Birmingham-based national women’s group takes on Microsoft, big tech
With Gov. Kay Ivey at the helm, Alabama has been hard at work luring new businesses to the state like ants to a picnic. It seems like every time you turn around, another big business it’s announcing its arrival or expansion in the Yellowhammer State. Just this week, Ivey on Thursday announced Facebook will invest $750 million to build a data center in Huntsville, creating 100 high-paying jobs. In April, Google broke ground on a new $600 million data center in Jackson County, Ala. It is expected to add upwards of 100 well-paying jobs with highly technical skill sets, including computer technicians, system administrators, software technicians and engineers. But one Birmingham-based national women’s is questioning at what price tech jobs, like these, are coming to the state. Women United — a group that describes itself as a next phase of the #MeToo movement, dedicated to defending all women by shining a light on men who take advantage of women, thinking they can hide or are above the law — is calling out the tech industry and companies like Microsoft for its long history of sexual harassment and discrimination challenges in the workplace in hopes of protecting Alabama women. “With the growth of tech companies has come a painful reality that women in the field face sexual harassment and discrimination challenges other industries have long since put behind them,” wrote the visionary behind Women United, Catrena Norris Carter in an AL.com op-ed. The 30-year veteran of both the civil rights and women’s movements in America isn’t accepting the news of new tech jobs without holding the industry accountable. The numbers don’t lie Sexual harassment runs rampant in the tech industry. Seventy-eight percent of women founders say they have been harassed or know someone who was, according to First Round Capital’s annual State of Startups survey. Discrimination is an issue as well. According to CNN tech, “89% of those making investment decisions at the top 72 firms are male, according to one survey. And in 2016, VCs put $64.9 billion into male-founded startups, compared to $1.5 billion into female-founded startups, according to new data from PitchBook.” And it’s not just taking place at startups. According to a filing, Women at Microsoft filed 238 complaints with the company’s HR department between 2010 and 2016, including 108 complaints about sexual harassment and 119 about gender discrimination. There were also eight complaints of retaliation and three about pregnancy discrimination, the filing said. The tech giant is currently in the midst of a court battle over these allegations. Looking for accountability Women United it looking to protect Alabama women from being added to the shocking statistics of sexual harassment and discrimination. “As our state–and, more specifically, our big cities, including Birmingham, Huntsville and Mobile–looks to attract and grow tech firms, we must demand accountability regarding discrimination and sexual harassment,” Carter continued. “When lawmakers are cutting deals, they must ask those companies what they are doing to foster a safer and healthier environment for women.” “We don’t need that culture in Alabama–no matter how many jobs and tax dollars it brings,” Carter concluded.
Alabama activist takes on Harvey Weinstein’s billionaire friend Paul Tudor Jones
A newly established group, Women United, has released local digital and TV ads in the Charlottesville, Va. in an effort to hold Harvey Weinstein’s billionaire friends accountable for aiding and abetting his pattern of abuse. The visionary behind the group is Birmingham’s own Catrena Norris Carter. The 30-year veteran of both the civil rights and women’s movements in America is seeking to take on one of the longtime members of The Weinstein Company board of directors, the billionaire Paul Tudor Jones. Women United describe him as “untouchable” saying he has “shown a pattern of belittling and disregarding women.” They continued, “Paul Tudor Jones was an enabler to his personal friend, Weinstein. As a long term and supportive board member, Jones aided and assisted Weinstein, allowing him to continue preying on woman after woman and making himself an accessory to the abuse and harassment.” Which is why Women United will be attending Wednesday night’s University of Virginia (UVA) vs. Louisville basketball game with petitions asking the public to join them in requesting the removal of the Jones name from all UVA buildings. Along with volunteers, Carter will be walking around UVA throughout the week to have the Jones name removed. In October 2017, the Harvey Weinstein scandal arose when over 100 women came forward with claims of sexual assault and abuse against Weinstein. These allegations go as far back as the 1970’s. Even after the allegations against Weinstein went public, Jones maintained a direct relationship with him both as a business partner and as a personal friend. Following the allegations he emailed Weinstein, proclaiming, “I love you,” and telling him that “everyone would soon forget about the allegations.” But his personal support of Weinstein isn’t the only reason Women United are taking a stand against him. They also say he has an outdated, sexist view on modern day women in the workplace. When asked at a UVA function why industrial trading was mostly men, he said when women have children, it becomes a “focus killer.” Specifically, Jones told an audience of University of Virginia students, alumni and others that it is difficult for mothers to be successful traders because connecting with a child is a focus “killer.” As long as women continue having children, he said, the industry is likely to be dominated by men. “As soon as that baby’s lips touched that girl’s bosom, forget it,” Jones said, motioning to his chest. In the video of the event Jones says, “every single investment idea . . . every desire to understand what is going to make this go up or go down is going to be overwhelmed by the most beautiful experience . . . which a man will never share.” As the video goes on, he says, “You will never see as many great women investors or traders as men — period, end of story.” But in the ad released by Women United, Founder Catrena Carter states, “No has always meant no. Now, we have to go further. No more excusing inexcusable behavior toward women. No more allowing those who protect monsters like Harvey Weinstein to go unnamed. No more looking the other way when billionaires choose predators over victims. It’s time to stand together and fight.” According to a press release, Women United is a next phase of the #MeToo movement. In addition to releasing ads, the group will also be launching grassroots efforts to shine a light on the structure of powerful and successful men that allow abuse to go unchecked and unreported. “Until these men are exposed, the culture of tolerating assaults on women will continue,” said Carter. Watch Women United’s video ad below: Learn more about Women United, watch the newly released ad, and sign the petition here: https://www.womenunitednow.org/
National ‘Ride to Revive’ Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to leave from Selma
On June 24, 2017, the 4th Anniversary of the Supreme Court’s reversal of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, advocacy groups from across the country will come together in Selma, Ala. to embark on the “Ride to Revive” — a journey to the nation’s capital where they will endeavor to draw attention to and restore the invalidated section of the Voting Rights Act. Upon their arrival to Washington, D.C. on June 27, the S.O.S. Movement for Justice & Democracy, along with a coalition of 41 organizations, including Women of Will and NAACP, will hold a rally a press conference at the U.S. Capitol to discuss the need for restoring Section 5. “Every issue is a voting issue,” Catrena Norris Carter, one of the event’s organizers, said in a press release. “Many of the massive problems we face in the South and the Nation can be addressed by progressive voting rights laws and practices. Our democracy depends on us, the people and the South.” The group will begin their trek at the historical Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma — the site which played a critical role in securing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. On March 7 of that year, a group of roughly 525 African American protesters planned to cross the bridge on their civil rights march to Montgomery to demand the right to vote. At the bridge they were met by more than 50 state troopers and a few dozen men on horseback. When the demonstrators refused to turn back, they were brutally beaten, leaving at least 17 hospitalized, and 40 others injured. The violent attack, dubbed “Bloody Sunday,” shocked the nation and galvanized Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act, the landmark piece of federal legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. In the summer of 2013, the Supreme Court invalidated a section of the law — freeing Alabama and eight other states, mostly in the South, to change election laws without advance federal approval. Prior to that these nine states had to get “pre-clearance” from the U.S. Justice Department to make changes to voting districts.
Women of Influence: Catrena Norris Carter
Before she even entered college, Catrena Norris Carter was already surrounded by some of the biggest names in the civil rights movement — Rosa Parks, Jesse Jackson, Coretta Scott King. During those impressionable teenage years, Carter was given an internship by Faya Ora Rose Touré with the 21st century Youth Training Program (21C). For the next several years, during her summers and spring breaks, she would meet with young people at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) from across the country. She spoke with everyone from kids and politicians, to homeless kids and those who had been in prostitution — where leaders of the Movement would share their knowledge and experiences to inspire, assist, organize and develop young people to be skilled community focused leaders. Carter soaked it all in and has since been a mover and shaker in the Yellowhammer State. Which is exactly why she is Alabama Today’s February’s choice for our Alabama Women of Influence feature. When you speak to Carter, it’s easy to recognize you’re talking with a force of nature. But before we mention all that she’s doing to change the world for the better, it’s important to look back to the program and people who influenced her to be the woman she is today. Created in 1985 by Touré, who would ultimately become Carter’s lifelong mentor, 21C was the breeding ground of Carter’s passion for helping those around her find success. “It was very influential in making sure that we all gave back to our communities. That we don’t just go away and get jobs and work on our personal success, but how important it was to reach back down and make sure that you pulled everybody up around you,” Carter told Alabama Today. The program was also where Carter learned a valuable lesson: legislation and politics are the keys to change. “It was always instilled that legislation and politics are the way for freedom, and the way out of poverty, and the way to look at life,” Carter explained. “Most people don’t look at life politically. They just kind of live day-to-day. Without asking those questions of ‘why is this law a law’ or asking why the process works.” During these years, Touré, Alabama’s first black female judge and the wife of state Sen. Hank Sanders, taught Carter about the power of a single individual. The notion has stuck with Carter over the years, she now hopes it will one day be her legacy: for people to know the power of one. “Unfortunately, most people just kind of go along to get along. Which is how we ended up with things in the past that didn’t so well — for the Jewish people, for women, and with slavery,” Carter said. “You have to understand, all of that was legal at the time. Just because something was legal, doesn’t necessarily make it right. Or make it just.” She continued, “Don’t just accept everything that comes before you. You have a right to challenge it. To overthrow if necessary. Never sit idly by, and just go along to get along. Don’t go down without a fight.” That fighting spirit came to the surface in her local community in 2014, when the Hoover, Alabama school system looked to cut the school bus program. When her sons came home with the news that April, Carter knew it was time to act. Encompassing a 53-mile radius, many families like her own depended on the system to get their children to and from school. So she took the organizing skills she learned over the years and at the 21st Century Youth Training Program and put them to good use. From rallying other mothers to getting the Department of Justice and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund involved, Carter ultimately helped stop the proposal over a year later. “Instead of just accepting it, I got with some other moms, and we fought them. It took pretty much an entire year, but in the end, we won,” Carter reminisced. “It was nice to get a victory. Because we don’t get them very often. The underdogs don’t usually win when you’re up against a system that big and that powerful. It felt good. And it helped thousands of lives and families.” At a time where many young women across the country are looking at issues in their own backyards that they’d like to change, Carter has one piece of advice: get involved. “Join some organizations that are into human rights and injustice issues. Find an organization that you feel passionately about. Even if it’s down to the heart association or something. Because everybody’s not going to be political, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t be involved with social,” Carter affirmed. “Do something that helps leave the world a little bit better than you found it.” Rest assured, Carter is practicing what she preaches. Outside of her day job, yes jobs, the list of Carter’s involvement is beyond impressive. She’s on the Board chair of the Greater Birmingham Boy Scouts of America, Board Member of League of Women Voters, Board Member of Ancient African Slavery Museum, and a Member of Alabama New South Coalition. When she’s not serving on various boards or volunteering you’ll find her working. Not only the only is she the Associate Publisher of Who’s Who in Black Alabama, the Managing Partner of C&C, and the President & CEO of Women Of Will (WOW) —a statewide, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) working to advance a richly diverse mass of women into leadership positions at work, in the community and in politics. WOW aims to recruit more women for leadership positions, from the boardrooms to the courtrooms — she also serves as National Coordinator of Selma’s Bridge Crossing Jubilee. Before this role, she was Executive Director of the Selma to Montgomery 50th Anniversary Commemoration Foundation, as well as the Executive Producer of Centric/BET’S “Salute Selma” Docu-concert and SHEROS documentary featuring some of the female living legends of the movement. Before this role, she was Executive Director of the Selma to Montgomery 50th Anniversary Commemoration Foundation, as well as the Executive Producer of Centric/BET’S “Salute Selma” Docu-concert and SHEROS documentary featuring some of the female living legends of the movement. With
