Advancing gender equity for women and girls through research, education and advocacy

Being a member in AAUW San Jose you will be able to
-Support equity and education for women and girls
-Advocate for societal change
-Connect with your community
-Create new friendships through Interest Groups

Nationally, AAUW began in 1881 as a networking group of a few women college graduates, rare as they were at that time. Since then, and today, AAUW’s mission is to advance gender and pay equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research.  Scroll down to see donation opportunities, informative programs and our ‘Coffee and Conversation’ open house events! Members may participate in our many Interest Groups. shown on our activities calendar.

Who May Join? Membership is open to anyone who holds an associate college degree or higher. Students working toward a qualifying degree may become student affiliates.

Scroll down for upcoming events and meetings!

Donations are accepted anytime to our four 501c3 Community Action Projects, below.  You do not need a PayPal account to donate–links below also accept credit and debit cards.


Local Scholarship                  Gifts for Teens

                     

     Tech Trek                    Neighbors Helping Neighbors

              

The upstairs of our Headquarters is a business space and is for lease!
Downtown Willow Glen–click here for more info. Price reduced to $2200/mo!


Events and Meetings


Sip & Savor on St. Patrick’s Day!
Thursday, March 14
5:30 to 7 pm
1165 Minnesota Ave., SJ, 95125
(next to the Willow Glen Library)

Come to a casual get-together for members and those interested in our programs and interest groups! This will be an evening get together with a St. Patrick’s Day theme!  Learn about our 501(c)3 Community Action Projects, fun and informative events, actions to advocate for women’s education and pay equity.  Ask questions of longtime members, reconnect with members you haven’t seen in a while and meet new friends.  Prospective members are especially welcome!


History San José’s
Portraits of the Past
March 16, 1 to 2 pm

Are you interested in history, fashion, or comedy? History San Jose’s “Portraits of the Past” presents shows that are visually stunning, educational, historically accurate, and amusing. The friendly, fun loving, and talented volunteers make these programs an entertaining and educational view of days gone by in Santa Clara Valley. Museum volunteers assume the roles of locally significant citizens, and, after careful biographical research to ensure historical accuracy, portray these characters in interesting and often amusing sketches dealing with notable events in Valley history. The volunteers conduct intensive research to ensure that the costumes are both appropriate to the era and authentically constructed.
The event will be at the Willow Glen Methodist Church across from Headquarters. There is parking and easy access for this fun event in honor of Women’s History Month. For planning, please click here: Invitation-RSVP.


Join Women Leading Change in Santa Clara County….

…at the annual Women’s Leadership and Policy Summit on March 23 at San Jose State University.  The all day conference is free and you’ll be able to participate in impactful workshops and hear from women changemakers in three keynote speeches.  More details to come but register early as space is limited!  This year, there’s a special focus on how sports empower women.  See Cindy Chavez’s Linked In article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sports-tool-building-strong-women-cindy-chavez-esncc/


Past Events and Programs

We have many interest groups, four 501(c)3 Community Action Projects (above) and an active Public Policy/Advocacy group. Check out our activities calendar, the activities below and events on our Facebook page. (Note: our Facebook page is currently not being updated due to technical difficulties).


Neighbors Helping Neighbors Parking Lot Drive
Saturday, March 9, 10am to noon
1165 Minnesota Ave., SJ, 95124

We will be collecting feminine hygiene products/women’s adult diapers for Sacred Heart and new/gently used towels for Front Door Communities. Bins will be in the entry hall of Headquarters in case you can’t make it on this Saturday–drop your donations when you attend an Interest Group meeting or Community Action Project get-together!


February Program Event
Bestselling Author &
Historian Eleanor Herman
Saturday, February 17, 12 pm to 2 pm
ONLINE ONLY

To join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88037842305?pwd=xOZawsCDG0jnitH9aamDZdGebdffEd.1
Meeting ID: 880 3784 2305
Passcode: 282798

Eleanor Herman’s  latest book is “Off with Her Head,” exploring the history of misogyny against women with power from Cleopatra to Kamala Harris.  She is a New York Times bestselling author of several non-fiction works on the lives of European royals through the centuries, including the “Mistress of the Vatican,” the biography of a woman who ran the Catholic Church in the 17th Century.  She has appeared on the National Geographic Channel, the History Channel, and the American Heroes Channel. Herman offers a rare combination of skills for a historian – her research is intensely scholarly, yet she writes in an engaging, witty manner.  “Sometimes people ask me if I plan to write novels. And I say, with all the things that really happened, who needs to make stuff up?” Join us for this zoom only event.


Coffee and Conversation
Saturday, February 24
10 am to noon
1165 Minnesota Ave., SJ, 95125
(next to the Willow Glen Library)

Come to a casual get-together for members and those interested in our programs and interest groups! We will have coffee (and tea) and some early morning goodies.  Learn about our 501(c)3 Community Action Projects, fun and informative events, actions to advocate for women’s education and pay equity.  Ask questions of longtime members, reconnect with members you haven’t seen in a while and meet new friends.  Prospective members are especially welcome!


Coffee and Conversation Returns!
Saturday, January 27, 10 am to noon
1165 Minnesota Ave., SJ, 95125
(next to the Willow Glen Library)

Time to relax after the busy holidays. Come to a casual get-together for members and those interested in our programs and interest groups! We will have coffee (and tea) and some early morning goodies.  Learn about our 501(c)3 Community Action Projects, fun and informative events, actions to advocate for women’s education and pay equity.  Ask questions of longtime members, reconnect with members you haven’t seen in a while and meet new friends.  Prospective members are especially welcome!


January Program Event
The League of Women Voters
Saturday, January 20, 2024,
1:30 to 3 pm

Willow Glen United Methodist Church – Wesley Room
1420 Newport Ave, San Jose

The LWV, led by Martha Beattie, will be joining us to introduce and explain what to expect on the March 2024 ballot, propositions, and measures, including Voters Edge, a very helpful tool, that will make us absolutely more informed about the elections. Mark your calendar and prepare your questions. (Image by rawpixel.com)

For those who couldn’t attend, here is a summary of the League of Women Voter’s material:

LWVC Pros Cons 2024


December Program Event – Holiday Social
Saturday, December 16, 11 am to 1:30 pm
1165 Minnesota Ave., SJ, 95125 (Headquarters)

Join us for fun, refreshements, food, music , learning, entertainment and prize drawings from our Local Scholarship Online Fundraising campaign.  Come enjoy a flutist trio, and hear SongStruck, an a cappella group helping us with holiday sing-along songs.  It should be FUNtastic!  to help us plan our party, please let us know if you will attend this event by clicking on this invitation.

Keep the Holiday Spirit Alive 365: Ways to Support
AAUW SJ Community Action Projects
Saturday, November 18, 2023
10 am-12 pm Wesley Rm.
United Methodist Church
1420 Newport Ave., San Jose 95125

Dr. Tynka Dees will help us understand how giving to others changes our brains–for the better!
Three  AAUW members will speak to ways they choose to give.
Interbranch Special Projects Foundation Treasurer Virginia Turner, Aaron Correll, Fidelity Investments and Eva Levine, AAUW San Jose member and Financial Planner will present three financial vehicles you may not have considered.  And most important–We’ll hear from AAUW San Jose Community Action Project participants who will show us how our CAPs change lives.

SJSU Student Pantry Drive-Thru Food Drive
Saturday, October 28, 10 am to noon
1165 Minnesota Ave., SJ, 95125

“No student should have to face food insecurity” – Spartan Food Pantry
As part of the SJSU Cares Program, the Spartan Food Pantry is a walk-in food assistance program for eligible students. Neighbors Helping Neighbors is supporting this pantry by sponsoring a parking lot drive at Headquarters from 10 am to noon on Saturday, October 28, by collecting peanut butter, cereal, canned soups and granola/breakfast bars.


Keep the Holiday Spirit Alive 365
Saturday, November 18 – 10 am to noon
United Methodist Church
1420 Newport Ave, SJ

Please join us for an informative and inspiring program sponsored by the Local Scholarship Project “Keep the Holiday Spirit Alive 365: Multiple Ways to Support Our Community Action Prpojects” in the Wesley Room at Willow Glen United Methodist Church (Minnesota Avenue and Newport Street in San Jose). There will be refreshments, “thank you” party favors for all, donor and recipient speakers, and entertainment. Get that holiday spirit started early and keep it going all year long!


MINDFULNESS AS A KEY TO STRESS MANAGEMENT
Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 1:30pm -3pm on ZOOM
Kelly Weisberg, Certified Mindfulness Instructor

Kelly WeisbergStress is everywhere in our modern lives. We are overwhelmed by work, family, relationships, and even the television news! Stress leads us to feel anxious and depressed.  It contributes to sleeplessness and loss of appetite or overeating.  While we can’t control what happens around us, we can control how we respond to stress. Mindfulness teaches us techniques for stress management.  Mindfulness is the practice of focusing on moment-to-moment experience without self-criticism and with acceptance.  For further information, contact Kelly Weisberg at kelly_weisberg@yahoo.com or programs@aauwsanjose.org.


2023-2024 Fall Gathering
September 30, 2023 10 am to noon
Willow Glen United Methodist Church
1420 Newport (Newport & Minnesota Ave)

Please join us for this year’s Fall Gathering and invite those who may be interested in joining AAUW San Jose.  It will be great to gather in person again this year. As always, we will have Interest Group, Community Action Project and Public Policy representatives available to discuss what their group does and how you might want to participate.  Local Scholarship Scholars will speak on how the scholarship supports them and their field of interest—we just had our AAUW San Jose Scholars Reunion on 7/29, and believe me, these are incredible women!  Our keynote topic is: ‘We Are AAUW: Past, Present and Future,” exploring the gifts we all bring to AAUW San Jose, the challenges we continue face, the contributions we make to our community and the legacy we are building. We will have coffee and morning munchies.


AAUW California President Sandi Gabe
Wednesday, August 16, 5:30 pm

We had a great kickoff to our  Wednesday, 8/16 at 5:30 pm for the events and programs for this fiscal year with AAUW California President, Sandi Gabe, who joined us in person to let us know of exciting happenings at the state level. We held a hybrid event (online and in person) at our Headquarters at 1155 Minnesota, SJ (next to the Willow Glen Library).


AAUW San Jose 2023 Scholars Celebration
Saturday, July 29, 2023
10 am to noon

AAUW San Jose Headquarters
1165 Minnesota Ave., San Jose

This year we awarded over $120,000 in scholarships to 22 deserving women finishing the last two years of a four degree. each recipient has an amazing story of perseverance pursuing their education,  come meet them and other members of our branch at this special Coffee and Conversation event!

AAUW San Jose Headquarters is located next to the Willow Glen Library–look for the blue house with the redwood trees.  We can meet on our back porch and in the parking lot (weather permitting).  Shade will be provided if needed and we are outside. 

See other past programs on our Programs page.


Public Policy and Advocacy

AAUW is non-partisan, but not values neutral.  Join our Public Policy and Advocacy group and Take Action on Public Policy

Learn more about AAUW’s research-informed Public Policy here.

Do you know about Equal Pay and your rights?  Read this publication by the Women’s Bureau of a brief on the causes of the gender wage gap, including new statistics and analyses of gender and racial wage gaps, and a second brief on salary history bans legislation that prohibit employers from asking about prior salaries as a way to promote equal pay includes historic information on equal pay legislation and policymaking, salary history bans’ benefits and design and other policies for closing the gender wage gap.