AAUW Salem Branch

AAUW Salem Branch celebrated its CENTENNIAL (founded in October 1922 at Willamette University) in October of 2022! In partnership with the Chemeketa Foundation, this scholarship is awarded to an outstanding student in the final year of their program who has had to overcome barriers to their chosen field and may be underrepresented in their field of study.

Education was and is the primary focus for the Salem Branch. AAUW of Oregon and our Salem Branch began lobbying for public school kindergarten in 1962. Before they finally became a reality in 1981, the Salem Branch established the parent cooperative “Happytime Nursery School and Kindergarten” which operated for decades. Lobbying for funding and improvements in the public schools and higher education system continues. Women now attend in equal or greater numbers than men on college campuses in the United States.

AAUW Salem Branch members were active in the advocacy for the Fair Pay Act passed in Oregon in 2017, which affected womens’ pay after the law went into effect (closing the pay gap for some). We continue to lobby for bills that affect education and equity. Locally our members sponsor a “Start Smart” and “Work Smart” program at the Willamette U School of Administration. These workshops are designed to teach students negotiation skills necessary to enhance their opportunities for a fair salary offer when they apply for job positions. We collaborate with the Salem Parks and Recreation Dept. to plant trees in response to the city’s Climate Action Plan. This year we are planting trees in the park between Yoshikai Elementary School and Stephens Middle School in NE Salem. We sponsor a Speech Trek (contest) for high school girls, and this year collaborated with the library’s SALEM READS program, featuring Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. The speeches focused upon “Belonging” as a theme. We sponsored the “She’s Speaking” concert this year to call attention to women artists and musicians who honored many notable historic and current women for Women’s History Month. We promote the World Beat Festival, and volunteer services to this event, in an effort to embrace the rich diversity of cultures in our community.