Maine Women’s Lobby Annual Gender Justice Awards
Maine Women’s Lobby Annual Gender Justice Awards are given to those who go above and beyond in our community for gender justice, building a more liberatory future for all.
2024 Awardees
While we know that misogynistic violence directed towards women policymakers and politicians is not a new phenomenon, and we know that this type of violence is something that most, if not, all women policymakers experience at every political level, we saw extreme examples of this this legislative cycle directed towards Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and Speaker of the House Rachel Talbot Ross.
After Secretary Bellows performed the duties of her job this winter, her home address was posted publicly online and her home was then “swatted”. She had to leave her home for more than a week, and she and her staff had to endure non-stop threatening communication, and deepfaked pictures and quotes posted online.
Last summer, Speaker Talbot Ross, the first Black woman elected as House Speaker in Maine, endured misogynistic and racist flyers with photos of her home, and side-walk chalk with hateful, violent messages outside her home and spread in her neighborhood.
Both Secretary Bellow and Speaker Talbot Ross experienced this misogynistic violence aimed to frighten and intimate them after and because of performing the duties of their jobs.
This misogynist political violence, quickly passed over and mostly unaddressed, did not stop there this year. In March, in response to “The Shield Bill” protecting abortion access and gender-affirming care, bomb threats were delivered to the State House, the home’s of the Committee Chairs' (both of whom are women), and the Maine Democratic Party.
This cannot become the norm in Maine. These incidents are clearly not one-ofs, or coincidentally aimed at women policymakers. This misogynistic violence grows on the foundations of white supremist patriarchy all political work is rooted in, and the continued expectation to uphold patriarchal and white supremacist norms.
Secretary Bellow and Speaker Talbot Ross and all those who experience misogynistic and racist political violence, you are not alone. We see you, we support you, and we are here to stand up against this with you.
So, we grappled with how to frame this award, because we don’t want to have to give an award for experiencing bad shit, we want to award you for being badass. Secretary Bellow and Speaker Talbot Ross, you both truly exemplify badassery in the face of and despite misogyny and hate. Thank you for always standing up for what is right, leading with courage and reliance, and exemplifying feminist leadership.
“We’ve been conditioned to scarcity, we’ve been conditioned to think that there isn’t enough for all of us. What we’re trying to promote, at least with [Wabanaki Public Health], is that there is enough, and the only way we will have enough is by working together and collaborating with each other.”
This kind of vision has resulted in culturally appropriate food, cooking, language access, birthing, and more as part of how Wabanaki public health is building the public health of their communities. The ‘Pie in the Sky’ award is for people who are reimagining our shared future. But this is not reimagining, it’s restoring and re-building what already exists. Lisa, within her organization but also through the many tables at which she sits, is showing us what it means to restore ways of being that push back the tide of patriarchy and white supremacy, and help us build a new future, guided by ancestral wisdom.
MaineAEYC works with folks on local, state, and federal policies affecting children, families, and educators.
We count ourselves extremely lucky to have been sharing an office with Maine AEYC, and are excited to announce that we moved into a new place together, and are inviting other feminist partners to join us.
From the hopes for feminist dance parties to coordinating the chair colors of our new shared offices, it has been a delight to think about how to create an ecosystem among feminist organizations here in Maine so that we can all increase capacity, collaboration, and care for each other as we work on the care infrastructure.
While we all have different missions and goals, together, we are not just working at the State House on policy change but also on how our organizations achieve that change. We count ourselves grateful to have AEYC's partnership.
AWARDS:
Legislative Champion: This award is given to legislators and legislative staff who work to create gender justice through policy change in the Maine legislature.
Collaborative Champion: This award is given to organizational partners who work to create gender justice through collaboration and network building.
Volunteer Champion: This award is given to an individual volunteer or community member helping us meet our mission.
Gender Justice Champion: This award is given to an individual or organization working to liberate gender, dismantling harmful gender norms and building new frameworks for a future free from sexism or misogyny.
CRITERIA:
Award recipients have shown a commitment to gender justice, who are changemakers going above and beyond to create more effective policies, partnerships, or opportunities for a more gender-equitable Maine.
Awardees have gone above and beyond, using their time, talent, creativity, and energy to contribute to our movement and help us meet our mission of a Maine free from misogyny and sexism.
NOMINATION & SELECTION:
Nominations may be made each year by Maine Women’s Lobby staff, Board members, and community members such as volunteers and advisory council members.
Nominations are reviewed by the Maine Women’s Lobby Board and Staff, and awardees are selected. Awardees will be notified in June of each year, and celebrated at our annual summer event.
2023 Awardees
Bear cubs have family bonding time for around 17 months - about 6 times longer than most Maine babies. This year’s Legislative Champions are receiving the ‘Team Bear Cub’ Award for bringing all of the cuddly charm of a bear cub, but all of the fight of a mama bear to the campaign for Paid Family and Medical Leave for Maine. Together, Senator Daughtry, Representative Cloutier, and their chiefs of staff Jenna Howard and Katie Walsh worked in the Senate and House, and across the state for nearly three years to make the dream of paid leave a reality. We are honored to recognize them as a team as the inaugural Maine Women’s Lobby Legislative Champions.
All of our best work happens in collaboration with our partners. For several years, we have teamed up with our friends at Hardy Girls for our powerful Girls Day at the State House. This year, we took it to the next level, and expanded this program to double the size and add a high school sister program - and we did it side by side with the team at Hardy Girls. We are proud to be working together to build feminist youth empowerment opportunities for Mainer, and to honor Hardy Girls with this year’s Collaborative Champion Award.
When we work for gender justice, we want the Pie In the Sky: a Maine where everyone can live free from sexism, misogyny, and other oppressions, and where Mainers are free to make choices about their lives, their bodies, and their gender identity and expression that align with their own needs and experiences. This year’s Pie in the Sky Award Recipient is fighting for that Maine. Quinn Gormley has tirelessly worked to lead an organization and her community working for trans rights and dignity. She is a faithful partner and never fails to show up and contribute, and to ask for what is needed. In a time when trans lives are under attack across the country, under Quinn’s leadership Maine has passed four first-in-the-nation bills this session to protect and expand safety and freedoms for trans Mainers. We are honored to award her the inaugural Pie in the Sky Award.
We’re proud of how much important work we are able to move forward with a team of our size. But much of that work is made possible because of the energy, enthusiasm, and contributions of our member community. This year we want to give recognition to three special volunteers: whenever we needed them, Kim Simmons, Denise Tepler, and Barbara Cray were there. Each of them contributed in more ways than we can mention, but we especially lift up Kim, who is our partner in dreaming about education and outreach, and single handedly coordinated several hundred handwritten postcards to voters during the election. Denise has volunteered nearly every time we’ve asked, including going above and beyond to staff this event last year, and to wrangle a couple of hundred youth in our Girl's Day at the State House programming. And Barbara has contributed her incredible energy to documenting our history, past and present, through photos, videos, documentary work, and more. These three champions are such a valuable part of our team, and we are thrilled to honor their contributions.