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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ГРУДЕНЬ 200 8 25 interests of its members, is being realized in a variety of ways. By organizing various events and programs, branch members have honed their organizational skills as well as the ability to work with others and with the community as a whole. Lectures at branch meetings have acquainted members with subjects they may have not tackled on their own. The occasional outings organized by the branch to museums and other venues also expand horizons and are fun. This brings us to what has changed in 50 years for the UNWLA. First and foremost, Ukraine is finally an independent state. Ukraine’s Soyuz Ukrainok and other women’s organizations have been re-created and once more belong to the International Council of Women. Women from Ukraine now represent their own country at inter- national conferences and Ukrainian diaspora orga- nizations need no longer serve as the sole or major ambassadors for Ukraine to the world. Much has also changed in the United States over the last 50 years. I remember vividly a com- ment made in the mid-1960s by the chairman of the Political Science Department in Columbia Univer- sity’s Graduate School: He suggested that it was a waste of resources to support women getting PhDs because they would marry and stop working. Today, women, and this includes married women, are pre- sidents of major universities and major corpora- tions. As Hillary Clinton said during the Democratic Party’s primary campaign, there a re now 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, a statement implying that the glass ceiling will soon shatter altogether. It is clear that possibilities for women have greatly increased. It is, however, sad but true that traditional women’s organizations have declined as the status of women in society has improved and the goals for which the organizations fought have lost their immediacy. In her address during the anniversary event, Marianna Zajac, the new president of UNWLA, praised the accomplishments of the organization but also stressed that UNWLA membership was drop- ping. Indeed, current membership is not only de- clining but also aging. Many Ukrainians have come to the United States since Ukraine’s independence in 1991. In fact, they have come in much larger numbers than did those after World War II. But relatively few of the women of this recent im- migration have joined the UNWLA. Thus, an important question arises in connection with the issue of declining membership: How to frame the aims of UNWLA to attract more of the recent immigrants and also the second and third generation of American-born women. UNWLA branches must explore the means to achieve this. One possibility would be to interact more closely with American nongovernmental organizations dealing with issues of concern to women, be they health or human rights. It is this writer’s hope that this article will stimulate a wider discussion within the UNWLA on this topic and on the broader, but closely related, topic of the UNWLA’s purpose in the 21st century. Sophia Sluzar Branch 54 November 2008 Our Life Press Fund $250 from Christyna Bodnar Sheldon in memory of Henry Sheldon. $100 from received from Association of Seniors, UNA. $25 from Jaroslawa Stasiuk and Lydia E. Piaseckyj in memory of Lydia Kobzar. $25 from Iwanna Martynetz in memory of Danysia Swystun.
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