Dialogues on Issues Important to Women (1974-present & beyond)
The Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues (CWI)
CWI welcomes the opportunity to promote and celebrate the important work our members do! Feel free to share your women’s advocacy action alerts, inspirational women’s stories and upcoming women’s events through CWI’s X or Facebook page OR by submitting a few sentences for inclusion in our monthly newsletter. View our past programs on YouTube. Subscribe to announcements of free CWI Meetings here.
Join us at our next Program, usually held on the 4th Tuesday of every month from noon-1pm ET.
To sign up for announcements of free CWI Meetings click here.
CWI meetings have a limited amount of participants but usually are recorded for viewing and or listening to at a later date. Often there are resources mentioned by presenters listed on our Programs page. There is also a written summary on the Newsletters page following the program’s month.
Dorothy Height
“I have been in the proximity of, and threatened by, the Klan; I have been called everything people of color are called; I have been denied admission because of a quota. I've had all of that, but I've also learned that getting bitter is not the way.”
— Dorothy Height
— Dorothy Height
— Dorothy Height
Bernice Sandler
“Sex prejudice is so ingrained in our society that many who practice it are simply unaware that they are hurting. It is the last socially acceptable prejudice."
— Bernice Sandler
— Bernice Sandler
— Bernice Sandler
Loretto Gubernatis
“I don't compete, I shine. If you shine too, there will be more light!"
— Loretto Gubernatis
— Loretto Gubernatis
— Loretto Gubernatis
Hillary Clinton
“Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.”
- Hillary Clinton
- Hillary Clinton
- Hillary Clinton
Eleanor Roosevelt
“Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you’ll be criticized anyway.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Michelle Obama
“Success isn’t about how much money you make; it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”
- Michelle Obama
- Michelle Obama
- Michelle Obama
Ayn Rand
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me?”
- Ayn Rand (Author)
- Ayn Rand (Author)
- Ayn Rand (Author)
Maya Angelou
“If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.”
- Maya Angelou (Civil Rights Activist, Poet)
- Maya Angelou (Civil Rights Activist, Poet)
- Maya Angelou (Civil Rights Activist, Poet)
Maya Angelou 2
"I am a feminist. I’ve been female for a long time now. I’d be stupid not to be on my own side."
- Maya Angelou (Civil Rights Activist, Poet)
- Maya Angelou (Civil Rights Activist, Poet)
- Maya Angelou (Civil Rights Activist, Poet)
Gloria Steinem
"A gender-equal society would be one where the word 'gender' does not exist: where everyone can be themselves."
— Gloria Steinem
— Gloria Steinem
— Gloria Steinem
Kofi Annan
"When God created man and woman, he was thinking, 'Who shall I give the power to, to give birth to the next human being?' And God chose woman. And this is the big evidence that women are powerful."
— Kofi Annan
— Kofi Annan
— Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan 2
"Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance."
— Kofi Annan
— Kofi Annan
— Kofi Annan
Hillary Clinton 2
"Human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights."
— Hillary Clinton
— Hillary Clinton
— Hillary Clinton
Oprah Winfrey
"Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism."
— Oprah Winfrey
— Oprah Winfrey
— Oprah Winfrey
Audre Lorde
"I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We've been taught that silence would save us, but it won't."
— Audre Lorde
— Audre Lorde
— Audre Lorde
Mary Shelley
"I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves."
— Mary Shelley
— Mary Shelley
— Mary Shelley
Alice Walker
"One child must never be set above another, even in casual conversation, not to mention in speeches that circle the globe."
— Alice Walker
— Alice Walker
— Alice Walker
Evita Peron
"I demanded more rights for women because I know what women had to put up with."
— Evita Peron
— Evita Peron
— Evita Peron
Susan B. Anthony
"Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less."
— Susan B. Anthony
— Susan B. Anthony
— Susan B. Anthony
Melinda Gates
“As women gain rights, families flourish, and so do societies. That connection is built on a simple truth: Whenever you include a group that's been excluded, you benefit everyone. And when you're working globally to include women and girls, who are half of every population, you're working to benefit all members of every community. Gender equity lifts everyone. Women's rights and society's health and wealth rise together.”
― Melinda Gates, The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World
― Melinda Gates, The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World
― Melinda Gates, The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World
Monique Morris
“Defining freedom cannot amount to simply substituting it with inclusion. Countering the criminalization of Black girls requires fundamentally altering the relationship between Black girls and the institutions of power that have worked to reinforce their subjugation. History has taught us that civil rights are but one component of a larger movement for this type of social transformation. Civil rights may be at the core of equal justice movements, and they may elevate an equity agenda that protects our children from racial and gender discrimination, but they do not have the capacity to fully redistribute power and eradicate racial inequity. There is only one practice that can do that. Love.”
“Defining freedom cannot amount to simply substituting it with inclusion. Countering the criminalization of Black girls requires fundamentally altering the relationship between Black girls and the institutions of power that have worked to reinforce their subjugation. History has taught us that civil rights are but one component of a larger movement for this type of social transformation. Civil rights may be at the core of equal justice movements, and they may elevate an equity agenda that protects our children from racial and gender discrimination, but they do not have the capacity to fully redistribute power and eradicate racial inequity. There is only one practice that can do that. Love.”
“Defining freedom cannot amount to simply substituting it with inclusion. Countering the criminalization of Black girls requires fundamentally altering the relationship between Black girls and the institutions of power that have worked to reinforce their subjugation. History has taught us that civil rights are but one component of a larger movement for this type of social transformation. Civil rights may be at the core of equal justice movements, and they may elevate an equity agenda that protects our children from racial and gender discrimination, but they do not have the capacity to fully redistribute power and eradicate racial inequity. There is only one practice that can do that. Love.”
― Monique Morris, Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
― Monique Morris, Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
― Monique Morris, Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
Jane Austen
“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.”
― Jane Austen, Persuasion
― Jane Austen, Persuasion
― Jane Austen, Persuasion
Malala Yousafzai
“I raise up my voice-not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.”
― Malala Yousafzai
― Malala Yousafzai
― Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai 2
“The extremists are afraid of books and pens, the power of education frightens them. they are afraid of women.”
― Malala Yousafzai
― Malala Yousafzai
― Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai3
“With guns you can kill terrorists, with education you can kill terrorism.”
― Malala Yousafzai
― Malala Yousafzai
― Malala Yousafzai
Helen Keller
“Blindness separates people from things; deafness separates people from people.”
― Helen Keller
― Helen Keller
― Helen Keller
Mary Wollstonecraft
“I love man as my fellow; but his scepter, real, or usurped, extends not to me, unless the reason of an individual demands my homage; and even then the submission is to reason, and not to man.”
― Mary Wollstonecraft
― Mary Wollstonecraft
― Mary Wollstonecraft
Faye Wattleton
“Reproductive freedom is critical to a whole range of issues. If we can’t take charge of this most personal aspect of our lives, we can’t take care of anything. It should not be seen as a privilege or as a benefit, but a fundamental human right.”
― Faye Wattleton
― Faye Wattleton
― Faye Wattleton
Bella Abzug
“The test of whether or not you can hold a job should not be in the arrangement of your chromosomes.”
― Bella Abzug
― Bella Abzug
― Bella Abzug
Anita Hill
“Women who accuse men, particularly powerful men, of harassment are often confronted with the reality of the men’s sense that they are more important than women, as a group.”
― Anita Hill, Speaking Truth to Power
― Anita Hill, Speaking Truth to Power
― Anita Hill, Speaking Truth to Power
Gloria Steinem 2
“Men should think twice before making widowhood women's only path to power.”
— Gloria Steinem
— Gloria Steinem
— Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem 3
“Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.”
— Gloria Steinem
— Gloria Steinem
— Gloria Steinem
Tina Fey
“And, you know, politics aside, the success of Sarah Palin and women like her is good for all women - except, of course —those who will end up, you know, like, paying for their own rape ‘kit ‘n’ stuff, But for everybody else, it’s a win-win. Unless you’re a gay woman who wants to marry your partner of 20 years - whatever. But for most women, the success of conservative women is good for all of us. Unless you believe in evolution. You know - actually, I take it back. The whole thing’s a disaster.”
— Tina Fey
— Tina Fey
— Tina Fey
Abigail Adams
“...remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the Ladies we are determined to foment a Rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.”
― Abigail Adams
― Abigail Adams
― Abigail Adams
Sheryl Sandberg
“In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.”
― Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
― Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
― Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
Marie Shear
"Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.”
