Communication – a means of connection between people to impart or exchange information or news. Seems straight forward and in this day and age of electronic devices should be easy. Right? Well, as it turns out, that has been the biggest frustration for the Board members this biennium. The reasons vary from inaccurate contact information to blatant avoidance with non-returned emails and phone calls. This leads to vital information not being shared in a timely fashion and individuals being frustrated by “nagging”, both giving and receiving. Everyone is busy but please try to enhance the communications across our District. We need to help ourselves help each other. Share updated contact information, send newsletters to the Board and the District Presidents, post your events on your social media, and respond to emails or phone calls in a timely fashion even if it’s just to say, “I got this but am really busy right now and will get back to you later”.

While reviewing our District Goals, the Board found that the lack of sharing has made it hard to track our progress. Take for example the goal to interact with more like-minded men’s organizations to promote our mission. We know it happens but tracking the extent and with whom is hard. Our general sense is that it happens mostly in unstructured ways such as participating in a Walk a Mile in Her Shoes events. The one shining example we can point to is the Kankakee Truck Wrapping project.

We do not have to re-invent the wheel or go this alone. I suggest you investigate the UN Women’s HeForShe project at www.HeForShe.org. This project was launched in 2014 with the intent to actively bring men in to the conversation on how to build gender equality.

It’s mission statement reads: “The World is at a turning point. People everywhere understand and support the idea of gender equality. They know it’s not a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issue. And when these powerful voices are heard, they will change the world. The time for change is now.”

“HeForShe is uniting people around the world to stand together to create a bold, visible force for gender equality. And, it starts by taking action right now to create a gender equal world.”

The HeForShe campaign is mobilizing individuals ranging form CEO’s and Heads of State to the person on the street to take steps to make gender equality happen. Zonta International encourages us to use this campaign to build more bridges with traditionally male dominated business and organization.

The HeForShe website has Action Tool Kits for your next steps. These include activities you can take in your daily life or your Club can develop as projects. Please consider this resource in our efforts to empower women.

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