Deeds Digest from Wendy Davis

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The Newsletter of the Deeds Not Words Community

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October 2nd, 2016 | Deeds Digest No. 19

Hello #ChangeMakers!

Last Friday in our home of Austin, TX, Deeds Not Words joined Connie Britton (who among us didn’t fall in love with her portrayal of Tammy Taylor?), Tameca Jones (highly regarded female vocalist based in Austin) and one of Austin’s favorite bands, The Bright Light Social Hour (check out this video they produced in the aftermath of the People’s Filibuster) to “Rejoice for Choice.” It was an opportunity for us to take a breath and celebrate our hard fought victory in the Supreme Court against Texas’ anti-choice law passed in June of 2013.

What better way to celebrate than to register people to vote, right? And register them we did! Moved by the powerful personal testimony of special guest, former Nevada Assembly member, Lucy Flores, and thanks to the woman-power provided by our friends from Planned Parenthood and Boss Babes, we were successful in adding many new voters to the rolls for the upcoming election.

If you aren’t yet registered to vote, or if you’ve moved and need to register at your new address, here’s where you can find information about how you register so that you can be sure your voice will be heard this November and beyond. And please don’t buy into the idea that your one vote can’t make a difference. One by one by one by one… your voice, added to those of so many others, is EXACTLY what will make the difference! Just like all those individuals who showed up at the Texas Capitol in the summer of 2013 and successfully shouted down the passage of a bad bill in the minutes before midnight, you can make sure your values are heard.

Think of the ballot box as a place where you get to “scream” against the inequality and injustice that we are all fighting so hard to end. As I’ve said before, my money’s on you #ChangeMakers!

xo,
- Wendy

This week’s #ChangeMaker is the award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, who has starred in The Hunger Games, American Hustle, and Silver Lining's Playbook, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress. Jennifer is an advocate for women's rights; she is extremely concerned about body image issues and body shaming, and is working to encourage young women and girls to embrace themselves and not pursue the artificial ideal of "Hollywood skinny."

Jennifer has also become quite outspoken for equal pay. She admitted that as a young actress she wanted to be liked. She wanted to avoid being perceived as difficult or spoiled, so she did not fight for higher pay even as her movies broke the box-office. But, after the Sony Studios payroll hack published salaries of actors and studio executives, Jennifer realized that the men she was working with definitely didn't worry about coming across as difficult or spoiled. Jennifer, we thank you for showing young woman that equal work deserves equal pay! #DeedsNotWords

#ICYMI

Kristen Bell takes on working women’s issues like equal pay, maternity leave, and healthcare in this humorous PinkSourcing video from the new HuffPo series Celebs Have Issues.

The truly dope queen, Phoebe Robinson, helps us explain the pay gap to deniers. #PayGap #LetsGetReal Make It Work Action

The Trust Women South Wind Women's Center in Oklahoma City provides services that include abortions, Ob/Gyn care, family planning, adoption, and emergency contraception – and it’s the first new family planning clinic in the state since 1974! Why is this noteworthy? Because, prior to the clinic's opening on September 10, Oklahoma City was the largest metropolitan area in the country without an abortion provider. Refinery 29

President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act at the beginning of his administration, signaling the country that equal pay was an issue that mattered. When Salesforce.com Inc. announced last year that it would spend $3 million adjusting salaries to ensure its female and male employees received equal pay for equal work, other U.S. companies started paying attention — although sometimes it’s under pressure of lawsuits. The Wall Street Journal

In this Lenny Letter, Jennifer Lawrence shares how she found her voice and is learning to trade in being liked for speaking up.

According to the National Women’s Law Center, Census data shows that women working full-time were only paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts in 2015. However, un-insurance among women dropped nearly one-third. This means that 5.4 million more women have health insurance since the Affordable Care Act was implemented in 2013.

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