History – She Leads Justice

Our History

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

1975

CWEALF wrote P.A. 75-284, a bill that provided for equal educational opportunity in public schools, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin .

1975

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

1992

With funding from the State Department of Education, CWEALF began working on VERTEC (Vocational Equity Research, Training and Evaluation Center). CWEALF implements training, programs, and research to increase equity in career and technical education.

1992

Connecticut enacted a law requiring employers with more than 50 employees to train all supervisors on how to prevent and respond to sexual harassment. CWEALF became one of the state’s major in-service training providers on the topic of sexual harassment.

1992

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

2000

CWE/4\LF founded the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Hate Crimes Project and developed a new Hate Crimes Project slogan: “Don’t Let Hate Silence You!” CWEALF reached out to LGBT victims of hate crimes to provide victims with information about their legal rights, attorney referrals, and advocacy through legal and social services.

2000

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

2010

CWEALF began its role as the evaluator for the Hartford Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative. Within four years, the Hartford teen birth rate reduced by 40%, exceeding the initative’s original goal of 10%.

2010

CWEALF began as Co-Chair of the Connecticut Campaign for Paid Family Leave. CWEALF led the coalition of more than 65 organizations in advocating 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. Paid Family and Medical Leave was passed into law in 2019.

2010

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

CWEALF became the technical assistance partner for Secure Jobs CT, a multi-year pilot initiative with Melville Charitable Trust and 21 philanthropic partners to increase the income of families transitioning out of homelessness.

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

2019

An Act concerning Paid Family and Medical Leave was signed into law in Connecticut in June 2019. CWEALF led the Connecticut Campaign for Paid Family Leave.

2019

2021

CWEALF leads passage of the Salary Transparency law, which has four components: equal pay for comparable work, wage range transparency, salary history ban, and freedom to discuss wages with others without fear of retaliation.

2021

The organization hires its first Black woman Executive Director, after only having white women in the role. The organization is also Black-woman led and majority women of color across the Board of Directors and staff for the first time.

2021

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

She Leads Justice led passage of Public Act 24-8, An Act Expanding Paid Sick Days in the State, which broadens coverage to virtually all private sector employees, so that employees no longer need to choose between losing a paycheck or taking care of their health.

2023