra research!
Look up questionnaires issued to all candidates, like this one.
Ask your candidates where they stand using our #PowHerTheVote candidate questions on social media or over email!
Take a look at candidates’ platforms on their campaign websites.
Dates to Know
October XX | General Election Early Voting Starts
November XX | General Election Early Voting Ends
November XX | General Election
Take a look at candidates’ platforms on their campaign websites.
Learn More About Our Topics and Events
Challenges to Voting Integrity and Voting Rights:
Rumors and Reality
September 29th | 1:00PM ET | Register Here
Your vote is your voice, but will you be able to use that voice in November? We don’t blame you for wondering, what with recent news stories about proposed changes, and actual challenges to existing voting laws. Get up to date and accurate information from Erica Smitka, Executive Director of the NYS League of Women Voters, so you can head to the polls with confidence.
FEATURING
Erica Smitka, Executive Director, League of Women Voters of New York State (LWVNY)
The Fight for Universal Childcare
October 6th | 1:00PM ET | Register Here
Universal child care is free child care for all. It means that every child and family, regardless of income, immigration status, or zip code, can access high-quality, free child care that meets their care needs. It means that every child care educator makes a thriving wage that reflects the true cost of care. It means that child care is treated as a public good, rather than a private family burden.
In this session we’ll dive into what candidates actually mean when they refer to supporting “universal child care” and how that compares to what parents, providers and advocates are envisioning. The result will be an increased understanding of key issues impacting child care accessibility for New York voters and the national conversation.
The Reemergence of Pronatalism: A Threat to Gender and Racial Equity
October 13th | 1:00PM ET | Register Here
The Reemergence of Pronatalism: A Threat to Gender and Racial Equity will unpack the growing momentum of the Heritage Foundation backed “pronatalist” movement and how this movement, grounded in white supremacist ideology, advances the patriarchal, hetero- and repro-normative nuclear family model at all costs to push women into narrowly defined domestic roles and out of public spaces. These forces have a long history, and similar to the eugenics movement, have a singular vision for what a family looks like, as demonstrated by the aim and impact of pregnancy criminalization, the family regulation system, and immigration policy on Black and Brown families.
Speakers will unpack the landscape as well as explain the threats associated with pronatalist ideology and policy, as well as opportunities to push back on this agenda here in New York. This briefing will additionally inform prospective voters about the role that pronatalism plays in rising fascism and equip them to ask questions of their candidates.
FEATURING
Allie Bohm, Senior Policy Counsel, New York Civil Liberties Union
Georgana Hanson, Executive Vice President, Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts (PPESA)
Miriam Mack, Campaigns & Advocacy Director, Senior Counsel, Movement for Family Power
Katie O’Connor, Director of Federal Abortion Policy, National Women’s Law Center.
Ashley Sawyer, Senior Policy Counsel, Pregnancy Justice
Affordability and Healthcare
October 27th | 1:00PM ET | Register Here
How does the current system of health care reinforce existing inequities and what can our elected leaders do about this? Working families, students and aging baby boomers throughout New York State live under constant stress, trying to anticipate or meet rising premiums and deductibles, medical debt, and the possibility of losing employer-sponsored insurance. Women, who are more likely to shoulder caregiving responsibilities, who experience interruptions in employment and often work in lower-paid care professions, bear an unequal share of the economic burden and injustice of this broken system. We need to elect leaders who take these problems seriously, and who are committed to reducing inequities and making access to quality, affordable care a priority.
Presenters for this program in our series will share facts and data to help us understand the key areas where our health systems are failing, and provide comparisons to other states and countries.They will describe a few of the proposals for reform now under consideration. In particular, they will share new research demonstrating how The New York Health Act (NYHA) could guarantee comprehensive, accessible, and upgraded healthcare to every New Yorker — while financing it progressively based on ability to pay — while saving tax dollars, reducing health disparities, and improving health quality over women’s longer lives.
Join us to explore how this election could impact the future of healthcare in our state and nation.
FEATURING
Melanie D’Arrigo, Executive Director, Campaign for New York Health
Judy Esterquest, Healthcare Issue Specialist, League of Women Voters of New York State
PowHer New York’s annual non-partisan, non-profit election season initiative, PowHer the Vote (PTV), has engaged communities across New York since 2016, providing key information to the public about voting, and educating both candidates and the public about legislative priorities to advance women’s rights. PowHerNY, a 501c3, is a network of over 100 organizations working in collaboration to attain women’s economic equality. More info at powherny.org.