California Gets Lousy Marks for Women's Health

California — A new report card on women's health shows California has plenty of room for improvement. The state received failing grades in a number of categories.

The report card comes from the National Women's Law Center. It grades and ranks states on 26 different measures of health status.

California got an "F" for the 22 percent of women who don't have health insurance. It also got lousy marks for obesity, health eating, and for the percentage of women who haven't had a pap smear in the past three years.

The report says the state needs to do a better job managing chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes.

California ranked 12th in this year's report, just behind Nebraska.

Among women nationwide, screening rates for colorectal cancer are up, and smoking rates are down.

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Men Still Outnumber Women

By California Capitol Network

December 2, 2010

In its sixth annual survey of women in the workforce, the UC Davis Graduate School of Management found that men continue to outnumber women in top management positions by a wide margin.

Steven Currall, Dean of the Graduate School, said in tough economic times, California’s companies don’t seem to be looking for women who have new leadership ideas.

“For a state that considers itself hip, progressive and a trendsetter, California looks like anything but that when you peak inside the executive suits and the boardrooms of those companies,” Currall said.

The study looked at 400 of California’s biggest companies. Among those, men hold more than 90 percent of board room seats and executive positions. More than a third of the companies had no women on their board or in highly paid executive roles, and only four percent of the companies are led by a female CEO

‘Ruined’ Is The Play To See This Season.
By Angela Carone

November 29, 2010

The first thing you should know about "Ruined" is that it's not a holiday play, which sets it apart from what's currently on the majority of stages in San Diego. If you staunchly adhere to "Tis the season…," this is not the play for you.

To which I say, shelve your holiday cheer for one night and go see "Ruined." It's an important play and it gets a top-notch production at the La Jolla Playhouse (LJP), where it runs through December 19th. Kudos to the LJP for offering such relevant, profound fare, and for once again going against the holiday grain.

Seeing "Ruined" is an extraordinarily rewarding experience at the theater, which is not to say it's an easy one. It incites anger, sadness, despair, hope, and laughter in the course of two hours. There were moments that shattered me, and others of surprising joy.

"Ruined" opened off-Broadway in 2009, and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (as well as many other awards). I wanted to read the script immediately after to see how playwright Lynn Nottage achieved the richness in character, pacing, and exposition about a very complicated war (the ongoing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, acknowledged to be the deadliest world conflict since World War II). Plus, it's just beautifully written.

"Ruined" is set in a bar/brothel in the Eastern Congo, run by a formidable woman named Mama Nadi, played in the LJP production by Tonye Patano. Readers might remember Patano from her television role as Heylia James, a pot supplier to the drug-dealing protagonist in the Showtime series "Weeds." This was back before "Weeds" jumped the shark. In fact, Patano was one of the best things about "Weeds."

Mama Nadi is not unlike Heylia James. She shares the same no-nonsense demeanor, practicality, and tough exterior. She feeds and houses a group of women who in turn work for her, including servicing the men and soldiers in the region.

"Ruined" is about the female experience of war, which often goes unreported. In fact, playwright Nottage went to the Congo to document the experiences of women precisely because she wondered what was happening to them during the long war.

And what was happening is unfathomable. The title "Ruined" refers to what happens to a woman's body when she's been raped multiple times. One after another, we hear how war has been waged on the bodies of women. The most powerful – and lyrical – monologue comes from the character of Salima, played by Pascale Armand, who endured five months of captivity by rebel soldiers only to escape and be shunned by her family and village. I can't shake her story.

Ruined" may refer to a physical state, but it also illustrates a lasting psychological trauma, which we witness in the play's monologues and relationships.

As grim as all of this sounds, "Ruined" is full of joyous moments. Those moments have the urgency of people needing escape from the horrors of war. There is dancing (some incredible, energized scenes), song, and A LOT of humor. Nottage writes about "Ruined:" "My play is not about victims, but survivors."

The LJP production is directed by native South African Liesl Tommy, who we recently had on These Days. She talked about her staging of the play, which I found excellent. And the performances are terrific across the board. For me, Tonye Patano (Mama Nadi) and Oberon K.A. Adjerpong (who plays Christian, a supplier/salesman to Mama Nadi's) steal the show.

"Ruined" is the best play I've seen in San Diego this year. I've noticed San Diegans tweeting about it – many of whom recommend bringing tissue. It's true, there were some tears in the audience this past Saturday night. But the play manages to discover hope, resilience, and lyricism among the ruined.

Have any Culture Lust readers already seen "Ruined?" If so, what did you think of it? I'd love to hear from you.

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4 Critical Issues, 4 Ways To Make a Difference Today

As early as this week, Congress may vote on key issues that will overwhelmingly affect women, families and communities -- particularly those still struggling to survive the ongoing economic crisis. Readers of this blog know that we've been highlighting a number of ways you can take action to ensure just policies are put in place before positive change becomes more difficult to achieve; below we offer a recap of four of those actions, and hope you'll help urge Washington to protect the interests of women and families across America.

1.Congress must protect access to child care and Head Start for more than 300,000 children and their families. Let our government leaders know how important quality, affordable childcare is to our country's future. Learn more about how to take action.

2.Beginning today, emergency unemployment insurance expires, affecting millions of long-term jobless workers. Meanwhile, legislators are still debating who among the richest of the rich will get to keep their tax cuts. Tell Washington that real economic recovery should benefit women, families and communities, not the wealthy or Wall Street.

3.Urge Congress to retroactively renew the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund, which has helped create more than 250,000 subsidized jobs and increase services for low-income families wounded by the economic crisis.

4.Comprehensive immigration reform is still the goal, but the DREAM Act is a step in the right direction. Tell Congress they must pass this important legislation and grant citizenship rights to at least a million undocumented youth who are working tirelessly on behalf of their families, communities and country.
Together, let's capitalize on the window of opportunity presented by the Lame Duck session and secure changes that will make a real difference in women's lives.