Our History
1973
August 17th, 1973, CWEALF was incorporated in its first locationin New Haven, Connecticut.1973
1974
CWEALF drafted and supported the passage of the State Equal Credit Opportunity Act (P.A. 73-57). This act made it unlawful “for any creditor to discriminate solely on the basis of sex or marital status against any person in any credit transaction.”1974
1978
CWEALF helped Lea Dickson and Barbara Hall win their Title IX case;In 1978 a US District Court mandated that Title IX must be implemented and enforced across the country.Previously,Dickson andHal could not get support for equitable equipment and resources when they were softball coaches in the early 1970s at Bunnel High School in Stratford,CT.1978
1980
CWEALF signed a contract with the University of Connecticut to provide sexual harassment training and supervise the Rape Education Program which was founded by UCONN that year. CWEALF’s sexual harassment poster, “Sexual Harassment Is Not A Compliment,” received national attention in Ms. Magazine and On Campus with Women.1980
1986
Leslie Gabel-Brett was CWEALF’s Executive Director from 1986-1994. During that time, with the help of Mona Last (education Director) and Lourdes Rodriguez (Bilingual Community Educator), CWEALF expanded its community education program by translating all of its educational materials into Spanish and making a concerted effort to reach Spanish-speaking communities.1986
1987
CWEALF expanded its activities to include a new Public Policy Research Program. CW EAL F’s fi rs t res ea r ch project, en tit I e d “The Economic Consequences of Divorce Study,” was done in collaboration with the Women’s Research Institute of Hartford College for Women and the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women.1987
1997
CWEALF conducted a study that investigated compliance with Title IX in Connecticut’s high school sports programs and issued a report entitled “Keeping Score: A Report Regarding Connecticut Secondary Schools and Connecticut’s Title IX Mandate for Gender Equity in Athletics.” This informed CWEALF’s Girls’ Athletic Equity Project that provided trainings and technical assistance to parents, students and school districts. Pictured: Anne Stanback, Executive Director (1994-1999)1997
1999
CWEALF was one of five founding members of Love Makes a Family Connecticut. CWEALF played a key leadership role to pass a co-parent adoption law in 2000 and legalize same-sex marriage in 2008.
1999
2002
CWEALF, as a member of the Coalition for Choice, retained Ruth Pulda as legal counsel to intervene in the purchase of Sharon Hospital by a private network. Through this intervention and the leadership of the Attorney General, the sale of the hospital was contingent on the provision of reproductive health care for patients. This was , the first case o fits kind in Connecticut and an important victory for the pro-choice movement.2002
2003
CWEALF started the program called Generating Girls’ Opportunities (G2 0). G2 0 increased girls’ exposure to STEM and other nontraditional careers. G2 0 reached thousands of girls across the state until the program ended in 2017.2003
2006
Under the leadership of Executive Director Alice Pritchard, CWEALF established the Campaign for a Working Connecticut (CWCT), a statewide coalition to promote the state’s economic competitiveness through the development of sustainable, effective workforce solutions to increase low-wage workers’ skills and advance a11 individuals and families to self-sufficiency.2006
2013
CWEALF began as Co-Chair of the Connecticut Campaign for Paid Family Leave. Today CWEALF leads the coalition of more than 65 organizations that advocates for a system of paid family and medical leave for workers who need time off to welcome a child, care for an ill loved one, or recover from a serious illness.2013
2014
CWEALF’s Legal Education program was part of a 3-year collaborative called “I Heart Justice” with Statewide Legal Services and CT Alliance for Basic Human Needs. The collaborative streamlined services to better serve the Spanish-speaking community of Greater Hartford.2014
2015
CWEALF guided a bipartisan working group of advocates and lawmakers to champion P.A. 18-8: An Act Concerning Pay Equity. Connecticut now joins only four other states that prohibit employers from asking about salary history in the application process, a practice that perpetuates gender and racial wage gaps.2015
2022
CWEALF launches the bilingual Community Organizing program to connect women who have most impacted by systemic issues to change work. Women’s Wisdom Circles are established as the flagship for the program, drawing in women from various backgrounds across the state.
2022
2023
The organization changed its name to She Leads Justice in celebration of its 50th Anniversary.2023