Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, March 27, 2013, Page 8, Image 8

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March 27.2013
New Prices
Effective
May 1,2010
Martin
Cleaning
Service
progress in
A m e r ic a
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG
$45.00
A small distance/travel charge
may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: I sm all H allw ay)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
O ther Services)-. $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool):
$40.00Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
by
K halil B endib
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
MWHHMMI
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $109 - $139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services): $5.00
%
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
Spot & Stain
Removal Service
Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
A Conversation about Empowering Women
Proud to join
the discussion
by
M arc M orial
In a stroke of mar­
keting genius befit­
ting the Chief Oper­
ating Officer of the
social media phe-
n o m e n o n ,
Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg chose
W omen’s History Month to launch
her new book, Lean In, and begin a
national dialogue about “Women,
Work and the Will to Lead.”
Ruth Standish Baldwin was a
co-founder of the National Urban
League m ore than a century ago
and the inclusion and em pow er­
ment of women has been one of
our m ost im portant priorities. T o­
day, Former Labor Secretary Alexis
Herman serves as senior vice chair
on our Board, and alm ost half of
our 95 local affiliate chief execu­
tive officers are women. For that
reason, we applaud Ms. Sandberg
for her new book and are proud to
join in the conversation.
We all know that historic barri­
ers o f gender discrim ination, as
well as the responsibilities of bear­
ing and caring for children have
made it more difficult for women
to balance work and fam ily. But
Sandberg contends that women
too often “hold ourselves back in
ways big and small, by lacking
self-confidence, by not raising
our hands, and by pulling back
when we should be leaning in.”
Lean In appears to be written by
and for women for whom the path to
executive leadership has always
been a realistic, if somewhat diffi­
cult, journey. But the book has
sparked another conversation in
Black America about how women of
color have always had to “lean in”
to overcome the dual hurdles of
racial and gender bias.
Consider how Harriet Tubman
leaned into the face of death to lead
a thousand slaves to freedom on the
Underground Railroad. Or how So­
journer Truth stood up and boldly
asked “Ain’t I a woman” at the 1851
Ohio W omen’s Rights Convention.
Consider how Fannie Lou Hamer
who was “sick and tired of being
sick and tired,” fought for African
American voting rights as an orga­
nizer o f the 1964 Mississippi Free­
dom Summer and Vice Chair of the
Mississippi Freedom Democratic
Party. Or how a quiet seamstress
named Rosa Parks, leaned in, sat
down on a bus and lit the fuse of the
civil rights movement.
D ecrying the lack o f wom en at
the top o f corporate A m erica,
Sandberg does adm it that, “The
gap is even worse for wom en of
color, who hold just 4 percent o f
top corporate jobs, 3 percent o f
board seats and 5 percent of con­
gressional seats.”
But, with rising num bers o f
black women in college, preparing
them selves for successful careers,
clearly a lack o f drive or am bition
is not the problem.
Lean In urges women to “Sit at
the Table.,” “Seek and Speak Your
T ruth,” “D on’t Leave Before You
Leave,” and “Make Your Partner a
Real Partner.”
T hese
re c o m m e n d a tio n s
present a road map of success
that has obviously worked for
Sheryl Sandberg. But, it is largely
the lack o f support, the pressures
o f single parenthood, and sys­
tem ic racial and gender discrim i­
n a tio n th at c o n tin u e to k eep
wom en o f color from getting a
foot in the corporate door.
The empowerment of all women
depends on closing the wage gap,
protecting w om en’s reproductive
rights, providing greater w ork­
place flex ib ility , having m ore
women in non-traditional profes­
sions like science and engineer­
ing, and su p p o rtin g com m on
sense m easures like the V iolence
A gainst W omen Act which was
ju st reauthorized and signed into
law by President Obama.
If men and women lean in to­
gether, we can foster gender eq ­
uity and a better Am erica.
M arc Morial is president and
chief executive officer o f the N a­
tional Urban League.