Diane Schrier

Vice President for Public Policy

NONPARTISAN BUT POLITICALLY ENGAGED (AAUW VA: Our Issues)

AAUW’s nonpartisan policy means that the organization does not endorse party-nominated candidates. However, AAUW does endorse legislation; thus, we are nonpartisan, but we are not nonpolitical. AAUW has always taken political stands on the critical issues of the day, as dictated by the member-adopted Public Policy Priorities. AAUW works with any policy maker from any party who cares about our priority issues and shares our goals — even if that policy maker differs with us on another facet of the AAUW Public Policy Priorities.

Ahead of next week’s Equal Pay Day (March 25^th), we want to share AAUW’s latest The Not So Simple Truth report. The team has pulled together a folder of AAUW branded 2025 Pay Equity Resources materials to help AAUW members learn more and to raise awareness about the issue of the gender pay gap through social media, branch presentations, or when speaking with elected officials.

This folder contains the following resources:

The Simple Truth_2025 update.pdf: The Not So Simple Truth, 2025 Update!
- Gender Pay Gap by State-2025_supplement.pdf: Printable 2-pager with State-by-State pay gap information
- The Simple Truth PowerPoint presentation for use with your branches, community members, or elected officials
- Talking Points for The Simple Truth presentation: These talking points will guide you through The Simple Truth presentation
Equal Pay Day – Social Media Toolkit and Graphics:
Folder with Social Media Resources including Equal Pay Day graphics and suggested captions (included in the word document)
- 2025 Equal Pay Day flyer with all Equal Pay Dates for this year (9 in total)
Additional materials:
- Accessing 2023 ACS Data by Congressional District.docx:
  Guide on how-to access congressional level pay gap data
- Gender Pay Gap by Congressional Districts.xlsx:
  Excel sheet with congressional level pay gap data

This is a live folder which will allow us to add in any new resources as we have them. I want to thank Rashmi Chimmalgi, our Policy Associate for all of her work putting this together. If you have questions about the report or the resources, she’s the person to ask at Chimmalgir@aauw.org.

AAUW OF VIRGINIA PUBLIC POLICY PRIORITIES

AAUW (American Association of University Women) advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research to improve the lives of women and their families. AAUW-VA’s 2024-2026 Public Policy Priorities encompass issues related to economic security; education; and equality, individual rights, and social justice. The following legislative and policy priorities are those we will focus on for the 2024 Virginia General Assembly legislative session and beyond:

- - Advocate for abortion rights and for a reproductive rights Virginia Constitutional amendment
  - Advocate for economic security and equity for women in the workplace
  - Make childcare affordable and readily available for all families
  - Ensure full public-school funding and a strong system of public education that promotes equity, diversity, and inclusivity
  - Protect full access to voting through a Virginia Constitutional amendment

A complete list of AAUW-VA Legislative & Policy Priorities for 2024-26 are HERE.

VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Redistricting and legislator retirements created many changes in the member roster for the 2024 General Assembly. Members are encouraged to know their local Virginia Delegates and Virginia Senators and to reach out to them for meetings to discuss our Priorities and as speakers for branch events. If you do not know your legislators, you can find them by entering your address here: https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/

PRINCIPAL ORGANIZATIONS WE COLLABORATE WITH:

Fund Our Schools Coalition: https://www.fundourschoolsva.org/

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia:
https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/planned-parenthood-advocates-virginia-inc/about-us

NOW Virginia: https://vanow.org/

Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy: https://virginiainterfaithcenter.org/

Virginia Promise Partnership: https://www.vapromisepartnership.com/

League of Women Voters of Virginia: https://lwv-va.org/

OTHER RESOURCES