President Biden Declares the ERA the Law of the Land!

On January 17, 2025, President Joe Biden issued the following statement from the White House: "I supported the Equal Rights Amendment for more than 50 years, and I have long been clear that no one should be discriminated against based on their sex. We, as a nation, must affirm and protect women's full equality once and for all."

Zonta International Scholarships/Awards

To fulfill its mission of empowering women worldwide, Zonta focuses on gender equality in education, an essential human right and critical to development for all.

Educated women can break the cycle of poverty.

• They can choose when to marry.
• They can choose if and when to have children.
• They can access quality health care to safeguard themselves and their children.
• And they can educate their own children and ensure greater opportunities for future generations.

Young Women in Leadership Award

The Young Women in Leadership Award recognizes young women, ages 16-19, who demonstrate superior leadership skills and a commitment to public service and civic causes, and encourages them to continue their participation in public and political life. The application process starts at the club level. The deadline for submitting an application to Peconic Bay Zonta is March 1, 2025. Click here to learn more. NOTE: For the 2024-2025 Zonta biennium, Zonta District 3’s Young Women in Leadership Award Committee is chaired by Mary Ann Miller of Peconic Bay.

Zonta Women in Business Scholarship

The Zonta Women in Business Scholarship supports women pursuing undergraduate and master’s degrees in business management. Learn more at the Zonta International Website. (This scholarship was formerly known as the Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship.) The application process starts at the club level. The deadline for submitting an application to Peconic Bay Zonta is June 15, 2025. Click here to learn more.

Zonta Women in STEM Award

The Zonta Women in STEM Award encourages women to pursue education, career opportunities and leadership roles in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics. Click here to learn more.

Amelia Earhart Fellowship

The Amelia Earhart Fellowship expands opportunities for women pursuing advanced studies in the typically male-dominated fields of aerospace-related sciences and aerospace-related engineering. The fellowship is awarded annually to up to 30 women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. Click here to learn more.

Pitching at the Holiday Market

From left, Kathy Walker, Liala Strotman, Geri Kazenoff, Santa, Betsy Kaplan, Vivian Daddino, Annika Shapiro

The occasion may have been shopping, but Peconic Bay members also used our Holiday Market fund raiser on December 7, 2024, to pitch Zonta's message of "Saying NO to Violence Against Women."

Diane Greenberg

This was our final activity for Zonta's 16 Days of Activism campaign, which ran from November 25 through December 10. Throughout, we wore the campaign's signature color orange to promote discussions about gender-based violence.

Annika Shapiro had invited 50 of her "friends of Zonta" to the Holiday Market, encouraging them to bring their children and grandchildren. At the market, she sought out older teens and engaged them in serious conversation about child marriage.

All in all, everyone had a good time for a good cause. Shoppers had a selection of holiday ornaments, wreaths, candles, centerpieces and stocking stuffers. Folks decorated cards and cookies, and Santa posed for photos.

The Killings of Young Mothers

The Killings of Young Mothers. That is the title of an opinion piece published in The New York Times. It's disturbing.

Most violence against women is committed by their husbands or intimate partners. Although homicides are not generally classified as pregnancy related, a woman's pregnancy has often played a part. And in these cases, the killer is often a husband or boyfriend.

As reported in The NY Times, the stress and emotional turmoil of a pregnancy can exacerbate an already abusive relationship.

That is what happened to 20-year-old Markitha Sinegal, new mother of twin baby girls. Her boyfriend, father of the twins, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

The Times piece outlines potential interventions: gun control, access to contraceptions and to safe and affordable abortions, screening for intimate partner violence during obstetric visits, and connecting young women to victims' advocates. Also recommended are educational approaches, such as teaching young people what dangerous relationships look like.

Starting on November 25 and ending December 10, Zontians around the world are campaigning against gender-based violence. Look up "The Killing of Young Mothers," December 9, 2024, in The New York Times. Read Ms. Sinegal's story.

Ask Annika!

Ask Annika Shapiro why she's wearing orange and she will tell you about the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign.

From November 25 – December 10, Zonta women wear orange to show solidarity in opposition to violence against women.

Child marriage is another form of gender-based violence. This crime is happening everywhere. Some European countries have the loophole of parental consent. In the U.S., 37 states still allow for children under 18 to be married. Iraq's parliament is currently preparing a legislative change to allow marriage with a 9-year-old girl. Every 10 minutes, 229 girls are married.

Will you wear orange, too?

Zonta Says NO from Hawaiʻi

Peconic Bay member Mona Rowe (orange scarf), Logan Rowe (left) and Lindsay Aubrey give a shout-out to Zonta during the 16 Days of Activism campaign against gender-based violence.

They stand at a Zonta Says NO sign put up by the Zonta Club of Kauaʻi, in Hawaiʻi.

Here's a shocking statistic: a woman is killed every 10 minutes. The United Nations reports that in 2023, approximately 51,100 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members. For more facts and figures, click here.

Rowe was on the island of Kauaʻi during the Thanksgiving holiday to visit family and friends. "Ask me why I'm wearing orange," she said, engaging folks in a conversation about violence against women and girls. Orange symbolizes a brighter future, one free of violence.

Peconic Bay Zonta Offers Support to Victims of Domestic Violence

To mark Zonta International's 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence, November 25 through December 10, Peconic Bay Zonta has donated $250 to The Retreat, a nonprofit agency in East Hampton, NY, that provides safety, shelter and support for victims of domestic abuse. Peconic Bay’s donation will provide counseling for a survivor.

Violence against women is a widespread problem. Thirty percent of women worldwide report they have experienced physical or sexual violence by their intimate partner. Here's another disturbing statistic: 73 percent of women journalists have experienced online violence in the course of their work, including threats of physical and sexual violence. Then there's female genital cutting, child marriage and human trafficking – all forms of violence against women and girls.

 

Calling attention to this international epidemic, Peconic Bay members are wearing orange during the 16 days of activism, the signature color of this campaign. As a bright and optimistic color, orange represents a future free from violence against women and girls.

 

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233. Help is available 24/7/365.