Walking Figures of Change

The historic Saint Paul City Council was inaugurated in a ceremony at the Ordway Theater on January 9. We will be following their ongoing story in our "Diversity in Politics" series, thanks to underwriting support from WomenWinning.

Minnesota's municipal seats statewide are primarily held by men — at 35 percent. Although that percentage seems low, it actually places the state as 16th highest in the country for women's city leadership. 

At the inauguration, new City Council president Mitra Jalali joked to the full auditorium that based on some of the comments on her social media account, “Let's just say a whole lot of people who were comfortable with majority male, majority white institutions for nearly 170 years of city history are suddenly sharply concerned about representation."

Rebecca Noecker, currently the longest running and elder council woman — elected in 2015, now 39 — offered concluding comments about words spoken during the swearing-in process.

"It reminds us that we're links in a chain, that our duties have been passed down to us from those who come before, and that we are only here because of the energy, the time, and the love of others. That knowledge shouldn't make us feel frozen in time, beholden to the way things were, but just the opposite. We have an obligation to keep that momentum going; to take the progress that has been passed to us and keep rolling with energy and vision that we will one day be able to pass on to others. We can never forget that we're part of something much greater than ourselves."

Read the story

Spoken word artist Muna Abdulahi was one of the performance artists, who shared:

"The truth is, to be a woman in a space that was not built for you is to know how to build space with your bare hands, to demand the attention of any room you step into … to be a walking figure of change, of growth, to know how to rise and rise again and rise again and rise again."

See a clip of her performance

(She will be speaking at our April 13 event)

Publisher's Commentary #3

Welcome to 2024: The Year of Healthy Collaboration

We all are part of a universal cycle of life — not simply an individual one — and 2024 will be our year for pointing that out in many different ways.

We are starting a deep series on Housing. If you are engaged with housing advocacy and can help us double our storytelling capacity in 2024 with funding ideas, contact Ashley@womenspress.com

Public Safety Is More Than Emergency Response

If you’re talking about the need for public safety, then that means families have resources to put food on the table and to be stably housed. That work is through policy, that network is through community, that work is through building relationships and trust with each other.

— Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan



What We Do

Connecting engaged feminists who care

about solutions and action

Join Us For "39 Years of Voice & Vision"

April 13, 2024

Bringing Badass members statewide together to talk about

collaboration on solutions to gender-based violence,

public safety reform, diversity in politics, and more.

Learn More

• Learn more about restorative justice principles with a trauma-informed and racial equity lens by attending an in-person training, "Cultivating Community: Restorative Justice Theory and Practice," January 25-27

• WomenVenture is seeking a diverse pool of volunteers from all backgrounds, especially those who identify as BIPOC and LGBTQ+, to support clients in their entrepreneurial journey. Send email to volunteer@womenventure.org for details.

• The state's Office of Justice Programs is requesting proposals to fund Pathway to Policing programs to bring persons with nontraditional backgrounds into law enforcement careers. Send email to Kristin Lail for details