As the year comes to an end, PowHer® New York celebrated our 2023 Equity Award Champions! 

• Empire State Campaign for Child Care for increasing funding and accessibility of child care.
• Senator Jessica Ramos and Assembly member Latoya Joyner for advancing the NYS Salary Transparency Law.
• SAG-AFTRA for its leading role in protecting union worker’s rights.  

PowHer®NY President Bev Neufeld opened the festivities noting that these awards build on the hard work we did together at the 2022 Equity Summit where the focus was a caring and equitable Economy. Our 2022 Equity Awardee Ana Oliveira and Camille Emeagwali of the New York Women’s Foundation highlighted the imperative for collective action in the critical year ahead. They stressed the importance of the PowHer® New York Network for building strength in solidarity, connecting the dots between our issues and communities, and amplifying a gender, racial, and economic justice lens. That theme was echoed by awardee Senator Jessica Ramos who said “PowHer®NY is really creating this space and building bridges across these very interconnected struggles in order to produce serious legislative win”

The 2023 Child Care Champion Award was accepted by Shanita Bowen, Steering Committee Co-Chair, and Mansie Meikle,  Co-chair of ESCCC parent engagement, on behalf of member organizations of the Empire State Campaign for Child Care (ESCCC). Shanita highlighted the work to create a universal childcare system where every child can get their best start, families can access care they need, and child care providers earn their deserved compensation without immigration or work related barriers. 

Mansie Meikle shared her struggles as a single mother to access child care for her three children, and how these struggles moved her to become a parent advocate for universal child care.  “No family should have to go through what my family and I went through…At this point, we are no longer accepting the scraps at the bottom of the barrel.”

To introduce the Pay Equity Champions Award, Seher Khawaja of Legal Momentum, co-chair of PowHerNY’s Equal Pay Committee, spoke to the importance of collaborations with powerful legislative champions to combat pay secrecy, which has long fostered pay inequity by concealing problematic pay disparities and perpetuating biased salary setting. Underscoring New York’s role as a leader in the movement for pay transparency nationally, Deborah Vagins of Equal Pay Today presented the Pay Equity Champion award to NYS Senator Jessica Ramos and Assemblywoman Latoya Joyner for their work advancing New York’s salary transparency law. 

Our legislative leaders recounted how many women and members of marginalized groups have already reported how the salary transparency law has positively impacted them as they re-enter the job market, look for better paying jobs, or seek to transition jobs. “Women are holding so many things on our backs,” said Assemblywoman Joyner. “We deserve to enter into those rooms with confidence and with transparency, and that’s what this bill does”. Bev Neufeld noted that we have much work ahead improving this law, ensuring enforcement, and new policies to ensure equal pay.

The final award was presented by Emmy-award winning actress and SAG-AFTRA member Carrie Preston, and accepted by SAG-AFTRA New York Local’s Executive Director Rebecca Damon, in recognition of the union’s achievement of better wages for members after a 118 day long strike. “Every actor who brings the human experience to these audiences, needs to be fairly compensated with grace and dignity,” said Carrie Preston. “Especially women, who often get paid less than their male counterparts”. Rebecca emphasized the centrality of unions in establishing pay equity at the baseline and setting equitable standards.

Mary Luke, Board Chair of PowHer® New York, layed out our goals in 2024 which include a new young women’s advocacy project. She underlined the critical year ahead, where the public will determine the legislative leadership and policy direction of our state and the country. As women’s rights, LGBTQI+ rights, voting rights and immigrant rights are at risk, the PowHer® model of collective action will be especially vital. 

As we toast our Champions, we thank you – all our Partners, volunteers and activists – for an impactful year! Wishing you Peace, Health and Powher in the New Year!

Thank you to our Event Supporters!

FOREMOST FRIEND

Amplify Her® Foundation
New York Women’s Foundation
Edward & Ellen Roche Relief Fund
Valentine Perry Snyder Fund
SAG-AFTRA
Shahara Ahmad-Llewellyn
Michelle Blankenship
Rebecca Damon
Mary M. Luke
Beverly Neufeld

FRONTLINE ADVOCATE
Donna Dolan
Girls for Gender Equity
H2Growth Strategies
Women Creating Change

DEDICATED DONOR
Deanne Braveman
Jacqueline Ebanks
Terri Ganssley
Yolanda F. Johnson
Patricia Kozu

POWHER PLAYER
Empire State NYC Branch, AAUW
Blue Carreker
Darlene Fedun
Allegra Fishel
Deborah King
Sara Shapiro-Plevan
Barbara Thomas
Zonta Club of Greater Queens
(in formation)