Commission Began with Eleanor Roosevelt

Written by Shala Hainer Tuesday, July 19 2011

Snapshot Mary Molina Mescall
Mary Molina Mescall, president of the National Association of Commissions on Women (NACW), brings nearly four decades of public service and advocacy experience to the table. After working in several positions with the city of Albuquerque, including in police support services and marketing, she was appointed by former Gov. Bill Richardson to serve as executive director of the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women.

Her years of service have been recognized with a diverse group of awards, which include the Governor’s Distinguished Public Service Award, the City of Albuquerque Human Rights Bridge Award, the YWCA Woman on the Move Award, the NAACP Freedom Award, the Governor’s Award for Outstanding New Mexico Woman, and an induction in the National LULAC Hispanic Woman’s Hall of Fame. She has dedicated her life to educating others about issues affecting women and advocating for those issues.

As president of NACW, she follows a rich tradition of powerful women working for the good of all the nation's women and children. Originally organized in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy as the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, the group was first led by Eleanor Roosevelt. The first vice chair was Esther Peterson of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau. NACW works to maintain this essential relationship with the White House and national leaders.

Womenetics: How has NACW grown from the 1960s until now?
Mary Molina Mescall: NACW is unique as a women's organization. It was established for very important reasons. The first report from the commission was issued in 1963, and it made it clear the work for women's equality was just beginning. The report recommended each state establish similar commissions. The Business and Professional Women's Foundation (BPW) made it a priority to set up these local commissions, and the BPW was soon joined by other organizations. There are now 199 commissions of women across the country at the state, county, and city levels. Unlike BPW, all these women's commissions are government supported. Some are strictly volunteer based, while others have staff and state funding. We are the only group of women's organizations that is government funded. NACW serves as the national association for these commissions.

Womenetics: What is the main goal of NACW?
Mescall: NACW's main responsibility is to educate local commissions on national issues that affect women. We help local commissions identify areas of disparate impact for women and girls, determine the remedies, and advocate for those remedies. It depends on the community as to what those disparate areas are.

Womenetics: How were you active advocating women's issues in your local community before working with the NACW leadership team?
Mescall: I served eight years as the executive director of the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women. I stepped down in March. The board members and executive director are appointed by the governor. When there's an election, there's generally a new executive director. New Mexico has its first female governor, a Republican, and she has tried to repeal the statute that created the commission through the legislature. Through the hard work of our staff, we overcame her repeal efforts. However, she “line-itemed” our budget away, leaving just a small amount. The commission's doors are now closed; it's still there in statute, but there's no staff.

Womenetics: Your 2011 annual conference includes a session on survival strategies for commissions. Why is this important for your members?
Mescall: Challenges for commissions across country are the same as what we've gone through in New Mexico. That's why we have a workshop each year on commission strategies – focusing on women's issues, which, regretfully, are not always considered important.

Women's commissions, especially in this economic time, are invaluable, especially in New Mexico. Women and girls comprise 51 percent of the population in New Mexico. Local support is there, but the issues become budget and ideological differences. I knew commissions can be vulnerable – some people don't like the idea of women commissions, and money is always an issue. In New Mexico, I tried to get on the radar immediately. I wanted everyone to know we were busy and making a difference. I knew we couldn't duplicate any services, and we had staff, so we could provide direct services.

With help of a magnificent staff, I'm not giving up. As long as the commission is still there in the statute, we will lobby next year to keep it viable until there's a change in administration or a change in the governor’s mind to get the commission back full throttle.

Womenetics: What are the main legislative issues affecting women that NACW is currently focusing on?
Mescall: NACW serves as the national voice for the commissions, the voice on the street. One of the services we provide to local commissions is Issue Alerts. These include information on important issues such as pay equity, human trafficking, and economic security.

Womenetics: What do you believe is the one biggest change NACW has influenced?
Mescall: We have an important relationship with the White House. We work closely with them to get the word out on issues, and the best way they can communicate to many women is through organizations like NACW. Through our Issue Alerts, we provide information to our members about how to participate in conference calls with national leaders, to listen in, and contribute. That's how we do it on national level. An important fact about our organization: We are nonprofit and nonpartisans. We exist to support women and girls.

Womenetics: Several of NACW's upcoming sessions seek to educate women on abuse issues, which reflect some of NACW's legislative priorities. How does NACW reach out to the nation's women to educate them on violence and abuse issues, such as domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking?
Mescall: Media doesn't always talk about it. New Mexico was recognized for our human trafficking initiatives – many members need to hear from someone like our speaker, New Mexico Assistant Attorney General Maria Sanchez Gagnem about what's going on. The information she'll be presenting at the national conference is what we need to know about human trafficking and what we can do. It's shocking. Each individual belonging to a commission from across the country will learn how to contact their human rights office or attorney general's office to see how they can support existing initiatives. Awareness of this crime is essential. Learning about this issue will help members take that information and act locally.

Womenetics: NACW encourages women to run for office locally and beyond. Why is it important for women to join the world of politics?
Mescall: Elected officials set policy. It's important to have women be part of that policymaking to make a difference in the laws that are created. It's essential to have more women represented at local and national levels to support women and girls in our communities. We also stress the importance of voting – everyone's political by voting. What we want to do with our conference is raise awareness and give the information and tools to our members to go back to their communities to do what they can locally – to offer resources to help them make change. To bring issues to the attention of policymakers, women need to be familiar with those issues. We teach them how to approach their officials.

Womenetics: How do women's commissions reach out to older women?
Mescall: New Mexico has workshops for older women based on surveys of their needs. Elderly women are very vulnerable financially. We had a displaced homemakers program for older women going through divorce, many of whom were working outside of the home for the first time. The classes include how to manage finances and how to search for jobs (even with limited skill). We found in New Mexico that it was an important topic for many women – it's the difference in communities that this commission offers such classes but another commission wouldn't have the same need.

Womenetics: How important are strategic partners to educate women on the importance of proper financial planning and other topics?
Mescall: I think that if you look at the statistics, in most cases, the woman is the poorest adult statistic, and her children are poorer. It's important for commissions on women to be focused on women and economic security – it always come down to jobs and being able to work. We're connected to women across the county and can be a resource for private and nonprofit organizations. Collaboration between organizations is very important. We have to build on each other. Local commissions can partner with area nonprofits, support what they do, attend their events, and use the commission's contacts to get the word out. This shows the support we need to offer each other. I can't emphasize enough the importance of reaching out for women's commissions, private, and nonprofit organizations. In New Mexico, we couldn't have made as much progress without the help of our sister organizations.

Based near Atlanta, Shala Hainer has been writing and copyediting since 1995. Beginning her career at newspapers such as the Marietta Daily Journal and the Atlanta Business Chronicle, she most recently wrote and edited articles for several nonprofit organizations before purchasing a flower shop in 2006. She earned a bachelor’s in communications from Jacksonville State University.