Women Employed

TOMORROW! Join us for a Chicago premiere screening of "Silenced," a documentary about international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson and her fight against the weaponization of defamation laws to silence gender violence survivors. The viewing will be followed by a panel discussion with political strategist Alaina Hampton, Women Employed Executive VP of Policy, Programs, and Research, Sharmili Majmudar and Brave Path Strategies founder Darci Flynn. Moderated by Dan Mihalopoulos, investigative reporter at WBEZ.

Date: Tuesday, September, 22nd
Where: The Davis Theater , 4614 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60625
Time: screening begins at 6:30 pm CT
Registration: https://ow.ly/7a1L50ZPGXp

Please join us next for a Chicago premiere screening of "Silenced," a documentary about international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson and her fight against the weaponization of defamation laws to silence gender violence survivors. The viewing will be followed by a panel discussion with political strategist Alaina Hampton, Women Employed Executive VP of Policy, Programs, and Research, Sharmili Majmudar and Brave Path Strategies founder Darci Flynn. Moderated by Dan Mihalopoulos, investigative reporter at WBEZ.

Date: Tuesday, September, 22nd
Where: The Davis Theater , 4614 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60625
Time: screening begins at 6:30 pm CT
Registration: https://ow.ly/GKaz50ZPbPT

Today marks Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Women’s Equal Pay Day. We're joining our friends at Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC), Equal Pay Today, A Project of Equal Rights Advocates, and the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) to spotlight a critical affordability issue: the persistent wage gap that threatens the economic survival of NHPI women and their families. Fair pay is essential for basic financial security, and closing the wage gap is central to advancing economic justice. As the midterm elections approach, we urge our communities to vote for leaders committed to dismantling economic barriers, addressing structural inequities, closing the wage gap, and ensuring economic justice for all NHPI women and their communities.

Your vote is your voice—and this year, it matters more than ever! Make sure you're registered, find your polling place, learn about mail-in ballots (including NEW USPS RULES that could impact YOUR ballot), and spread the word to all our friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues. You can do all this and more with WE's Voter Mobilization Toolkit: https://ow.ly/Mn9y50ZM2vZ

And spread the word with our digital outreach toolkit: https://ow.ly/osuu50ZM2w0

and please join the Illinois Women's Institute for Leadership Training Academy's annual Dawn Clark Netsch Policy Forum: : "It's Still the Economy, Stupid" 💯 virtual event!

Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Time: 5:30 - 6:30 pm CT
Registration link: https://ow.ly/kWkU50ZKsq7

Moderator: Jaemie Nelly, Federation of Women Contractors

Featuring Panelists:
→ Cherita Ellens, President and CEO, Women Employed
→ Erion Malasi, IL Director of Policy and Research, Economic Security Project
→ Liz Shuler, President, AFL-CIO

Today, we commemorate Labor Day—a day to celebrate and honor both working people, and those who have fought for better and stronger workplace protections for us all.

This year, comes amid the continued assault on working people across the country. From abruptly cancelling the union contracts of hundreds of thousands of federal workers, slashing SNAP & Medicaid funding, to threatening to ban mail-in ballots and voting machines.

Women Employed has defended, advanced and protected spaces that center the needs of working women, their families and communities since 1973. And we have no intention of stopping now.

Women Employed mourns the passing of groundbreaking feminist, journalist, organizer, and trailblazing figure in the women’s liberation movement, Gloria Steinem. For over 60 years, Gloria Steinem’s work helped redefine what was possible for women and shined a light on what women should expect from their workplaces, their economy, and their society. Her activism challenged barriers keeping women from equal opportunity, economic independence, and was a meaningful voice in the decisions shaping their lives. And through her writing, she brought issues such as workplace discrimination, equal rights, reproductive freedom, sexual harassment, equal pay, and women’s political and economic power to the forefront.

Read more here: https://ow.ly/wbtk50ZIUj8

For more than two decades, Molly Baltman-Leonard has worked to address systemic inequities and expand opportunities for communities and families. Throughout her career in philanthropy, nonprofit leadership, and community-focused work, she has approached that work with a deep belief in the power of listening, asking questions and understanding the systems that shape people’s lives.

Enjoy August's “She Says" with Molly Baltman Leonard, as she reflects on the experiences that led her to equity-focused work, what she has learned from the communities and leaders she works alongside, and shares her hopes for a Chicago where families can more easily navigate the systems that support their lives: https://ow.ly/PWal50ZInlN

The summer may be coming to close, but our work is not. We ended July with convenings for entrepreneurship, families, and higher education, and celebrated the conclusion of another cohort of The Pattis Family Foundation Summer Leadership Program. And in August we witnessed the signing of two very important pieces of legislation.

Want to know more about what we’ve been up to? Check out this month’s edition of Where in the World is Women Employed: https://ow.ly/hYmj50ZHqmS