Congratulations to our Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholar, Maya Minter, who is currently working toward a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management at Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia. Maya is from Chicago where she began taking courses at Harold Washington College before transferring to Agnes Scott. According to her academic advisors, Maya has a strong work ethic and often sets an inspiring example to her fellow students. Not only has her academic performance been outstanding, it has been recognized in several ways. Maya was the recipient of the Posse Scholarship; Posse is a not-for-profit organization whose model works for both students and college campuses and is rooted in the belief that a small, diverse group of talented students—a Posse—carefully selected and trained, can serve as a catalyst for individual and community development. She was awarded the Mahalia Hines Education Scholarship. Chosen for the Aspire Fellowship (Aspire is Fidelity’s Latino and Black Employee Resource Group), Maya recently completed an internship with Fidelity Investments. As secretary for  WITKAZE, the Black Student Union on campus at Agnes Scott, Maya participated in events and discussions focused on cultural issues. On campus she also volunteered as an Admissions Ambassador, representing the college to perspective students, families, alumnae and guests through tours and events.

Maya is a well-rounded young woman with a wonderfully positive attitude. Her vision is to someday own a financially successful enterprise that can contribute to the elimination of food deserts and provide healthy food options to more neighborhoods. Her commitment to customer service in her part-time jobs at Home Depot and Chick Fil A has already demonstrated her passion to ensure every customer receives the best experience possible. We wish Maya the best as her academic journey continues.

Congratulations to Ava Uditsky of Elmhurst, as our 2021 Young Woman in Public Affairs Scholar!
Ava is a graduating senior at York Community High School, Elmhurst, Illinois. Ava’s involvement in Public Affairs includes President of York’s Women’s Empowerment Club (known more simply as Empower), a member of York Student Ambassadors, and member of Student Council all four years of high school, serving as Sophomore Class President. Working with survivors of the tragic Parkland shooting, Ava helped organize a town hall in Illinois before the 2018 midterm exams, leading successful fundraising of more than $2,000 for a 150-person event, focused on prioritizing students’ voices in the fight for safer schools.
Hands-on experience outside of school inspired Ava to understand what public service really means. In 2019, Ava interned with Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, where she had the opportunity to speak with constituents ranging from women struggling to afford childcare to soybean farmers threatened by the US-China Tariff War. More recently, she also interned for State Representative Deb Conroy, where she organized a community diaper drive (yielded 7,000 diapers) for families in need and worked with constituents to access unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ava served in several other capacities that inspired her including Youth Organizer with Lauren Underwood for Congress, Intern with the More Like America Political Action Committee during the 2020 election cycle. Dedicated participation in unconventional virtual campaign events led Ava to head a team of her peers in phone-banking and fundraising sessions.
We wish Ava the very best a she takes the next steps of her academic academic journey.

Applications are now open the for 2021 Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship . . .

SCHOLARSHIP DESCRIPTION

Women have made great strides in the pursuit of education, careers and leadership roles they were once denied. However, they still comprise a minority of leaders in the business world. As of December 2020, 21.2% of S&P 500 companies’ board seats are occupied by women, and just 6% of the companies’ CEOs are women.

Because Zonta International believes in gender equality, the Jane M. Klausman (JMK) Women in Business Scholarship program helps women pursue undergraduate and master’s degrees in business management and overcome gender barriers from the classroom to the boardroom. The Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship program was established in 1998 from a generous bequest by Jane M. Klausman, a member of the Zonta Club of Syracuse, New York, USA, and the 1990-1995 Zonta International Parliamentarian.

The program operates at the Zonta club, district/region and international levels. Zonta annually awards up to 32 scholarships of US$2,000 each at the district/region level and six international scholarships in the amount of US$8,000 each.

Since the program’s inception, Zonta has awarded 640 scholarships, totaling more than US$1.5 million, to 492 women representing 58 countries.

ELIGIBILITY

Women of any age, pursuing a business program with major field of specialization in accounting, economics, finance, business management, marketing, operations management, human resources management, international business, or entrepreneurship at an accredited university/college/institute, who demonstrate outstanding potential in the field and are living or studying in a Zonta district/region, are eligible. Online students are also eligible to apply if enrolled at an accredited university/college/institute.

Students must be enrolled in at least the second year of an undergraduate program through the final year of a Master’s program at the time the application is submitted to the local Zonta club. Applicants must be in school at the time the scholarship funds are disbursed and must not graduate before December. Previous International Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship recipients may not apply to renew the Scholarship for a second year.

Classified members (club members and individuals with direct membership with Zonta International) and employees of Zonta International and Zonta  Foundation for Women, and their family members (ancestors, descendants, adoptees, siblings, nieces or cousins, and those of their spouse or co-habiting partner), are not eligible to apply for the Scholarship.

APPLICATION DETAILS

Deadline to apply to Zonta Club of Oak Brook: May 31, 2021

Download the application form:
2021 Zonta Club of Oak Brook Jane M Klausman application

On March 8, 2021, we will celebrate International Women’s Day with our annual breakfast (this year virtually!). Join us to start your day with other fantastic women! Our speaker will focus on how to maintain mental health during this pandemic.
Tickets are only $12 at https://www.paypal.me/ZontaOakBrook

Adolescent Girls’ Health and Protection Project

Adolescents, especially girls, must have opportunities to empower themselves so they can speak up for their rights and develop the self-confidence and autonomy needed to take control of their lives and bodies. Significant inequities based on gender, age, geographic location, ethnicity and income persist for many Peruvian adolescents.

Defined by the Peruvian government as the ages of 12 to 17, adolescents constitute 11.2% of the population, or 3.5 million people. However, adolescents are often considered neither children nor adults and find themselves in between.
The Adolescent Girls’ Health and Protection project will contribute to guaranteeing the rights of indigenous and rural adolescents, especially girls, and respond to their needs by preventing pregnancy, addressing mental health concerns and providing a protective environment from violence by providing quality, gender-sensitive, and culturally adapted health, education and protection services.

Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972:
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
Essentially, Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding (the vast majority of schools). While Title IX is a very short statute, Supreme Court decisions and guidance from the U.S. Department of Education have given it a broad scope covering sexual harassment and sexual violence. Under Title IX, schools are legally required to respond and remedy hostile educational environments and failure to do so is a violation that means a school could risk losing its federal funding.
While Title IX was previously a powerful tool to stop sexual violence and harassment in schools, on August 14th, 2020, the Department’s new Title IX rule went into effect. The Rule drastically rolls back protections for student survivors and makes it easier for schools to sweep sexual harassment under the rug. Visit Hands off IX resources and toolkit to learn more about personal rights in light of the rule and holding school administrations accountable.
Data Source: KNOWYOURIX