About Us Content

Who We Are

The US National Committee (USNC) for UN Women is an independent non-profit, 501c3 organization that supports the mission of UN Women and social, political, and economic equality for women and girls around the world.  Our members and supporters are men, women, and children in cities around the country who give their time and resources to support a world where women of all ages have access to education and employment opportunities, and sustainable livelihoods that enable them to live free of gender-based violence.

Originally chartered in 1983 as a National Committee for UNIFEM (now part of UN Women), the U.S. National Committee is committed to expanding support and raising funds within the United States for UN Women. Through the help of our Board of Directors, Advisory Council, local chapters and members, we help support UN Women projects that span 100 countries around the globe.
 

What We Do

The US National Committee for UN Women:
• Advocates for funding for UN Women through US Congress
• Educates on global women’s issues and UN Women in communities around the country
• Raises private funds to support the initiatives of UN Women
• Supports legislation on global women’s issues, especially on leadership, economic participation, ending violence against women, and peace and stability
• Partners with other National Committees, women’s groups, and like-minded organizations
• Creates chapters and increase membership to build support and funds for UN Women and global women’s rights
 

How We Do It

Advocate
• Chapter members meet with their Members of Congress in their districts and in Washington DC regularly to support funding for UN Women.
• At the national and chapter level, USNC mobilizes letter writing and postcard campaigns to Members of Congress in support of legislation, like the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA). This bill supports preventive efforts, such as economic and education opportunity programs to ensure that women avoid becoming victims of abuse.  USNC also advocates for the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); the United States is the only country in the western hemisphere which has not ratified this document.
• Members work with local elected officials to support efforts to ensure gender equity in local legislation.
Educate and Fundraise
• Hold annual campaigns, such as ‘Walks to End Violence against Women and Girls,’ around the country.
• Organize quarterly member meetings where members and guests can learn, network and have thought provoking discussions and events about how we can empower ourselves and others to end violence, poverty and inequality.
• Form student groups designed to create future spokespersons for gender rights.  An example is the Learners to Leaders Program, instituted by the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter.  High School students are given membership in the organization, and in return may attend member events and are provided with workshops and retreats to give them exposure to the global scene.
• Sponsor events, especially around International Women’s Day and the 16 Days to End Violence Against Women, to raise awareness of women issues and raise money to support UN Women.
• Host local annual conferences in communities around the country, including Atlanta, Durham, and New York City, to engage local community and corporate partners. 
• Support women focused and produced films like Pray the Devil Back to Hell and Women, War and Peace.
Collaborate
• Work in partnership with UN agencies, International NGOs and civil society in our efforts to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment. It is important for us to collaborate with representatives of other international organizations concerning women worldwide, since action is taken only when many voices are joined together. For example,
o The East Florida Chapter’s Women in Leadership Seminar brought together over 20 organizations to share ideas about how to develop leadership skills in young women and girls and to explore how women leaders’ strategies have changed over the past 10 years. 
o The Metropolitan NY Chapter partnered with The National Council for Research on Women (NCRW) for the 2010 Annual Conference in New York City to focus on collaborations to understand the intersections between violence against women and key social investments: the economy, health and education
• Work jointly with such organizations as Amnesty International USA, Women Thrive Worldwide and Family Violence Prevention Fund in support of the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA).

What Is UN Women

UN Women is a global champion for women and girls, established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the United Nations reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact.  UN Women is the only entity at the United Nations solely devoted to addressing women and gender issues.  It coordinates with other UN departments and civil societies to accomplish its mission.

UN Women is under the leadership of Michele Bachelet, former President of Chile, who has accepted the post of  Deputy Secretary General  as well as Executive Director. Ms. Bachelet has advocated for gender equality and women’s empowerment throughout her career. One of her major successes as President was her decision to save billions of dollars in revenues to spend on issues such as pension reform, social protection programmes for women and children, and research and development, despite the financial crisis. Ms. Bachelet also held ministerial portfolios in the Chilean Government as Minister of Defence and Minister of Health.


UN Women was created on July 2, 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly as the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women.   It represents the merger of four previously distinct parts of the UN system that focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment:
 

• Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)
• International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
• Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)
• United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

At the celebration of the launch of  UN Women on February 24, 2011, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, Michelle Bachelet stated, "In addition to our role of mobilizing, coordinating and leveraging the efforts of others, UN Women will focus on five areas:"

1. Expanding women’s voice, leadership and participation;
2. Ending violence against women;
3. Strengthening women’s full participation in conflict resolution and peace processes;
4. Enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and

Ensuring gender priorities are reflected in national plans and budgets, including capacity to support CEDAW reporting."*

Active in all regions and at different levels, UN Women works with countries to formulate and implement laws and policies to eliminate gender discrimination and promote gender equality in such areas as land and inheritance rights, decent work for women and ending violence against women. UN Women also aims to transform institutions to make them more accountable to gender equality and women's rights, to strengthen the capacity and voice of women's rights advocates, and to change harmful and discriminatory practices in society.

 
*The full text of Michelle Bachelet's remarks can be found here.


Click here to support our efforts today!

 **Photo at South Sudan Hospital courtesy of UN Photo

 

                   

 Caroline Slobodzian                  Crystal Lander                                     Kim Randle & Neale Godfrey

The USNC-UN Women board at the 2011 Annual Meeting and Conference

Executive Committee Maggie Forster Schmitz  President Crystal Lander First Vice President, Advocacy Kay Colson Vice President, Fund Development Terry Brackett Vice President, Membership Francine Brown Vice President, Strategic Planning Alexis McLeod Treasurer Mary Dailey Secretary   USNC- UN Women national board members Kay Colson, Grace Richardson, and Maggie Forster Schmitz at the June 2011 board meeting.     Chapter Presidents Linda Poteat-Brown Atlanta, GA Chapter   Florine Robicheau  Connecticut Chapter Denise Ferguson Chicago, IL Chapter Luz Van Meek* East Coast, FL Chapter Sharon Burde Gulf Coast, FL Chapter Cheryl Benton Metropolitan NY Chapter Liga Plaveniece National Capital Chapter Younghee Overly** North Carolina Chapter Carrie Dickenson and Cecilia Lipp San Francisco Bay Area Chapter CeCe Sloan Southern California Chapter *Chapter Representative **Chapter Alternate Representative         Staff Susan Cutri Program Director

Board Committee Chairs   Ann Trainor Finance Carol Poteat Buchanan Bylaws and Rules Stephanie Block Social Networking  Rene Kraus Communications       Board Members Neale S. Godfrey Grace Richardson Kim Randle Caroline Slobodzian Don McPherson     Special Resources to the Board Lisa Schenkewitz Technology Leita Kaldi Book Club Ruth Zeller UN Representative Janet Jarzyna Youth Groups Liz Colson Social Networking Evelyn Tseng Denise Holmes Contract Consultants   Advisory Council Dr. Gwendolyn C. Baker Dr. Martha Burk Ambassador Swanee Hunt Terry Neese Ambassador Nancy H. Rubin Drs. Alvin and Heidi Toffler Past Presidents 2007-2011   Carol Poteat Buchanan     1999-2007   Sheryl J. Swed                  1991-1999   Hope Miller                        1988-1999   Virginia A. Allan+              1983-1987   Patricia Hutar       +In Memoriam

 

Welcome to the U.S. National Committee for UN Women (USNC-UN Women). We are a group of highly committed and passionate individuals dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls around the world. I am honored to serve as the new president of USNC-UN Women and excited by the challenge to increase our support for UN Women and global women’s issues.

We are the voice of UN Women within the United States.  Our mission is more important than ever, as the key role that women play in the march towards global sustainable development has been widely acknowledged. Gender equality is a central component of all eight UN Millennium Development Goals, while the head of the World Bank simply calls gender equality “smart economics.” UN Women, with its new mandate and improved status, is well placed to continue its unique and invaluable contribution to global gender equality.

The upcoming years hold much promise for USNC-UN Women as well. Externally, the creation of UN Women with Michelle Bachelet at the helm engendered renewed enthusiasm and optimism for women’s development.  Internally, thanks to the efforts of Carol Poteat-Buchanan over the past four years, our organization is stronger than ever, with two national programs, five new chapters, and many behind-the-scenes organizational changes. I am looking forward to the next year and beyond in which we will continue to build our presence via strengthened social media efforts, increased national and chapter advocacy activities, and expansion of our network of members and chapters.

Please join us as we work within the United States to better the lives of women and girls worldwide.

Sincerely,

Maggie Forster Schmitz
President, USNC-UN Women

 

Committed to Realizing the Vision: A world where women and girls live free from in equality, poverty and violence.

National Committee Meeting

 

National Committees support the mission of UN Women through their dynamic membership programs, public education about UN Women and global women's issues, and private sector fundraising to support UN Women programs worldwide.